The last roll of Kodachrome film

While some of the very popular film from major photography film producers are still available on the market the Kodak Kodachrome 25 slide film has been discontinued in 2001.

Kodachrome, technical data

It was not only the manufacturing of this iconic film but also the discontinuation of the respective K-14 development process using respective chemicals.

The Kodachrome film is three black and white film layered together in one film with each layer being sensitive to one primary color. The film was introduced in 1935 and was used for still photography and cinematography.

Kodachrome, technical data

It was one of the first successful color film materials in widespread use for 65 years.

Spectral response, Nikon D700

Compared to the spectral sensitivity of recent digital camera sensors the blues are rather less sensitive than on the exemplary D700 sensor while the reds are on a relative scale more sensitive in the Kodachrome film.

For the digital sensors this is one example and might vary from camera model to camera model.

Similar shifts in spectral sensitivity are the reason for perceived differences in color and vibrance perception comparing film to digital images. This shift of sensitivity towards the red of the color spectrum might be the reason for the "reproduces subtle color naturally" claim in the specification of the Kodachrome 25 film. The human eye exhibits higher sensitivity in the green and red area than in the blue one which is the reason that digital images with their higher contribution in the blue often are perceived as a bit colder in color.

The very last roll of Kodachrome 25 has been shot by photographer Steve McCurry.
An interesting documentary on this project has been produced by National Geographic. Every frame has been shot very carefully in full awareness to produce really special images.



The result can bee seen on Steve McCurry's website in a gallery dedicated to this special project.

Last roll of Kodachrome gallery by Steve McCurry