Kodak kills Kodachrome film after 74 years

2009-11-15

SAN FRANCISCO, June 22 (Reuters) - Kodachrome, the film brand touted as the stuff of memories, is about to become a memory itself as Eastman Kodak (EK.N) stops production due to overwhelming competition from digital cameras.

"Eastman Kodak Company announced today that it will retire Kodachrome color film this year, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon," the company said in a statement.

"The majority of today's photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology -- both film and digital," said Mary Jane Hellyar, president of Kodaks Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group.

In the end, Kodachrome accounted for less than 1 percent of the company's total sales of still-picture films, the company said. It said only one lab that processes the film was left in the country

Underscoring the decline of film, the company that popularized consumer photography more than 100 years ago said 70 percent of its revenue today is from consumer and commercial digital businesses.

Kodachrome was so iconic that it was celebrated in the mid-1970s with a song of the same name by Paul Simon, with the catch-phrase: "Mama don't take my Kodachrome away." (Reporting by David Lawsky [1], Editing by Maureen Bavdek)

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[1] http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=david.lawsky&

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