Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years, Kodachrome was widely used for professional color photography, especially for images intended for publication in print media.
Because of its complex processing requirements, the film was initially exclusively sold including the cost of processing; independent photography stores were prohibited from developing Kodachrome. To develop the film, customers had to mail film to Kodak, which then mailed the developed film back as part of the film's purchase price. In 1954, the U.S. Department of Justice found this practice to be an uncompetitive violation of antitrust law. Kodak entered into a consent decree - this required the company to offer Kodachrome film for sale without the development fee, as well as license Kodachrome development patents to independent photography stores. Kodak did sell mailers for users wanting the film to be processed by Kodak. Nonetheless, the process-paid arrangement continued in other markets around the world.
Due to its complex processing requirements, the growth and popularity of alternative photographic materials, and, much later, the widespread transition to digital photography, Kodachrome lost 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.
Background
Kodachrome was the first color film to be successfully mass-marketed that used a subtractive color method. Previous materials, such as Autochrome and Dufaycolor, had used the additive screenplate methods. Until its discontinuation, Kodachrome was the oldest surviving brand of color film. It was manufactured for 74 years in various formats to suit still and motion picture cameras, including 8 mm, Super 8, 16 mm for movies (exclusively through Eastman Kodak), and 35 mm for movies (exclusively available through Technicolor Corp as "Technicolor Monopack") and 35 mm, 120, 110, 126, 828 and large format for still photography.
Kodachrome is appreciated in the archival and professional market for its accurate color reproduction and dark-storage longevity. Because of these qualities, it was used by Walton Sound and Film Services in the UK in 1953 for the official 16 mm film of the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Copies of the film for sale to the public were also produced using Kodachrome. More recent professional film photographers such as Steve McCurry, David Alan Harvey, Peter Guttman and Alex Webb also favored the film. It was used by McCurry for his iconic 1984 portrait of Sharbat Gula, Afghan Girl, for the National Geographic magazine.
History
Before Kodachrome
Before Kodachrome film was marketed in 1935 most color photography had been achieved using films that employed additive color methods and materials, such as Autochrome and Dufaycolor, These first practical color processes had several disadvantages because they used a réseau filter made from discrete color elements that were visible upon enlargement. The finished transparencies absorbed between 70% and 80% of light upon projection, requiring very bright projection lamps, especially for large projections. Subtractive color methods avoided these disadvantages.
Rudolf Fischer was granted a patent in 1913 for a proposed color photography process in which three separate emulsions, each sensitive to a different color, would be exposed simultaneously. However, Fischer was unable to implement the idea.