After years of watching Kodak shutter its film stocks to cut costs, film photographers can finally rejoice in the news that the historic photography company is bringing back — not killing off — one of its most iconic film stocks.
Kodak discontinued its Ektachrome 100 film stock in 2012 alongside a slew of others, citing a decrease in demand. A year later, Kodak’s film photography division was spun off into a new U.K.-based company called Kodak Alaris, which has since seen an increase in demand for film photography supplies.
“Sales of professional photographic films have been steadily rising over the last few years,” said Kodak Alaris in its press release. “Professionals and enthusiasts are rediscovering the artistic control offered by manual processes and the creative satisfaction of a physical end product.”
One of the driving forces behind the decision to bring back Ektachrome was the constant inquiries from film photographers asking if Kodak could bring back a color-reversal film. This particular film stock fit the bill and uses the standard E6 development process, and Kodak Aleris says it’s still working on perfecting the film by testing it throughout development.
“The film,” Kodak Aleris says, is “known for its extremely fine grain, clean colors, great tones and contrasts, [and] became iconic in no small part due the extensive use of slide film by National Geographic Magazine over several decades.”
The Ektachrome 100 film stock will be manufactured in the firm’s Rochester, New York factory over the next 12 months. It will be available in the 135 (35mm) format and available for both still and motion picture photography when it re-debuts in the fourth quarter of 2017.
