MAMA DONT TAKE MY KODACHROME AWAY

New And Better, Profiled Kodachrome Scanning

By: David B. Brooks

They give us those nice bright colors

They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the worlds a sunny day, Oh yeah Paul Simon

I dont know of any other film brand that also
became the title of a hit song like Paul Simons Kodachrome released in 1973. But that is not all that makes
Kodachrome unique amongst 35mm color films, as
many of you know who have written me that you have
collections of Kodachrome slides. Besides reproducing the color of reality with a unique color palette Kodachrome has also proven to be much more enduring
than other color films, so any collection of Kodachrome
slides stored at all reasonably will have its original color images very much intact, like some of mine that go
back 50 years.

So even though Kodachrome is still made and
sold, and one Kodak lab that processes in Kansas is
still in operation, this Kodachrome story I am about to
tell about part the films saga involves scanning Kodachrome film images. For me and I am sure many others, compared to E-6 and other related types of color
transparency films, Kodachrome scanning has had its
difficulties and challenges. A part of that is scanners
are usually profiled using an ICC IT-8 target slide made
with Ektachrome film (or rarely Fujichrome). The dye
colors are one of the unique distinguishing features of
Kodachrome and they and the films characteristic attributes because they did not match a scanners profile exactly, make scanning Kodachrome difficult and
seldom preserve the unique color and look of Kodachrome. This situation has changed.

The story of that change begins many months
ago when I read a post in the Shutterbug Forum that

a photographer had just purchased a Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 target slide from B&H. I am rather plugged
in to news and information about photography, but
was unaware Kodak had ever produced IT-8 scanner
profiling target slides on anything but Ektachrome. To
my knowledge they never publicized that Kodachrome
IT-8s existed or were available (and I now understand
why as Ill get to later). So of course I got on the B&H
web site and ordered one immediately, and it arrived
shortly. Wow, now I could profile my scanners specifically to match Kodachrome film.

Not so fast, the Kodachrome K3 Kodachrome
IT-8 target was made in 1999 and the target pattern
was the old Marilyn version so named because of the
face of a model in the upper right quadrant of the target
image. My only current profiling ability for my scanners is in Lasersoft SilverFasts IT-8 profiling utility,
and the software does not recognize that old Kodak
IT-8 target configuration. Well Im used to detours and
having to do work-arounds but this one was not easy
because most of the older scanner input color management software like Monaco Systems are out of business
or like the Kodak profiling utility that was included with
Microtek ArtixScan scanners, only work with those
scanners, which I didnt have. Finally I found that XRite has an input scanner profiling software module
that is part of their i1 Photo color management system,
and X-rite was generous enough to provide a loan of
this rather expensive suite of color management hardware and software.

THE FIRST SUCCESS PROFILING A

SCANNER FOR KODACHROME

The X-Rite input profiling module in i1 Photo
worked like a charm recognizing the old K3 Kodachrome IT-8 target to calibrate and generate new Kodachrome profiles for three different scanners I have
in my shop, A Plustek OpticFilm 7500i, an old Minolta Scan Elite 5400 II, and an Epson Perfection V500
Photo. So the next step was to test these new profiles
scanning a selection of different images on Kodachrome, and also to make as close as possible duplicate scans using a profile for the scanner made with an
Ektachrome IT-8 target.
Comparing the scan image results from the two profiles, one Kodachrome
and the other Ektachome, revealed a definite difference, and with many of the Kodachrome slides scans a

very distinct advantage varying somewhat between

the three scanners I was testing with. And, with
some Kodachrome slide scans, particularly images
I had difficulty scanning successfully in the past, I
could obtain a good quality scanned image result
with the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 based profile. Of course the most obvious difference was in
color, that the Kodachrome profile favored preserving and reproducing scanned image color that has
greater fidelity to the Kodachrome film original, not
to mention that strange anomalies of color shifts in
some tones did not occur as in the past, and with
some images I was able to retrieve more and better
detail from the shadow area in the image. Of course
I was encouraged and enthused and continued test
scanning many more Kodachrome slides with these
new Kodachrome profiles.

A key part of calibrating and profiling a scanner is the ICC target that is referenced. Kodak made thousands
of Ektachrome IT-8 film target slides that were used almost exclusively to profile scanners, but Ektachrome
and other E-6 films are very different from Kodachromes unique color palette, so scanning Kodachrome
with an Ektachrome based scanner profile produced less than ideal results and often real problems with
some Kodachrome slide images. This 1999 Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 revealed just how much a dis-

advantage to scanning Kodachrome using an Ektachrome based profile has been.

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With my newest scanner, the Plustek OpticFilm 7500i

the disadvantage of using an Ektachrome profile to
scan Kodachrome (above) was not just evident in
color reproduction that more truly represented the
Kodachrome film original, but I was able to obtain
better detail in shadows with the Kodachrome profile
(below).

The very first Kodachrome slide I scanned first with

an Ektachrome profile (above), and then with a Kodachrome K3 IT-8 profile (below) dramatically illustrated to me the advantages of using a Kodachrome
based profile with a Minolta 5400 II scanner, and how
disadvantageous it is to scan Kodachrome with an
Ektachrome based scanner profile.

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My first assignment to photograph flowers in the mid

60s began what has become a very devoted interest
in flower photography. That entire set of flower shots
for the assignment were all done on Kodachrome. I
have scanned some of the Kodachrome slide from
this set several time in recent years, but re-scanning
this Kodachrome using a profile based on the Kodak
K3 Kodachrome IT-8 (1999) reproduced an image file
that actually looks just like the film image for the very
first time.

Even with a very modest flatbed scanner, the Epson

Perfection V500 Photo the affect of an Ektachrome
profile on a Kodachrome image (on the left), compared to a scan of the same Kodachrome slide using
a Kodachrome profile (on the right) reveals a dramatic
advantage in color and image quality.

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LASERSOFT SILVERFAST GETS INVOLVED

From the results from my tests with the profiles
made with the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 profiles, I
made up sets of CDs with the test image files, and sent
one to my editor at Shutterbug and another to KarlHeinz Zahorsky president and founder of Lasersoft Imaging who make the SilverFast scanning software. Ive
known Karl-Heinz Zahorsky since we first met when
Epson introduced their then new Epson Expression
836XL large format professional scanner with Lasersoft SilverFast software. And, with some common interests we have kept in touch ever since. So in a phone
conversation when I was talking about my experience
with Kodachrome profiling I learned he also had the
Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 target slides and was also
thinking where we could go with it. We agreed that the
supply of these Kodachrome IT-8s was probably very
limited, so how could this profile advantage to Kodachrome scanning become widely available?

It wasnt very long until I found out what kind
of solution Lasersoft would offer in SilverFast scanning software in an upgrade version of SilverFast Ai
6, which now includes a new Kodachrome film option
to selection. (http://www.silverfast.com/scanner-software/) I really dont know what programming is under the hood but how it must work is a bit like making a translation from one profile to another, a scanner
has a profile based on an Ektachrome IT-8 and when
you select the Kodachrome film scanning option the
colors identified in the scanners profile are translated
to what they should be if the profile were based on a
Kodachrome film IT-8 target.

So, already with some test experience using
scanner profiles I had made with the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 target reference, after downloading this
new version of SilverFast Ai with the Kodachrome option, I tried it scanning some of the same Kodachrome
slides. The color results were quite similar to my previous use of a Kodachrome based profile and a definite
advantage compared to scanning with a scanner profile
made with an Ektachrome IT-8 target.

This picture of an abandoned farmhouse in northwest Utah was taken on a road trip in 1981 to produce illustrations for a book, and was one of the subjects on that assignment I shot on both Kodachrome and Ektachrome.
The scans of this subject I have made from the Ektachromes were very successful and I have used them
frequently, but this scan of one of the Kodachromes using the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 (1999) based scanner profile is actually a better reproduction of this scene and a better quality digital image than the Ektachrome
scans I have used.
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THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION

Although Karl-Heinz Zahorsky mentioned in
passing in a conversation he would like to have Lasersoft produce its own Kodachrome IT-8 reference target
slides, as they have been producing IT-8s on E-6 film
for some time, I was taken by surprise when I received
news that Lasersoft Imaging had begun manufacturing IT-8 target reference slides on Kodachrome film.
(http://www.silverfast.com/show/kodachrome-targets/en.html)

Soon after, I received one for my use and evaluation. I stopped everything I was doing and immediately profiled my two dedicated 35mm scanners with
this new Lasersoft Kodachrome IT-8 target slide. Test
scans of Kodachrome slides followed very shortly. My
scan results were even more consistently advantageous
over scanning Kodachrome with an Ektachrome based
profile. Comparing this new Lasersoft Kodachrome
IT-8 to the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 of 1999, there
are differences that show up in an analysis of and use
of the profile.

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In particular the scanned raw images with the new

IT-8 profile have less color casts that need correction,
and the overall color correction of the raw preview scan
is even easier to obtain an ideal image adjustment and
resulting image file. In addition a profile made from
a Lasersoft Kodachrome film IT-8 target rather than
Ektachrome includes the contrast curve characteristics
of Kodachrome film, which differ from Ektachrome
quite significantly, so getting better shadow and highlight information in scans of Kodachrome film images resulted. With my test results using profiles made
from the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8, compared to
the much improved performance and consistency of
results with the new Lasersoft Kodachrome IT-8 film
target, explains why Kodak never officially announced
its availability, it has some irregularities either in the
film target itself or in the Index File that is used in conjunction with IT-8 targets. The K3 Kodak was better
than Ektachrome, but after using the current Lasersoft manufactured Kodachrome IT-8 not as good as it
should have been. That may be because the technology involved has had ten years since the Kodak K3 was
made in 1999 to be developed further and refined.

Sometimes images with very little and subdued color can be the most challenging to get right. I
have always had a particular attraction to this simple image, maybe because I found the scene
in a most unlikely place, across and down the street from the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
Regardless I obtained the best reproduction and image adjustment of this scene shot on Kodachrome with my scanner using the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 (1999) Profile. Finally it was
quite easy to reproduce the values in the film image in a digital scan file.

This very softly lit photo of my all-time favorite

model taken on Kodachrome in my daylight studio in LA in the 70s is one image that has defied getting a good scan result until I tried using
the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 (1999) profile
to scan the film. This new resulting image file
perfectly reproduces all of the subtle and delicate values in this portrait, and now makes me
thankful I shot a lot of the images I made in this
studio on Kodachrome.

Very high in the mountains of southern Utah the

Aspen trees in the fall are a golden photo attraction. On this occasion I was test shooting the first
pre-sale release of the then new K-14 version of
Kodachrome. The resulting slides have been exceedingly difficult to color correct in a scan until
I scanned this image with the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 (1999) profile installed in SilverFast
running my scanner.
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Lasersoft in their SilverFast Ai 6.6 version have included an easy access to scanning with the
effect of using a Kodachrome IT-8 based profile by including an option in the SilverFast General
setup Options to choose Kodachrome instead of either Positive or Negative Pos/Neg options
when you are scanning a Kodachrome slide film image. It works in some respects better than
the Kodak K3 Kodachrome IT-8 (1999) based profile, and is a vast improvement over scanning
Kodachrome film with a standard Ektachrome IT-8 based profile.

THE BOTTOM LINE ON SCANNING

KODACHROME

A good part of the motivation that kept me
going for months with this project and got me past
both frustrations and disappointments, is that I have
a large library of film I made during a lifetimes work
as a photographer I have been scanning off and on for
15 years, and a good part of it is in Kodachrome slides.
So this Kodachrome project was somewhat self serving, but also with readers in mind very many of whom
have written me that they too are either scanning or
wanting to scan their own film libraries, and many of
them contain Kodachrome slides. So the bottom line
is, if you want to get the kind of Kodachrome images
Paul Simon sang about, if you want your scanned
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images to reproduce that famous Kodachrome look,

then take this advice: profile your scanner with the
new Lasersoft Kodachrome IT-8 reference, the ticket
price for a Lasersoft Kodachrome IT-8 ICC reference
target slide is $50.00 (does not include software). It
can be used with any Lasersoft SilverFast Ai scanner
software that includes IT-8 support to custom profile
your scanner, as well as other brands of ICC scanner
profiling software, like the Kodak utility that was supplied with Microtek ArtixScan scanners. Of course I
believe from long experience youll get the best results
scanning your Kodachrome slides using Lasersoft
SilverFast Ai software to run your scanner.

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If you go through my library of photographs you will find quite a few taken in graveyards,
and its not because I have a morbid streak in my aesthetic, But graveyards do contain
often striking subjects that often say something about the human spirit. This rather stark
image made on Kodachrome in a Bisbee, Arizona graveyard contains a range of values
challenging to scan successfully and accomplished effectively and rather easily using
a Plustek OpticFilm 7500i scanner with SilverFast and profiled with the new Lasersoft
Kodachrome IT-8 reference target slide.

There are few natural resources in Hollywood, but every so often a model agency
head would send me someone new in town to photograph. One day this tall, elegant blonde with luminous gray eyes and spoke like Marlene Dietrich, showed up
fresh from Europe. So I said to myself, simplicity is the only way to do her justice
and opened the curtain of the studio window, moved in a black background and
loaded the camera with Kodachrome. She looked just as good on film as she did in
the studio, minus the intriguing voice of course. Now with my scanner equipped with
a Lasersoft Kodachrome IT-8 profile I have a digital file that captures everything in
the Kodachrome film.
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When I first lived on Californias Central Coast Id often go out in the countryside late in the afternoon in hopes of discovering a scene to photograph in what
many call sweet light when the sun is low. Sometimes Id stay longer and find
a subject to photograph at dusk after the sun had set. Usually I would load very
fast grainy film for these shots, but this one found me when my camera was
loaded with Kodachrome. In the light of dusk colors can shift strangely recorded
on a slide film image and become hard to reproduce when scanned. But I
obtained a very pleasing result with this scan using the new Lasersoft Kodachrome IT-8 to profile my scanner.

A scene like this shot with a moderately long lens across the Valley Of Fire north of Las
Vegas, Nevada uses up the exposure latitude of most films, particularly the Kodachrome
slide film this shot was recorded on. Lasersofts new Kodachrome IT-8 target used to
profile my scanner using SilverFast and its IT-8 utility, made it possible to scan this image
to reproduce the full range of values with good detail from highlights to shadows, as well
as replicate accurately the unique color interpretation Kodachrome achieves in capturing
scenes like this.
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One of my favorite images of a favorite model shot in my daylight studio by window

light on Kodachrome was ideally reproduce in a digital file using my Lasersoft Kodachrome IT-8 profiled Plustek 7500i scanner running SilverFast. In this monochromatic study it is essential to maintain both color and tone separation from highlights
to shadows, and this digital representation captured everything in the original Kodachrome slide accurately and faithfully.
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Every time I had some kind of equipment test to do I would try to find some subjects to photograph that would be images that would be interesting photographs
in their own right. So it was with this shot of leaves made testing a macro ringlight flash. But this slide has always defied getting a good scan that would make a
printable image file, and finally with the support of the Lasersoft Kodachrome IT-8
profile I had success.
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