Kodachrome’s fade to black

Betting its future on digital photography, Kodak discontinued 74-year-old Kodachrome, the famous slide and motion-picture film, with a production run last August in which a master sheet nearly a mile long was cut up into more than 20,000 rolls.

Don’t screw it up

The final roll was handed to noted shooter Steve McCurry. After nine months of planning, he embarked in June on a six-week odyssey. Trailing him was a TV crew from National Geographic Channel, which plans to broadcast a one-hour documentary early next year. Mr. McCurry relied on a digital camera to help evaluate composition, perspective and light, but choosing the moment to press the shutter was pressure-packed. His nerves were jangled again when he had to run the loaded camera through airport X-ray machines in Italy and Turkey.

The big picture

Eastman Kodak’s switch to digital from film has been bumpy, to say the least. In 2004, it began an expensive four-year restructuring transforming it into a maker of digital photography products and printers. During the shift, it halved its work force, and has since stopped its dividend. Its dwindling film business still generates cash that it uses to invest in the digital side. Profits have been elusive.

Kodak's business remains under pressure from the economy and increased competition,” said Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross. “The company noted that the loss of a major photo kiosk contract [Wal-Mart’ 3,600 stores] hurt the consumer business, while entertainment film declined … driven by the economy and proliferation of 3-D digital cinema.”

The last call

Kodachrome’s development process is elaborate, and there is only one shop in the world that still does it. For now, that is. Dwayne’s photo, in Parsons, Kan., will stop handling the film in December. So stop hoarding and start shooting, says Grant Steinle, co-owner of Dwayne’s Photo.

The Paul Simon song

Kodachrome/They give us those nice bright colours/They give us the greens of summers/Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah/I got a Nikon camera/I love to take a photograph/So mama don't take my Kodachrome away.

The price

$8 (U.S.) Cost (at Dwayne’s) to develop a 24-frame roll of Kodachrome.

The stock

Kodak shares have tumbled by 54 per cent in the past three months, and are down 4 per cent for the year.

2004

The last year Kodak made an annual profit.

21 per cent

The latest quarterly decline in film and photofinishing sales

14 per cent

Kodak’s two-year rise in film and photofinishing sales (to 2009).

24 per cent

Kodak’s two-year decline in consumer digital imaging (to 2009).

The Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, staff.