Recent slides returned from Kodak

[OCtrainguy]

I still use slide film and recently had a roll processed through my local camera store. I know Kodak has someone else processing their slide film (I forget who it is), but have always had "Kodak Ektachrome" or "Kodak Slide Processing" on the slides, depending on whether it was Kodak or Fuji film used.

With my last roll, which I picked up two weeks ago, I noticed the plastic holders are all white, looking a lot more plastic than I'm used to, with no Kodak reference on it whatsoever. Has anyone else had this recent experience? Just wondering if it's an isolated case or Kodak.

I asked the camera shop and they didn't have good things to say about what Kodak has done to their slide processing.

[Alcoman]

I use both Kodachrome and ektachrome. To begin with; the Kodachrome is sent to Dwayne's Photo Service in Kansas. The Ektachrome is sent to Hampton park Maryland.
The time that the slides take to get process is way too long.
I sent a roll on Jan 5th and still have not gotten it back. I sent another roll sometime later this month and got that back yesterday. I have yet another roll sent on Jan 18th which I am still waiting for also.
This last batch of e-slides came back with scratches on some of them.One slide was unuseable because the scratchwent right thru the image. Most slides were fine, but they are being handled without the person using gloves.
One batch of K-200 slides I got back were grainy as hell as well as dark. Had to throw away most of them.
There is no way to track the slide orders. The number on the pre-paid mailer is useless.
Kodaks service is taking a nose dive..........

[RailBus63]

I had a couple of rolls of Ektachrome Elite processed a few weeks ago and got them back with the plastic mounts. I hadn't used E-6 film in a couple of years so I asked a friend who shoots Ektachrome about this and he told me it's been this way for a while - you have to request cardboard mounts in the 'special instructions' when you send the film in.

I haven't had any scratches or other problems with either Kodachrome or Ektachrome lately (knocking on wood …). My Ektachromes were back within a week and that was right after the holidays. The latest Kodachromes took a little over a week. I did recently find a local photo shop that offers Kodak processing - I don't know if that makes any difference in regards to processing time, but at least the people there know what slides are, so I don't have to worry about some part-time teenager at a photo counter sending it to the wrong place.

Jim

[MEC407]

Dwayne's Kodachrome processing is generally quite good. The E6 processing, now done by District Photo (the same geniuses who own Clark and York), leaves much to be desired.

As far as the slide mounts are concerned, the rumor on photo.net is that the company that was manufacturing the Kodak-branded mounts has gone out of business, and Kodak chose not to hire another company to continue to make them. Also heard that the yellow boxes that the slides come in may be phased out in favor of plastic sleeves, which are cheaper and more readily available.

[pgengler]

I noticed the same thing with several recent rolls of slides. While I've only been shooting on slide film for a few months, the first two rolls I shot came back with the Kodak logo on them; for the four rolls I dropped off toward the middle of December, they all came back with the plain white plastic holders. I have no idea why, though.

Not because of any actively negative experience, but I don't intend to have any more rolls of slide film sent out for processing. There happens to be a photo place near me that will do same-day E-6 processing, which beats the three-week wait I've had by having them sent out from the nearby Walgreens.

[OCtrainguy]

I did have some lines on a roll of Fuji Provia film I had processed by "Kodak" back in November. First time that happened to me. Usually, I see a 10-14 day turnaround time for processing my slide film. My local camera store mails it in to Kodak as there was some type of salary/payment dispute with the courier who would pick up the film from the store.

I remember getting the attached plastic sleeves before getting the slides in boxes. Kinda funny that they may be going back.

The delay in processing did cost me a change to get some photos published. The delay was part Kodak, with their current timing, and part of the camera store, who "was extremely busy" during the days before Christmas. A roll of slide film I dropped of to them on December 17th didn't get sent out to Kodak until December 27th. When I contacted the magazine editors, they informed me that they had recently received a digital photo from the event in which I was using slide film.

[MEC407]

As much as I hate to recommend Wal-Mart for anything, they are a good way to get decent slide processing without paying an arm and a leg. You can drop off Kodachrome at Wal-Mart and it will be processed by Dwayne's, just as it would be if you dropped it off at a Kodak dealer or sent it in a Kodak mailer. The cost is only $4.88. Which is the same price they charge for E6, which is sent to Fuji in Phoenix -- they do pretty good work as well; certainly better than District d/b/a Kodak.

Just be sure to write "E6 SLIDE FILM" or "K14 SLIDE FILM" in the special instructions box on the envelope.

[Don]

I have'nt had any prob's w/Dwayne's. Last roll was back in about 10 days via USPS. It takes about 5 days for tracking info to show up on Kodak's site. Slides were in the day they said they'd be. This is much better than years ago when I sent slides to Rochester ( about 50 mi. from me) & it would take 2-3 weeks at times for their return. As for E6, I've found the Konica lab in Hudson Ohio does good work & the price is very reasonable thru Eckerd's drugs or other pick up source. From what I've read the Fuji lab has had it's share of +'s & -'s. Never tried them so can't say for sure but the Konica plant meets my need's & despite K/M's exit from film & camera's, a call to the Ohio outlet said they would remain open for biz.
Don

[pennsy]

Hi,

I believe I will go along with allowing a Walmart, Costco, etc. etc. process slide film. They also will use a contractor and will stand behind the results. If you are unhappy with how they turned out you have recourse with the photo deparment manager.

[OCtrainguy]

I may check out Costco next time. Here's my latest story. I dropped off two rolls of slide film for Kodak to process. Both rolls were sent in at the same time. One roll has already been sent back, but I'm still waiting for the second roll. I can't win...

The key thing for me is how long it takes "Kodak" to process the film. The first roll took eight days. There aren't any places close to me, that I am aware of, that process slide film in-house. There is a place in Middlesex, NJ, about an hour's drive, that processes slide film, but they're only open M-F, same schedule as me. I did try to find a page for mailers, or any information about them on Kodak's website, but could not find anything.

[pgengler]

I'm fortunate now in that there's a place a few minutes away from me that does same-day in-house slide processing. As a plus, they're almost exactly on my way to/from work, and their hours (8:30 - 5:45) are just enough to let me get there to drop off film in the morning and pick it up in the evening.

When I've had film sent out for processing (before I found this place), I'd never run into the situation where two rolls dropped off at the same time came back at different times. The closest I came was when I dropped off one roll on one day, then another two rolls a few days later. The original estimate for when they'd be back was the same for both, but the first roll came back two weeks before the other two (which came back together).

[mxdata]

I recently mailed Kodachrome slides sent by mailer to Kodak's agent for processing and Fujichrome slides sent in a Fuji mailer to their lab for processing, both sent on the same day, both returned on the same day.

However, the Kodak agent has gone to using a very cheap and flimsy packaging box which had opened up inside the return envelope, and the slides were loose all over the place, some with bent mounts, and some scratched from contact with other slides or the envelope.

Not very impressive at all.

[MEC407]

Here's my latest Kodachrome story:

On May 8, I dropped off a roll of K64 at Wal-Mart. They called me on May 13 to let me know that my slides were ready to be picked up. At first I thought there must have been some kind of mistake -- I couldn't believe that the slides had come back that fast. But sure enough they did, and they were all in good condition too -- no scratches, no stains, and correctly mounted. The mounts were cardboard, and the slides came in a black plastic box.

Not bad at all, especially for $4.88. Of course this probably means that my next roll will be a disaster. lol

[RailBus63]

My last few rolls of Kodachrome took approximately 10 days each.

Ektachrome is taking about a week now. As long as you request cardboard mounts, you'll get them. Aside from the new cheapo yellow box, the quality has been fine. I just got my first roll of Ektachrome Elite 100 back, and I'm very impressed with the sharpness of this film

Jim