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As a young owner of an 8mm movie camera circa 1958, saving pocket money to raise
the the £2/2/6 for a 50 ft roll of 8mm Kodachrome took a few weeks of saving. I
remember being devastated when Kodak raised to price to £2/12/6*. Of course there
were no discounts in those days - everyone sold at the same fixed price!
* The RBA calculator tells me that is equivalent to about $100.00 in today’s values.
Eventually, the growth and popularity of alternative photographic materials, and, much
later, the widespread transition to digital photography, led to Kodachrome’s loss of
market share. Its manufacture was discontinued in 2009, and processing ended in
December 2010. In early 2017, Kodak announced it was investigating the possibility of
re-introducing Kodachrome, but later conceded that this was unlikely to happen.

Kodachrome is appreciated by the archival and professional market for its accurate
color reproduction and storage longevity. It is common to find Kodachrome 16mm and
8mm home movies with color as vibrant as the day they were filmed - unlike the
competitors’ products, which have frequently faded to pink or otherwise lost color.

History

Before Kodachrome film was marketed in 1935 most color photography had been
achieved using films that employed additive color methods and materials, such as
Dufaycolor. These first color processes had several disadvantages, because they used
a réseau filter made from discrete color elements that was embossed onto the surface of
the film. The image was captured on a black and white emulsion after the filter.

Unfortunately, the color pattern introduced two distinct problems. It was visible on the
screen upon projection, and it absorbed between 70% and 80% of light output of the
projector, thereby requiring very bright projection lamps, especially for large screens.
Subtractive color systems such as Kodachrome avoided these disadvantages.
Below: One of the few viable processes for color home movies before the introduction of Kodachrome -
Dufaycolor. Centre image: 16mm Dufaycolor film. Right: an enlargement from that 16mm frame,
looking closely, the pattern of the color reseau filter can be seen.

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