Future of E6 Processing

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drjoke

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We are witnessing what is happening to Kodachrome.

There are only two remaining shops in Thailand that would process E6.

E6 is so important to me. I cannot get negatives or digitals to look like slides, no matters what I try. I am sure that someone will disagree with me and attest that the difference is imaginary and slides, negatives and digitals all have the same look (just as all lenses have the same signature and their differences contribute no aesthetic value to your photos).

I can stock up on all the slide films I want (in fact my freezer is full), but I feel the day I have to ship my films oversea to get them processed is not too far away. If only E6 can be processed simply like BW, I would not be so worried.

Now that Ektar 100 is released by Kodak does not make me happier. Kodak said they released this film because E6 processing is becoming harder to find. Even they acknowledge it. So Ektar is basically a backup film for those who wish they could use slides.
 
in all of thailand?? that sucks....

in adelaide, south australia (one of the smaller cities) e6 is readily available with no sign of death.....
 
Do it yourself! It is not too hard and it should be cheaper. Tetenal 3-bath is easy, but I guess Kodak 6-bath is not too hard either. You can do it easily in a kitchen sink, filling it with about 38 celsius degrees water (I guess it is 105 Fahrenheit) or with a Jobo processor like CPP-2 or CPA-2...
 
I share your worries. In Spain they charge me 19.90 euros (nearly 30 $) for developing a 120 roll film!! (not mounted, of course). Next time I will try the kodak or tetenal E6 kits
.

Javier
 
I do Tetenal 3-bath myself, it's 5 times cheaper than in only two remaining labs in Lithuania, although it's not 20 EUR like in Spain, it's 6-7 EUR per roll, but still, 70EUR 5L Tetenal kit for 60 rolls makes it affordable...
 
In Finland we have less than 10, but still more than 5 places where you can get E-6 developed. Prices are from 4-5 euros to 9 or more. The biggest commercial developer just raised their prices from about 5-6 euros to 9-10.

Home-E6 is pretty easy and the results have been great so far. We do have a camera club at our school and soon we have used our first 5 Liters of Tetenal 3-Bath (that is almost 60 rolls of film) and no reports of problems. We have a Jobo CPP-2 with a lift, which is nice but not compulsory. Friends I know, have done it in just a kitchen sink filled with warm water.

The price is about 1-2 euros a roll (I buy our chemicals from Nordfoto.de). C-41 is even easier and faster because of fewer process steps and shorter times. Also it should be more tolerant because the image will be corrected anyway in a scanner or darkroom when printing.

We have added some rinses to those processes that Tetenal lists, because we re-use chemicals and I think it helps keeping them in condition. You can ask me about our process if you want to know more. We do 0,33 Liters of the chemicals that will develop 4-5 rolls of film (bothc C-41 and E-6) and then they go to waste and we make new solutions. Pushing and pulling goes easily too.
 
in adelaide, south australia (one of the smaller cities) e6 is readily available with no sign of death

Except that Duckpond merged with Atkins, who now do almost the entire city's E6 - almost everyone else outsources. Next time you drop off, ask where the E6 will be developed. I don't think B&W Photographics does their own E6 anymore.

Marty
 
Anyone have any experience comparing the 3-bath with the 6-bath process?
We had a 3-bath machine at work back when we still used film, and it tended to leave the Provias looking a little blue, no matter what.
 
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Ten years ago there were two 2-hour E-6 pro labs within a dozen blocks of me here in North Miami, Florida. One closed but the other survived another few years. They also did B&W, C-41, and both B&W and color prints. Now they're both gone. Nobody shoots slides anymore, it's all C-41 or digital. What I really miss is Kodachrome II and overnight processing in Atlanta. Kodak had a guy in Miami who made the rounds of the camera shops in the late afternoon to pick up film, drove it to the airport, and it got flown to Atlanta. In the morning it got flown back to Miami and delivered to the camera shops. This was no extra charge service. You could send Ektachrome also, but nothing looks like Kodachrome II. Kodachrome 25 was a poor substitute.

Sometimes I wonder if it would be possible to make a negative film using the Kodachrome ultra stable dyes. The negatives would keep about forever!
 
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Al Kaplan said:
Sometimes I wonder if it would be possible to make a negative film using the Kodachrome ultra stable dyes. The negatives would keep about forever!
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Dear Al,

Not really. Kodachrome is a non-substantive film, i.e. the dyes are added during processing, whereas with E6 and C41 the dyes are present as precursors in the emulsion. This is what makes K-series processes devilish difficult, and is also why Kodachrome is so stable pre-processing: it is effectively a multi-layer B+W film until it is processed.

To others: the main reasons for using slides must surely be (i) you like the look (ii) quality -- camera original (iii) speed and economy (iv) ease of filing/finding images in multi-pocket sleeves. I have to admit that I shoot less slide than I used to, since I got the M8, but I now process my own E6 with Tetenal chemistry, which gives instructions for adjusting colour balance via pH. The only disaster I've had (in several years) was when I didn't lock the two sections of a Jobo tank together, i.e. it was simple user error.

Cheers,

R.
 
one thing about slide film that nothing will ever replace: looking up through a handheld viewer and seeing the light filter through. there's no more natural way to view an image
 
Joe Brugger said:
Anyone have any experience comparing the 3-bath with the 6-bath process?
We had a 3-bath machine at work back when we still used film, and it tended to leave the Provias looking a little blue, no matter what.
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I had an exchange with Ron Mowery, a retired Kodak engineer (he holds patents on Kodachrome), and IIRC he stated that there were crossover problems with Tetenal chemistry. It may have been something other than crossover (something to do with the blix), but it made me say "Huh; should I ever do my own E6 again, I will only use Kodak." That's provided it's still available, of course. :bang:

Years ago I processed Agfachrome in Tetenal E6, and I loved the look of the results, though some of the slides have faded enough to no longer be usable. That's not necessarily a fault of the chemistry. I chose the Tetenal because it was a 3-step process as opposed to 6, and it was much more economical. I wouldn't make that choice again.
 
yeah I'm a bit concerned about E6's future in sydney, australia - for several years I went to a terrific prolab (phototechnica), that did 3 hour turnaround on E6 and didn't charge extra for any amount of push/pull, at about AU$7 per roll (process/cut/sleeve).

I'm was very very sad when phototechnica closed, while I was overseas for 4 months. Now I need to head out away from the city to Campsie Digital Prolab (does anyone in Sydney know of anywhere closer to CBD with good E6 processing?)

while I was overseas those 4 months (I returned a month ago), I was in thailand & laos - DrJoke I thought there were pretty good options for E6 in bangkok?

For DrJoke & oscroft: over my time in thailand/laos I had about 40-50 rolls of 35mm Provia 400X processed (all of it +2 stops to iso 1600) for me in bangkok by PhotoHobby in Silom Centre, next to Sala Daeng skytrain station. I believe they in turn sent it to Pro Colour Lab in bangkok for processing. Cost was I think 80 baht per roll, with extra charge for pushing (total cost was I think 140 baht per roll with 2 stops push)

Their service is highly recommended by me, they also sell Provia 400X at very good prices (either 290 or 300 baht per roll).

If I recal correct, IQ Lab also does E6 processing, they have quite a few branches in bangkok.

PS attached bonus low-quality scan of me in bangkok (M6 TTL/Nokton 35mm f1.2/Provia 400X +2 at 1600). Still waiting till I buy a Nikon 5000ED next month to scan my thousands of slides! Can't wait.
 

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For DrJoke & oscroft: over my time in thailand/laos I had about 40-50 rolls of 35mm Provia 400X processed (all of it +2 stops to iso 1600) for me in bangkok by PhotoHobby in Silom Centre, next to Sala Daeng skytrain station. I believe they in turn sent it to Pro Colour Lab in bangkok for processing. Cost was I think 80 baht per roll, with extra charge for pushing (total cost was I think 140 baht per roll with 2 stops push)

Their service is highly recommended by me, they also sell Provia 400X at very good prices (either 290 or 300 baht per roll).

If I recal correct, IQ Lab also does E6 processing, they have quite a few branches in bangkok.
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Excellent, many thanks - I know the Silom Centre well (walked past it only today, in fact). I think I'll shoot some Sensia and try them out. (And yes, those are pretty good prices for Provia 400X).
 
papasnap said:
I'm was very very sad when phototechnica closed, while I was overseas for 4 months. Now I need to head out away from the city to Campsie Digital Prolab (does anyone in Sydney know of anywhere closer to CBD with good E6 processing?)
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I use the Lighthouse on Bondi Rd for my E6 & C41. It's run by Steve who used to work at Photo Technica until a couple of years ago.
There is also Vision Imagelab at Danks St, Waterloo, which is the Lab & Vision Graphics merged. I haven't been there for years but used to get good E6 from them when they were just the Lab.
 
MichaelW said:
There is also Vision Imagelab at Danks St, Waterloo, which is the Lab & Vision Graphics merged. I haven't been there for years but used to get good E6 from them when they were just the Lab.
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Terrific news! Sounds like just what I was looking for - I live in the Newtown area so it's not too far away, which is a relief! Will give them a shot this week. Thanks a bunch Michael!

PS I saw this stencil spraypainted on a refern wall - "Redfern: Gateway to Waterloo" 🙂
 
Here in Bucharest Romania we have only two labs doing E6. This being a city of 3 million people. And it is arroun 10E/roll. And, ofcourse, it takes forever. Sometimes two weeks.
So, because of that, i decided to do it myself. I bought a Jobo CPE2+lift and some chemicals Fuji Hunt 3E6, a three bath plus stabilizer process. I am very happy with the results. I process all my photographs taken in my last trip to Cuba. 35 rolls of Fuji Astia film. here
After succeding with those, now I am having lot of fun with Cibachrome. I got spectacular results with Ciba, but also with some great disapointments and frustration. Is not for faint-harted.
I am in love with slides. I do shot BW, especialy on large formats (4x5), but for 35mm, almost exclusively slides. I love the way you see them on Diascope, or projected, and now, Ciba come along in my lab to convince me that slides are the best. For me.
 
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