Kodak 828 color slide film.
I collect old cameras. I love the way they look, how strong they were built, and the quality in which they were made. I got lucky yesterday at an antique store and found this Kodak PONY 828 camera. They were produced from 1949-1959. They used 828 film, not 35mm. There were old canisters (some still in sealed boxes) of unused film. When I got home, I opened the back of the camera and I found a roll of used film!!!
So I was on the hunt to find a company that salvaged old film. Granted the process by dates on the unused film ranged from July 1968- May 1969, sometimes you can still get images from old film if not stored in warm places.
However these are the responses I'm getting:
"Unfortunately, the roll that you have pictured here says process K-12 color slide film. that chemical process was discontinued some time ago.."
"The Kodachrome process is no longer available because it has been deemed unsafe for the environment. But Kodachrome can still be processed as black and white, and we do it.
So we have one saying it can no longer be done, and one saying it can only be done in black and white, not color."
These companies specialize in film development. I'm still contacting other companies. None of the companies I found are local to me, some are expensive, and of course due to the age of the film no one can guarantee any images from this roll.
There could be prom photos, wedding photos, a birthday party, or a family vacation on this roll of film, and unless the only company I have found so far can recover any images these images may be lost forever. Why? ...because no one got prints before the technology became obsolete.
"Oh, but digital will always be around." Ah, that may be true, we truly can not see this becoming obsolete. Even though we have seen floppy disks fade away, and computers are coming out that no longer having CD drives. "We have the cloud now." Are you making sure that your username and password to your cloud service is being passed down to your grandchildren? A cloud service that may or may not be around in 20 years? Or are they on an external hard drive that will fail. I have a hard drive that I got in 2013 and it is already beginning to fail. The dreaded "click click click" when it is plugged in has begun. However, I'm not overly concerned because I have the prints of my favorites and of important moments.
What are you passing down for generations to come?
"Unfortunately, the roll that you have pictured here says process K-12 color slide film. that chemical process was discontinued some time ago.."
"The Kodachrome process is no longer available because it has been deemed unsafe for the environment. But Kodachrome can still be processed as black and white, and we do it.
So we have one saying it can no longer be done, and one saying it can only be done in black and white, not color."
These companies specialize in film development. I'm still contacting other companies. None of the companies I found are local to me, some are expensive, and of course due to the age of the film no one can guarantee any images from this roll.
There could be prom photos, wedding photos, a birthday party, or a family vacation on this roll of film, and unless the only company I have found so far can recover any images these images may be lost forever. Why? ...because no one got prints before the technology became obsolete.
"Oh, but digital will always be around." Ah, that may be true, we truly can not see this becoming obsolete. Even though we have seen floppy disks fade away, and computers are coming out that no longer having CD drives. "We have the cloud now." Are you making sure that your username and password to your cloud service is being passed down to your grandchildren? A cloud service that may or may not be around in 20 years? Or are they on an external hard drive that will fail. I have a hard drive that I got in 2013 and it is already beginning to fail. The dreaded "click click click" when it is plugged in has begun. However, I'm not overly concerned because I have the prints of my favorites and of important moments.
What are you passing down for generations to come?
This:
Or this:
I am not against digital images. Not in the slightest, they have a place in our lives. An important place. What I do believe is that the images most dear to you should be printed, hung, put in an album or whatever tangible medium that they can be on. Something you do not need an electronic device to view. Digital files are amazing, they can be instantly shared with friends and family, they can be set as screen savers and desktop wall paper that will pop up when you turn on your computer. Just don't allow these images to slip away in technology advancement to be forgotten forever.
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