Kodak Kodachrome II Color Slide Film — K 135-20 — ASA 25
Entry/Object ID
570
Tags
Iconic
Description
The companion canister to the Kodachrome-X in this collection, this is Kodachrome II — the slower, finer-grained sibling that defined professional color slide photography for over a decade.
The label details:
ASA 25 / 15 DIN — the dual rating system confirms pre-1974 production, before ISO unified the ASA and DIN scales
20 Exposures / 24 x 36mm
Daylight or Blue Flash — identical notation to the Kodachrome-X, confirming both canisters are from the same era of chemical flashbulb photography
K 135-20 — the product code. Note the absence of the "X" suffix that distinguishes Kodachrome-X — this is the standard Kodachrome II
Color Slide Film — transparency/positive film, not negative
Kodachrome II was introduced in 1961 as a reformulation of the original 1936 Kodachrome, offering improved color accuracy and finer grain while maintaining the ASA 25 speed. At ASA 25 it was extremely slow by modern standards — requiring bright daylight or careful flash technique — but that slowness was the price of its extraordinary sharpness and color saturation. It was the film of choice for studio photographers, travel photographers, and anyone who needed the absolute finest color rendering available.
The white metal caps — identical to the Kodachrome-X canister — confirm both are from the same production era, likely within a few years of each other. Together they represent Kodachrome at its mid-century peak.
