Well, I guess I should have expected this to happen… I just wish it didn’t happen so soon.
Kodak has announced that as of March 1, 2012, they will no longer manufacture their slide film Ektachrome. Their last three slide film products – Kodak Professional Ektachrome E100G film, Kodak Professional Ektachrome E100VS film, and Kodak Professional Elite Chrome Extra Color 100 film – will remain on store shelves until stock is fully depleted, which should take about six to nine months.
Unlike Kodachrome, the slide film that Kodak discontinued in 2009, Ektachrome can still be purchased and still be developed. The chemicals used to develop slide film, also known as the E-6 process, are still manufactured and available. I can still take my slide film to McGreevy Pro Lab and they can develop my film without any trouble. And it’s not like slide film will be forever discontinued – Fuji’s Velvia slide film is still available and still provides some beautiful colors and images.
Still, it kinda sucks that those of us who appreciate analogue photography will lose the brilliance and detail and imagery of Kodak’s Ektachrome and Elite Chrome slide films.
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Of course, I’m not going to let this film get away without creating at least one new shot this year that incorporates whatever stocks of Ektachrome and Elite Chrome that I still have in my holdings.
That… and stockpile on Fuji Velvia film and whatever Ektachrome and Elite Chrome I can still snag on eBay, just in case.
Chuck The Writer 
I have an archive of hundreds of transparencies on both Kodachrome and Ektachrome that my dad took with his trusty Argus C-3 from the mid 1940s to mid 1960s. The colors and contrast are still as bright and eye-popping as they were when processed. We’ll see how modern inkjet prints look 60 years from now. Damn shame.
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That’s too bad. Some of your ekta and elite chrome shots are absolutely breathtaking.
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