expired kodachrome 25 tips

[nickstreme]

i am getting a few rolls of KR25 that expired in '85

i am pretty sure it hasnt been refrigerated.

what speed would you reccommend shooting it at? And do you think the film is fast enough to get 1/250 outside w/ strobes ( 283s )?

[fschifano]

Can't help you with the film itself. I've never used any expired K25, so I don't know how well it holds up over time. I am puzzled why you feel you must use a shutter speed that fast with a small strobe. If your camera's flash sync speed is 1/250th second, that is the fastest speed you can use. The flash will sync up at all slower speeds. Read up on fill flash. Here's a start: http://photography.about.com/od/phot...illFlash_3.htm

[tiberiustibz]

I would run a test roll and bracket. The film will have a magenta cast to it when returned. It will be something like a stop of speed loss. If it has not been refrigerated there is a high chance it will look like crap. Even though kodachrome holds up well, 24 years is a long time. You could call dwaynes and ask them but I doubt they'll be of any help. They would need to compensate for speed loss during the process.

[Toffle]

I've been working my way through a small stash of Kodachrome 25 for the last couple of years. My film is relatively new, only being expired for about 12 years. Even at this advanced age, it is a good enough film to show the strenghts or weaknesses of your lenses.

I haven't used this film with flash much, so I can't offer any advice in that regard. (It just so happens I sent a roll in this week with a few frames that I used flash on, but I have a feeling that I totally mis-judged those exposures.) In my experience, you will lose about one full stop of film speed at this late date, so I would rate it around ISO 12. (or 10, given its age) The good news is that it will still have some of that classic Kodachrome 25 look. The bad is that you will probably see a fair amount of magenta showing up in your whites.

Still, it is worth a try. I'm sure you will get something you like out of every roll you shoot.

Cheers,

[railwayman3]

I would run a test roll and bracket. The film will have a magenta cast to it when returned. It will be something like a stop of speed loss. If it has not been refrigerated there is a high chance it will look like crap. Even though kodachrome holds up well, 24 years is a long time. You could call dwaynes and ask them but I doubt they'll be of any help. They would need to compensate for speed loss during the process.

All good advice. I'd just add that (IMHO, but supported by comments in other threads) that Kodachrome is not really the best film for use with strobes and flash.
FWIW, I'd perhaps just enjoy the chance of using some K25 in normal daylight conditions, which were always its forte, by bracketing on a few everyday subjects. I've just used a 4-year outdated and unfrozen K200 in this way on sunlit shots of classic cars (it had hidden itself in an old gadget bag!), and have been pleasantly surprised by the good results.

[Steve Smith]

I don't know about K25 but I used some K64 earlier this year which expired in 1986. Used it at ISO 64 in bright sunlight and it came out fine.


Steve.

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

Kodachrome 25, expired in 1988. Rated at 25 and developed at dwaynes, not a colour cast to be seen.


Sadly I cant get a decent scan of anything but the cliche flowers, oh well. I've got another 3 rolls I'll shoot when the opportunity arises.

[Sanjay Sen]

This is interesting to me because I recently shot a roll of long-expired (1991) Kodachrome 25. I haven't got the slides back from the lab yet, and I am very interested in seeing the results. I will upload a scan - if I can make a decent one...

[colrehogan]

It's good to see this. I have some K25 which expired 1-2003. I think it was from the last batch made. I have one roll exposed, but 3 or 4 left.

[PKM-25]

I'd just add that (IMHO, but supported by comments in other threads) that Kodachrome is not really the best film for use with strobes and flash.

I don't where people are getting this from, but it is total BS. You have to use good flash technique with Kodachrome film. Bounce it, diffuse it, knock it back a stop, whatever. Kodachrome was used in studio for decades without problems, most of the FSA / OWI shots from 1939-1942 that are indoors are ALL lit by strobe.

If it were me and someone told me I had to get a good shot from a roll of KM from 1985 with a 283, I would gel that sucker and run around like Bruce Gilden and have fun, heck I would even put on a fisheye! Of course I would bracket, the stuff has most likely lost a stop.

Here are three shots using flash with Kodachrome, the first one was all flash, TTL with KM25 as a test in my FM3A. The other two are gel'd warm with modern KR-64, one straight / on camera knocked back 1-1/3rd stops the other bounced knocked back a stop.

Don't let anyone tell you that Kodachrome and flash do not play nice together, that is pure misinformation..