Kodak Kodachrome 64 Film (Daylight) - 36 Exposure

Unlike other slide films that are developed using E-6 processing and which contain all the color dyes within the film, KODACHROME film stock is actually a black and white film to which the colors are added during developing. This is a much more time consuming, tedious and expensive process, but one that delivers much more natural colors, finer grain and deeper contrast. Using the K-14 process also means that you will have to send all KODACHROME slide film to a national lab. Consequently, it will take about a week or slightly more to get your slides back. But rest assured, the wait is more than worth it!

One of the other intangible benefits of using KODACHROME slide film is that retains archival storage abilities. There are slides available for viewing that were taken in the early 1930s, when KODAK first released this emulsion that look as if they were shot yesterday. There is no noticeable color shifting, bleeding or loss of color or contrast.

KODACHROME slide film has long been known for its natural nd lifelike colors. Unlike slide film from FUJI, which is known for super-saturated and eye-popping bright colors, KODACHROME delivers faithful images of what the photographer saw through their viewfinder at the moment they clicked the shutter.

In addition, lesser slide films, but especially those from FUJI have been known to color shift while in storage. This takes place even when the photographer made every effort to properly store his/her slides.

Because this is a moderately slow speed film, it is best suited for bright daylight. Many professional photographers use this film for landscape and scenic photos and for shots that will be enlarged, such as in full page photos for books and magazines. This is a very fine grain film and that is why pros use it so frequently - they need to be able to ensure that the colors transition crisply and faithfully from the slide to the page of the book or magazine. And the fine grain is also helpful should you want to enlarge the image to poster size and beyond.

Unfortunately for the average consumer who shoots slide film, KODACHROME is not readily available through major retail outlets. A truly professional film, it is generally only available at camera stores and stores that support and cater to professional photographers. At the store in Parsippany, NJ where I have most of my lab work done and where I have bought almost all of my Nikon cameras and lenses, even they don't sell KODACHROME. The reason? They don't get enough customers asking for it.

Instead, they sell some of the EKTACHROME line of Kodak slide films as well as Fuji's Provia, Velvia and Sensia films. They also offer Agfa professional slide films. Consequently, I have to hunt aroun d for this film or order it online from such places as B&H Photo and Video in NYC.

As inconvenient as finding it and having it developed can be, I still LOVE THIS FILM!!! It is my belief that KOPDACHROME 64 offers the finest grained and sharpest images available anywhere today in the photographic world.

Friends and strangers wwho have watched me work with my NIKON F100 often ask me when I'll switch to digital and give up on film. I look at them and smile and tell them that I'll switch to digital when that medium offers me the sharpness, contrast, depth and overall pleasing color saturation of KODACHROME 25. Since KODAK discontinued that film in 2001 and its resolving characteristics were in the 30-35 megapixel range and there isn't a digital camera available anywhere with that degree of resolution, I'll be shooting film for a long time to come.

Shooting slides isn't for everybody. Slide film is much less forgiving of exposure errors than equivalent speed print films. But slides are more realistic and they are sharper and clearer. That is why KODACHROME 64 appeals to purists who like to receive exact duplicates of what they saw when they composed their pictures.

Competing slide films don't really come close to matching this wonderful long-lived KODAK product. Kodak has stumbled with other films, most noticeably with KODAK MAX 400 and 800, but with KODACHROME 64, they have created an enduring masterpiece.


Kodachrome: Still the Best   June 23, 2005
Joseph P. Long
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I can't add much more to the reviews posted here, but I just wanted to say that I shot my first rolls of Kodachrome film last week and the slides I got back, frankly, just blew me away. The tonal gradation, the detail and resolution, the color--if you haven't seen Kodachrome, you just haven't seen anything. DIGITAL CANNOT COMPARE--digital's not even close, not by a mile. Other slide films are a completely different animal and do not compare. My father has fifty year old Kodachrome slides that he took while stationed in Japan and they look like they came back from the photo lab today. When you see images taken fifty years ago in such living color, the effect is earth shattering. You don't go back in time--the past moves into the present. It's really unbelievable.
Lastly, about processing: You can't review Kodachrome anymore without also reviewing Dwayne's Photo in Kansas, since they're the only lab that processes Kodachrome in the US. I put my film in a 1:00pm collection mailbox on a Tuesday and my slides were back to me, delivered right to my door by Friday. To me, this is more convenient than a one hour lab because I don't have to go anywhere. The mailbox is right across the street and my mailbox is at the front door. Sure, you can't drop it off at the drug store and come and get it in an hour. But how many times do you leave your prints at the one hour place for days or weeks because you can't find time to get there or you just don't feel like going there? How many times do you go to the one hour place and they tell you that you can't get your film until the next day? The next day becomes the next, and so on.
Dwayne's convenient mail service assures that you will get your Kodachrome slides back with minimum hassle. Just put the film in an envelope with the order form and payment (Dwayne's also takes credit cards of course) and a couple of days later the slides are waiting for you in your own mail box. It's great. In fact, I was so impressed with Dwayne's service, that I now send all my film there, not just Kodachrome.
Everyone should try Kodachrome and Dwayne's. The results will just astound you.



Still One Of Kodak's Finest Color Slide Films   January 10, 2002
John Kwok (New York, NY USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Kodachrome 64 is a versatile, fine grain, high contrast color slide film that offers a bit more speed than Kodachrome 25. It offers splendid reproduction of colors; none of the colors are enhanced or souped up. It tends to be better for objects and scenes which have yellow, red or orange colors, though it will still work well with those of other colors, such as green and blue. Although it is among the oldest films in Kodak's color film line, it remains one of its finest, capable of extraordinary high contrast and resolution. For best results, I recommend using a tripod mounted 35mm camera, though it will be fine with a hand held 35mm camera in broad daylight.


beware lower price from Adorama - it's "short dated" film!!!!   May 13, 2007
Stefan Daystrom (Los Angeles, CA USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Others have already given wonderful reviews for the product itself. I'm posting this as it seems the only way to alert you that when Adorama has a price that's several dollars less than anyone else (as they do at the moment I'm writing this, with a price of under $5), it's because what they're selling off is "short dated film". You can see that by doing to Adorama's own website; the "short dated" K64 that have there is the only (non-pro) K64 that you can find on their site, and it's similarly highly reduced in price.

At this moment, their "short dated" film is shown as expiring 5/2007. Now, they've kept in freezers, so if you at least refrigirate it (until you use it), you can use it somewhat beyond it's expiration date. Still, I feel you should know when you're getting "short dated" film, and apparently Amazon's setup with Adoroma doesn't support making that clear.


Still sets the standard   April 7, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Everytime I am tempted to go to a higher film speed, I look back at the slides this film has given me over the decades and stick with this film. And, that is part of it. The film is archival and holds up over the decades. The film has exceedingly fine grain (and as I am archiving my slides by scanning them at 4000 dpi, it enlarges perfectly.) As more and more switch to digital, it is getting harder and harder to find this film, but seeking it out is worth it for those of us who know that film still currently outperforms digital with the proper camera. Waiting for the film to return from processing is worth the wait and I utilize Kodak processing. I utilize a heavy camera which lends stability to hand held shots and I plan to continue to use this film far into the future. It still is the standard against which to compare all other films. I have Kodachrome slides taken over 30 years ago, and the color is still sharp and crisp.