Kodachrome RIP

On the 22th of June 2009, Kodak announced that Kodachrome will be terminated.

After 74 years, this legendary brand came to an end.

Kodachrome was the first successfully mass- marketed colour film.

The brand received global recognition from the 1950s and on.

Kodachrome became highly appreciated among professionals for its colour accuracy.

The film had an amazing longevity – 50 years after the images had been taken they would still remain accurate.

It lost market shares to Fuji’s Velvia in the 1980s and 1990s, but remained as a strong brand up until the rise of digital imaging.

A 35mm Kodachrome transparency corresponded to approximately 20 Megapixels.

Thus, in terms of image quality, analogue photography has up until now in most applications offered a higher performance.

But that did not matter much since digital imaging was cheaper and offered much simpler handling.

With the rise of digital imaging from the late 1990s and on, sales started to decline rapidly…

In the end, Kodachrome generated only a negligible amount of revenues for Kodak…

… And a company in trouble could not keep such a product alive any longer.

Just like Henry Ford brought cars to the people, Kodak made colour film affordable and user-friendly.

Those days of growth and rising profits are long gone now for Kodak…

… and many former Kodak buildings have been demolished in recent years.

Paul Simon’s song ’Kodachrome’ from 1973 can serve as a tribute to the brand.

When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school Its a wonder I can think at all

And though my lack of education Hasn’t hurt me none I can read the writing on the wall

Kodachrome They give us those nice bright colors They give us the greens of summers

Makes you think all the worlds a sunny day, oh yeah I got a Nikon camera I love to take a photograph So mama don’t take my kodachrome away

If you took all the girls I knew When I was single And brought them all together for one night

I know they’d never match My sweet imagination And everything looks worse in black and white

More information From Kodak ABC News Paul Simon’s ’Kodachrome’

Image attributions

Christian Sandström is a PhD student at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. He writes and speaks about disruptive innovation and technological change. www.christiansandstrom.org christian.sandstrom at chalmers.se

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Kodachrome RIP

by Chris Sandström on Jul 05, 2009

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Kodachrome RIP — Presentation Transcript