Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/07
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At 10:15 AM 07/01/99 -0800, you wrote:
>> This was the Kodachrome killer
>
>Any of you LUGers have data on the archival qualities of these newer
>films?
>
Dale, the philosophical answer is:
"...nothing lasts forever..."
Most of the films discussed are less then a few years old so there is no
proof of anything. I have 20 year old Ektachrome and Fujichrome kept in the
furthest thing from archival conditions and, to the naked eye, show no
"perceived" loss of quality or fade...although, I'm sure, technically, there is.
If we accept that all these products are "improved" with each incarnation,
it would be safe to assume that the preservatives in todays film is better
then what was in film 20 years ago.
I can't see 50 years being an unrealistic expectation and maybe with ideal
storage conditions, 100 years would not be unreasonable.
I don't think I have ever seen any manufacturers data on film survival.
There are just too many variables on the storage side.
I can guarantee that Kodak or Fuji didn't count on my tomcat peeing in a box
of slides from the 1985 NHL hockey playoffs!! I would expect the lifespan
of those slides are limited.
...just don't spill Leica Booze on them :~)
Greg Locke <locke@straylight.ca>
St. John's, Newfoundland.
- ----------------------------------
TOUCHED BY FIRE; doctors without borders in a third world crisis.
McClelland & Stewart Canada. ISBN#0-7710-5305-3
http://www.straylight.ca/touchedbyfire.htm