Kodak prepaid slide processing mailers?
hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com
have pre paid mailers to go with it.
Would anyone know...
1) Is old film (> 15 years old) stored in a freezer still usable?
2) Does Kodak honor pre-paid processing mailers?
3) Do they take the ESP-1 envelope for push processing?
4) Has anyone ever used Tungsten-balanced film (or an 80A filter) in
the yellowish sodium vapor lights?
Thanks!
Adam H. Kerman
>I found some old Ektachrome tingsten slide film in the freezer, and I
>have pre paid mailers to go with it.
>Would anyone know...
>1) Is old film (> 15 years old) stored in a freezer still usable?
Wow. I have no idea how well tungsten Ektachrome would hold up.
>2) Does Kodak honor pre-paid processing mailers?
After Kodak shut down the Kodalux/Qualex processing lab network, down
to the single lab in New Jersey, Dwayne's was able to accept Kodachrome
mailers for a few months. Alas, I found one after they ceased to accept
them.
I would assume Dwayne's wouldn't get reimbursed for Ektachrome mailers,
but verify with Kodak.
In Europe, they were still using mailers, as Kodak was never restricted
from selling film and pre-paid processing jointly.
>3) Do they take the ESP-1 envelope for push processing?
>4) Has anyone ever used Tungsten-balanced film (or an 80A filter) in
>the yellowish sodium vapor lights?
You've got to ask in a photography newsgroup.
hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com
> hanco...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> >I found some old Ektachrome tingsten slide film in the freezer, and I
> >have pre paid mailers to go with it.
> >Would anyone know...
> >1) Is old film (> 15 years old) stored in a freezer still usable?
>
> Wow. I have no idea how well tungsten Ektachrome would hold up.
Some train and subway stations used incandescent lighting pretty late,
as did many museums. An 80A (blue) filter would work too, but it ate
up a lot of light and made hand-holding impractical. In contrast the
T film was fast and pictures came out great.
> >2) Does Kodak honor pre-paid processing mailers?
>
> After Kodak shut down the Kodalux/Qualex processing lab network, down
> to the single lab in New Jersey, Dwayne's was able to accept Kodachrome
> mailers for a few months. Alas, I found one after they ceased to accept
> them.
>
> I would assume Dwayne's wouldn't get reimbursed for Ektachrome mailers,
> but verify with Kodak.
The Kodak mailers were sold for any slides, there was no
differentiation for Kodachrome or Ektachrome. Ektrachrome (E-6) is of
course still made. Presumably labs still will develop it.
http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/EKTACHROME_E100G_Film___135/productID.188420600
I checked the Kodak website using a variety of keywords but couldn't
find anything on their mailer policy.
did you get back the Kodachrome slides, if so, how did they turn out?
> In Europe, they were still using mailers, as Kodak was never restricted
> from selling film and pre-paid processing jointly.
Some camera stores sold Kodachrome film with processing from Europe
and the price was good. Kodak's US labs honored the European mailers.
> >3) Do they take the ESP-1 envelope for push processing?
> >4) Has anyone ever used Tungsten-balanced film (or an 80A filter) in
> >the yellowish sodium vapor lights?
>
> You've got to ask in a photography newsgroup.
While incandescent lights are almost gone from train stations and car
interiors, some stations use the yellowish sodium lights for both
platforms and some interiors. It comes out ugly in pictures.
Traditional mercury vapor or modern bluish-white lights also comes out
poorly, an FLD filter is a must for such lights.
One nice thing about NYC subway platforms is that you can see the
markings on a fluorescent tube and get the color temperature (IIRC it
was 5500°). Some digital cameras allow a precise setting to optimize
color balance, which is easier and more accurate than taking a white-
balance shot of say your sock.
Some years ago NJT modernized its Newark station and put in "high hat"
mercury vapor lights on the platforms. The "high hat" style creates a
spot light effect on the ground which is not desirable in a train
station. One does not feel comfortable waiting on a platform at
night--it still feels gloomy despite the lighting. Better would've
been a raceway of fluorescent lights which would be much more even, or
least mounting the bulb in a globe type fixture to spread the light
around.
James Robinson
> I found some old Ektachrome tingsten slide film in the freezer, and I
> have pre paid mailers to go with it.
>
> Would anyone know...
>
> 1) Is old film (> 15 years old) stored in a freezer still usable?
The film is affected by gamma rays, so the higher the speed, the more
chance it will be fogged. Low speed film like Pan-X would last for
decades, but film pushed to ASA 1600 would likely be fogged, or at least
lose contrast.
> 2) Does Kodak honor pre-paid processing mailers?
A few years ago, I called their processing info line about out-dated
mailers, and was told to just send them in. No problems. They did have
a new mailing address, however. Give them a call, and ask.
> 3) Do they take the ESP-1 envelope for push processing?
>
> 4) Has anyone ever used Tungsten-balanced film (or an 80A filter) in
> the yellowish sodium vapor lights?
You're out of luck with sodium vapor. They produce a very narrow yellow-
red spectrum, with no blue. Using filters just leaves you with nothing.
Same problem with tungsten-balanced film.
Adam H. Kerman
>On Jan 11, 1:47 pm, "Adam H. Kerman" <a...@chinet.com> wrote:
>>hanco...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>>>I found some old Ektachrome tingsten slide film in the freezer, and I
>>>have pre paid mailers to go with it.
>>>Would anyone know...
>>>1) Is old film (>15 years old) stored in a freezer still usable?
>>Wow. I have no idea how well tungsten Ektachrome would hold up.
>Some train and subway stations used incandescent lighting pretty late,
>as did many museums. An 80A (blue) filter would work too, but it ate
>up a lot of light and made hand-holding impractical. In contrast the
>T film was fast and pictures came out great.
I'm not disputing the practicality of the film. It's just nothing I
worked with regularly. If I needed it, I never bought extra and never
froze it.
>>>2) Does Kodak honor pre-paid processing mailers?
>>After Kodak shut down the Kodalux/Qualex processing lab network, down
>>to the single lab in New Jersey, Dwayne's was able to accept Kodachrome
>>mailers for a few months. Alas, I found one after they ceased to accept
>>them.
>>I would assume Dwayne's wouldn't get reimbursed for Ektachrome mailers,
>>but verify with Kodak.
>The Kodak mailers were sold for any slides, there was no
>differentiation for Kodachrome or Ektachrome.
Hm. You're right. My mailer does say Kodachrome or Extrachrome. But there
were different mailers for 24 versus 36 exposure.
>Ektrachrome (E-6) is of course still made. Presumably labs still will
>develop it.
Yes, E-6 finishing chemicals are still made by Kodak (and I assume by
Fuji). There are plenty of labs, even a few 1-hour locations left, since
it could be developed in very small quantity like color negative film.
>I checked the Kodak website using a variety of keywords but couldn't
>find anything on their mailer policy.
There are phone numbers on this page http://support.en.kodak.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1779
Nothing specific to prepaid photofinishing mailers.
>did you get back the Kodachrome slides, if so, how did they turn out?
Not yet.
>>In Europe, they were still using mailers, as Kodak was never restricted
>>from selling film and pre-paid processing jointly.
>Some camera stores sold Kodachrome film with processing from Europe
>and the price was good. Kodak's US labs honored the European mailers.
Heh. In the end, Europeans had to send their film to Dwayne's as the Swiss
lab had closed to finish Kodachrome. I vaguely recall that the Swiss lab
ceased finishing Kodachrome before Fair Lawn closed. When Kodachrome movies
were still being processed, Americans had to send them to the Swiss lab.
spsffan
> I found some old Ektachrome tingsten slide film in the freezer, and I
> have pre paid mailers to go with it.
>
> Would anyone know...
>
> 1) Is old film (> 15 years old) stored in a freezer still usable?
>
If its relatively slow speed film (160 was it?) probably okay since it
was stored in the freezer. 5 years is one thing, but 15 is a crap shoot
of sorts. I'd say, Could be fine (50% chance). Could have some color
shifts (25% chance), could be a total loss (25% chance). Hard to say.
> 2) Does Kodak honor pre-paid processing mailers?
>
Yes, in my experience, even really old ones. Do check for mailing
addresses. Although Kodachrome is gone, the much simpler Ektachrome
process is still widely available. It is not much more complex than
doing C-41 negatives. Heck, it CAN be done at home with the appropriate
chemical kit.
> 3) Do they take the ESP-1 envelope for push processing?
>
Now THAT is another matter all together. I don' know that Kodak EVER
supported push processing, officially at least.
> 4) Has anyone ever used Tungsten-balanced film (or an 80A filter) in
> the yellowish sodium vapor lights?
>
> Thanks!
No. Sorry, can't help you there.
But I'd try sending to Kodak, and if they won't do it, they will either
send you a new mailer, or refund of some kind along with the unprocessed
film. Then try a local camera store.
Best Regards,
DAve
Adam H. Kerman
>>2) Does Kodak honor pre-paid processing mailers?
>Yes, in my experience, even really old ones. Do check for mailing
>addresses.
The mailing address on mailers will be Kodak (Qualex) labs, all of which
are now closed. Kodak has no one left to handle mailers.
How many years has it been since you used a mailer?
James Robinson
It's been a while in my case. Here's the info from the Kodak web site:
"Q - How long will Kodak continue to accept KODACHROME (PK) processing
mailers, which were sold separately in the U.S.?
A - In the U.S., Kodak will continue to accept PK processing mailers though
December 31, 2009, provided the mailer has a valid expiration date or no
expiration date. Expired mailers will not be accepted."
Thus, they stopped accepting mailers for slide film altogether about a year
ago.
Adam H. Kerman
As hancock pointed out, the PK24 and PK36 mailers were for both Kodachrome
and Ektachrome, so I think he has a historic document. Hey! I'm hanging
on to mine!
It was pretty rotten of Kodak to claim they would crack down on use of
expired mailers, given that they knew they might be distributing mailers
close to expiration to film counters, and that film retailers kept
mailers that had expired in inventory to sell to the public. I don't know
when expiration dates were added. My mailer was printed in 1983, undated.
Kodak still had nine processing laboratories for Kodachrome, perhaps half
of what they once had in the 1960's.
hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com
> > 1) Is old film (> 15 years old) stored in a freezer still usable?
>
> If its relatively slow speed film (160 was it?) probably okay since it
> was stored in the freezer. 5 years is one thing, but 15 is a crap shoot
> of sorts. I'd say, Could be fine (50% chance). Could have some color
> shifts (25% chance), could be a total loss (25% chance). Hard to say.
I think it was ASA 160, but could be pushed 1 stop to 320 (pushing
required a special envelope "ESP-1" which cost extra).
Since I already paid for the film and processing I figure there's no
risk in using it. I wouldn't take any critical photos with it.
>
> > 2) Does Kodak honor pre-paid processing mailers?
>
> Yes, in my experience, even really old ones. Do check for mailing
> addresses. Although Kodachrome is gone, the much simpler Ektachrome
> process is still widely available. It is not much more complex than
> doing C-41 negatives. Heck, it CAN be done at home with the appropriate
> chemical kit.
Geez, I'm sure all the mailing addresses are void. I used to send
stuff to Fair Lawn NJ and I heard the big plant has been torn down.
> > 3) Do they take the ESP-1 envelope for push processing?
>
> Now THAT is another matter all together. I don' know that Kodak EVER
> supported push processing, officially at least.
The ESP-1 envelope was issued by Kodak for use in their labs with
Ektachrome film. It was intended for higher speed films, like 160,
and later for the Ektachrome 800/1600. (IMHO the 800/1600 was very
grainy and cold looking.)
They could even push-process Kodachrome, but that required a premium
charge and special arrangements. From time to time a photographer
would use the wrong ASA setting.
> But I'd try sending to Kodak, and if they won't do it, they will either
> send you a new mailer, or refund of some kind along with the unprocessed
> film. Then try a local camera store.
I have a suspicion they wouldn't refund a prepaid mailer.
spsffan
Oh, probably 5 years....I think my last batch went to Fair Lawn, NJ,
home or Mr. Richard Fader.
So, Qualex labs are all closed, including for prints?
O! Brave New World!
spsffan
I never recall seeing an expiration date on a Kodak processing mailer.
As Adam points out, later, the PK mailers were for slide film, either
Kodachrome OR Ektachrome (or Agfa or one of the others for that matter).
I guess if it was old enough to predate everything but Kodachrome....it
would have turned to dust!
BUT, lots of us folks preferred to send Kodachrome to Kodak, even when
other labs were processing it, just because of the complexity of the
process. There never were very many others who did it, but for a while,
Dynacolor (3M) had a lab a few miles away and we would use them from
time to time as it was quicker and cheaper than using Kodak by mail.
Then one day, they gave us someone else's Super 8 reel. Anyway, they've
been closed for decades now.
But, for Ektachrome, or other "non-Kodachrome" slide film, the process
was much simpler, and any lab that did color negatives could do a good
job, and there were lots and lots of labs doing it until just a few
years ago.
-DAve
Adam H. Kerman
>I never recall seeing an expiration date on a Kodak processing mailer.
Nor I, but I stopped buying them a very long time ago. I've been told by
others that they had expiration dates for the last 10 years or so.
Adam H. Kerman
>O! Brave New World!
Yes, it's all gone.
I don't know how Qualex was founded. They bought up a number of independent
large labs throughout the country and had locations of their own, to
serve film counters at drug stores. Photo store chains may have had their
own associated large labs and their own network of drug store film counters.
At one time, if the lab was in the same metropolitan area, you could drop
off print film first thing in the morning to get negatives and prints back
late in the afternoon.
At some point, everyone began outsourcing photofinishing.
Kodak had a number of labs, then made a deal to sell its lab network to
Qualex. Now, Qualex's own labs didn't necessarily use Kodak chemistry.
Kodak chemicals were always higher priced than competitors. But Qualex
promised to use Kodak chemicals at the labs they bought from Kodak, which
was then termed Kodalux for those labs.
One-hour print film processing triggered closing of a great many major
film labs. Kodak then bought a half-interest in Qualex, and Qualex
agreed to use Kodak chemistry at all labs. A few years later, Kodak
bought out Qualex entirely.
There are a handful of large processing labs remaining. Do any have film
counter routes? That's probably a thing of the past. One-hour film counters
are no longer ubiquitous either.
hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com
> Oh, probably 5 years....I think my last batch went to Fair Lawn, NJ,
> home or Mr. Richard Fader.
Fort Lee, NJ, and he had a pretty good vocabulary for someone from
NJ. (may our beloved Gilda rest in peace).
hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com
> There are a handful of large processing labs remaining. Do any have film
> counter routes? That's probably a thing of the past. One-hour film counters
> are no longer ubiquitous either.
I think Fuji does, serving Rite Aid drug stores (at least in my
area). CVS offers 1 hr processing, and still sells a variety of film
types (Kodacolor 200, 800, T-max 400 b&W, and C-41 b&w, at least).
Film is not totally dead, yet.
CVS also sells a disposable digital video camcorder for $30 giving 20
minutes of recording time. You bring the camera back to the store,
and for another $10 you get a DVD of what you shot. Good for the very
occassional videographer.
Miles Bader
> Film is not totally dead, yet.
Judging from flickr, film is popular amongst the arty crowd (especially
in Japan), who value it for its idiosyncrasies, and to some degree
simply because it's now cool/different/retro (whereas digital
photography has become somewhat pedestrian -- it's what the teeming
masses use!). Lots of my flickr contacts do their own film
processing/scanning (I'd never have the balls to do my own color
processing, especially at home, but many seem to!).
I guess it's similar to what happened with painting once photography
took up mantle of realistic depiction and everyday documentary recording
(or even vinyl records once CDs and mp3 became the standard form for
music distribution).
-Miles
--
Alliance, n. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have
their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot
separately plunder a third.
Philip Nasadowski
wrote:
> (or even vinyl records once CDs and mp3 became the standard form for
> music distribution).
Oddly, the LP's making a come back of sorts. I remember in the 80's
being told that you'd never be able to buy turntables or cartridges by
now, letalone new albums.
I recall a recent ad on TV that even showed a quick shot of a turntable
playing a record, as part of the 'upscale' image projection...
Miles Bader
>> (or even vinyl records once CDs and mp3 became the standard form for
>> music distribution).
>
> Oddly, the LP's making a come back of sorts. I remember in the 80's
> being told that you'd never be able to buy turntables or cartridges by
> now, letalone new albums.
I think they've been "making a comeback" for many years now... :]
[I'm always seeing stories on various websites like "Vinyl LP sales up
2000% !!1!" .... of course they neglect to mention how incredibly small
the absolute numbers are....]
-Miles
--
`The suburb is an obsolete and contradictory form of human settlement'
Adam H. Kerman
>>There are a handful of large processing labs remaining. Do any have film
>>counter routes? That's probably a thing of the past. One-hour film counters
>>are no longer ubiquitous either.
>I think Fuji does, serving Rite Aid drug stores (at least in my
>area).
As far as I know, Fuji owns no processing laboratories. If the film is
processed at a lab advertising Fuji chemistry, that's different.
>CVS also sells a disposable digital video camcorder for $30 giving 20
>minutes of recording time. You bring the camera back to the store,
>and for another $10 you get a DVD of what you shot. Good for the very
>occassional videographer.
That's a bizarre niche market.
spsffan
> hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>> On Jan 12, 7:38 pm, "Adam H. Kerman"<a...@chinet.com> wrote:
>
>>> There are a handful of large processing labs remaining. Do any have film
>>> counter routes? That's probably a thing of the past. One-hour film counters
>>> are no longer ubiquitous either.
>
a model railroad club and headed to the layout. The club disbanded about
8 years ago, and I have little reason to go to that area now. But, Fox
Photo was a big name brand photo finisher at least in Southern
California, years ago. No actual relation to 20th Century Fox movie
studios or the later television network, as far as I know, but I think
there was some sort of implied affiliation decades ago. In any event,
they always did a good job, and also back in the day were affiliated
with Rexall Drug Stores along with lots of independent Mom and Pop
stores. In the 1960s, they serviced the liquor store at the corner!
>> I think Fuji does, serving Rite Aid drug stores (at least in my
>> area).
>
> As far as I know, Fuji owns no processing laboratories. If the film is
> processed at a lab advertising Fuji chemistry, that's different.
>
Actually, I think Costco, which still does a fair amount of one hour
photo business from what I can see at my local store uses Fuji
chemistry. That's just from looking over the counter, not advertising.
Note that Costco is about 10 blocks from my home, so I go for a walk
there about once a week, and often just polk around and eat samples.
There isn't a whole lot there you can carry home walking anyway, and
there's a regular supermarket in the same parking lot.
>> CVS also sells a disposable digital video camcorder for $30 giving 20
>> minutes of recording time. You bring the camera back to the store,
>> and for another $10 you get a DVD of what you shot. Good for the very
>> occassional videographer.
>
> That's a bizarre niche market.
Indeed. And I think Costco does more with printing from digital formats
than it does actual film these days. But the counter always has people
at it!
- DAve
addre...@invalid.invalid
Unless cvs has changed it, there are instructions online for hacking it to
make it more generally useful. But the low end flip cameras make that less
compelling.
--
GS Rider
hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com
> >> CVS also sells a disposable digital video camcorder for $30 giving 20
> >> minutes of recording time. You bring the camera back to the store,
> >> and for another $10 you get a DVD of what you shot. Good for the very
> >> occassional videographer.
>
> > That's a bizarre niche market.
>
> Indeed. And I think Costco does more with printing from digital formats
> than it does actual film these days. But the counter always has people
> at it!
The CVS camcorder has been out for a number of years. Originally it
was a good value and useful device for occassional users. However, in
more recent years digital still cameras and cell phones have included
a video capability, and some very inexpensive video cameras have
entered the market. Accordingly, the utility of the CVS device may be
limited these days.
I note the CVS offering (as with their traditional film offerings)
because CVS drugstores are for mass general markets, not specialties.
Chains like that watch their sales very closely and will not waste
shelf space on something that isn't moving.
It wasn't too long ago that CVS upgraded their 1-hr photo finishing
units. But it appears the biggest upgrade went into printing. I'm
not sure how many people have actual film _developed_, but a lot of
people come in (including me) to have digital prints made. They offer
both instant printing and delayed printing. A useful service is Kodak
self-service kiosks where the customer inserts a medium (flashcard,
CD, floppy, or flashdrive) and can select and modify images. One can
crop, fix brightness and contrast, and adjust colors. While obviously
not as sophisticated as desktop software, it does a good job.
One downside is that the kiosk stores a copy of all images printed
which is a bit of a privacy concern, though some backup is necessary
since sometimes the machines break in some way and they need to be
rebooted and reprint.