Brian Puccio
Well-known
I started with Provia/Velvia on my M6, first roll was not so good. Then I started using the camera's meter to meter off my hand, off the grass, off different subjects and adjust accordingly. I got better. Then I was in San Francisco for a week and missed more shots than I would have liked. I bought an incident meter and everything has been spot on since. I only meter when the light changes, it takes a second and I don't have to hold the camera up to my face pointing it around, I don't even need to take it out of my bag yet.
In other news, the GF is a fan of Kodak's slide films, she just placed an order from B&H to stockpile. Looks like she'll be digging into my Provia stash eventually.
In other news, the GF is a fan of Kodak's slide films, she just placed an order from B&H to stockpile. Looks like she'll be digging into my Provia stash eventually.
Prest_400
Multiformat
2-3 years after Kodachrome, Ektachrome goes.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116622
BJP: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-j...6493/kodak-discontinues-colour-reversal-films
I'm currently not able to shoot a lot and won't stock up. Seems like Fuji will be the only alternative available.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116622
BJP: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-j...6493/kodak-discontinues-colour-reversal-films
I'm currently not able to shoot a lot and won't stock up. Seems like Fuji will be the only alternative available.
stratcat
Well-known
It was less than a year ago that I shot my first roll of slide film and I was astounded at the results. Then my wife gave me a Kodak caroussell projector for my birthday and my jaw dropped...
Over here where I live it's also difficult to get slide film developed. I have to go all the way to a big town 35 miles north. They do a great job with 35mm E-6 developing and mounting but 6x6 slides are development only... sad.
It's also getting tougher to buy slide film, currently all that I see available in stores is Provia 100F, Velvia dissappeared from the shelves last year and the guy at the store told me it wasn't likely that they got more because it was too expensive.
So I decided to stock up on slide film and I already have a modest stash of it in the freezer but I decided to stop buying more because, as it is, I'll barely be able to shoot all that I have in the freezer before its expiry date and I'm worried that the film expires before I'm able to use it. Should I really be concerned about this or is it OK to shoot slide film past its expiry date if it has been kept in freezing?
Then there also the problem of what to do with all the film you shoot if the labs just stop processing it...
Over here where I live it's also difficult to get slide film developed. I have to go all the way to a big town 35 miles north. They do a great job with 35mm E-6 developing and mounting but 6x6 slides are development only... sad.
It's also getting tougher to buy slide film, currently all that I see available in stores is Provia 100F, Velvia dissappeared from the shelves last year and the guy at the store told me it wasn't likely that they got more because it was too expensive.
So I decided to stock up on slide film and I already have a modest stash of it in the freezer but I decided to stop buying more because, as it is, I'll barely be able to shoot all that I have in the freezer before its expiry date and I'm worried that the film expires before I'm able to use it. Should I really be concerned about this or is it OK to shoot slide film past its expiry date if it has been kept in freezing?
Then there also the problem of what to do with all the film you shoot if the labs just stop processing it...
dreilly
Chillin' in Geneva
I think now the future of slide film rests with the Japanese, and maybe the Chinese? It certainly will be a niche, though Japanese "niches" can be pretty vibrant. You can still get cameras fixed in Japan like the R-D1 and Hexar AF, etc. So the real question I would keep my eye on is how slide film sales in Japan are doing. If they're good, then there will be chemicals and film and it's just a matter of spending the money to do it.
I love slides. Love love love them. To me there is no experience short of being there that compares to a projected slide. Actually, sometimes it's better than being there. That said, I haven't shot a roll in a while. I have much of a 100 foot roll of Ektachrome 100 in a bulk loader in the fridge, probably last shot two-three years ago. Out of date but was okay then. I'll have to make a point of shooting that more soon.
But I never did like Ektachrome as much as the Provia and occasional roll of Velvia I shot when I was in the Peace Corps. Ken Rockwell somewhere made a comparison of Kodak slide film and CCD sensor color performance vs. that of Fuji's slide films/Japanese CMOS sensors and I think he's on to something there, all his other goofiness aside. I prefer the Japanese color gamut I guess.
Still sad to see the Kodak slide film go, however. Makes me want to go out and shoot some slides!
I love slides. Love love love them. To me there is no experience short of being there that compares to a projected slide. Actually, sometimes it's better than being there. That said, I haven't shot a roll in a while. I have much of a 100 foot roll of Ektachrome 100 in a bulk loader in the fridge, probably last shot two-three years ago. Out of date but was okay then. I'll have to make a point of shooting that more soon.
But I never did like Ektachrome as much as the Provia and occasional roll of Velvia I shot when I was in the Peace Corps. Ken Rockwell somewhere made a comparison of Kodak slide film and CCD sensor color performance vs. that of Fuji's slide films/Japanese CMOS sensors and I think he's on to something there, all his other goofiness aside. I prefer the Japanese color gamut I guess.
Still sad to see the Kodak slide film go, however. Makes me want to go out and shoot some slides!
HHPhoto
Well-known
Put your film in an envelope and send it to your lab by mail. No need to go 35 miles by yourself. Mail order is easy and very cheap, because sending it is always cheaper than going the distances by yourself (no fuel needed, no time needed, no search for parking place).
I am alwys doing mail order for my slide film developing. I am lazy
, and mail order is by far the most convenient and cheapest option.Mounting: By mounting yourself you can decrease costs. And you can choose the best mounts.
Where are you living? In all industrialised countries there are online film distributors who will sell you all slide films currently produced.
No, no need to worry. Slide film in the freezer will keep excellent quality for about at least 6-10 years after expiry date.
There will remain enough labs. The labs with the best quality and best mail order service will stay in business. The weak labs will give up.
Furthermore you can develop E6 at home with the Tetenal kit. It is easy and cheap.
Cheers, Jan
HHPhoto
Well-known
It is not only Japan. In Germany, Switzerland, Austria, UK, Northern Italy slide film and projection is relative popular, too.
Just do it! Now it is the time to do.
Cheers, Jan
n5jrn
Well-known
I hate to say it (slide film is my preferred nature photography medium), but I think the writing is on the wall for color reversal film. There's now only one manufacturer left for it.
That said, I plan to stick with slide film to the end. I have yet to find a digital camera body which can match a classic film SLR for precise manual focusing at macro distances, and the vast majority of DSLRs are also significantly heavier and bulkier than my Pentax MX, which matters on longer hikes.
That said, I plan to stick with slide film to the end. I have yet to find a digital camera body which can match a classic film SLR for precise manual focusing at macro distances, and the vast majority of DSLRs are also significantly heavier and bulkier than my Pentax MX, which matters on longer hikes.
jb17kx
Established
There's at least two - Rollei still produce Digibase CR200, a copy of Agfachrome RSX II 200.
n5jrn
Well-known
That's good to hear. Hopefully Kodak's exit from this market will cause more non-Fuji options to appear. Choice is always a good thing (I say this as a longtime Fuji Velvia 50 user).
HHPhoto
Well-known
Yes, and please let's don't forget all the outstanding BW slide films:
Agfa Scala 200X (due to an official statement from Fotoimpex the current, frozen stock will last at least until 2017 (!) ).
Agfa Scala 200X is available at
www.fotobrenner.de
www.fotoimpex.de
www.nordfoto.de
www.spuersinn.de
Then there is furthermore
Agfa Copex Rapid (very good results in the Agfa Scala process)
Foma R100
Maco/Rollei Retro 80S
Maco/Rollei Superpan 200
Maco/ Rollei Retro 400S
Maco/Rollei IR
All these films deliver stunning BW slides in the Agfa Scala process. And Scala, Foma R100, Retro 80S and Superpan 200, Retro 400S, IR are even better in the Wehner process www.schwarzweiss-dia.de .
We can keep all that beautiful film material alive by shooting it and showing it to others to get them interested and hooked.
It is now time to support Fuji to keep color slide film alive.
Slide film is unique, it can not be replaced by colour negative film, and especially not by digital.
With slide I always have an authentic picture. I only need to hold it against light to enjoy it.
Impossible with CN and digital.
Slide film is a major part of photographic culture.
It absolutely deserves to stay alive!
There are lots of very good reasons for shooting slides:
1. Projection: Absolutely unsurpassed quality (brillance, sharpness, resolution, fine grain, tonality) at that big enlargements.
I've compared slide projection with excellent projection lenses to the current most expensive beamers (2 MP; 7000€).
The result is absolutely clear: Slide projection is a league of its own. Far superior resolution and sharpness, better brillance and tonality, much better color reproduction.
The most expensive beamers can not compete at all with slide projection.
With beamers you have the situation that you pay e.g. 7000€ for a 24 MP Nikon D3x, and then you pay another 7000€ to smash this resolution down to the extrmely low resolution of 2 MP with the beamer (and the 2 MP are only valid in horizontal direction, in vertical direction you have even 40% less resolution).
You burn more than 10,000€ to get crappy results. Digital projection is completely ridiculous in it's cost - performance relation.
2. Slide viewing with an excellent slide loupe: Outstanding quality, fast, convenient.
Viewing slides this way with a little, slim daylight light table is as fast as looking at prints in a photoalbum. But with better image quality.
This way you can easily show others your slides without projection.This set-up is smaller and lighter than a photoalbum or a laptop.
3. Prints have a limited contrast range of about five stops (max. contrast from deep black to shiny white on the print). There is a physical limit which cannot be surpassed.
Slides as a transparent medium can deliver higher contrast ranges. With certain (BW) slides films even more than 10 stops.
This greater max. contrast range of slides is one reason for their higher brillance.
4. With slide film you can achieve higher resolution, better sharpness and finer grain compared to color negative films.
There have been some scientific tests proving that films like Ektachrome E100G, Provia 100F, Velvia 100 and 100F, Astia 100F have about 30-40% higher resolution than Ektar 100.
I've made some comparison tests, too, and can confirm that.
5. Reliability:
What you see is what you get.
Give your slide film in 5 different labs, and you will always get the same results.
Give your CN film in five different labs and order prints from them, then you will most probably receive five different results, because the operator at the printer does an interpretation. You get differences from the scanning and from the operator of the machine, who decides about contrast and colors.
6. Most authentic form of photography: A slide is an original, the pure form, not manipulated in any form.
7. Versatility:
Slides can be viewed only with the eye, holding against light, with a loupe, they can be projected on a screen, and you can scan and print them (and currently there is still the possibility to make a Ilfochrome, or a direct print with Harman Direct Positive Paper).
Color negatives can only be printed.
8. Very cost efficient:
Color negative film makes sense if you want prints.
For a quality print I have to pay here about 35 - 40 cents depending on the lab.
A 36 exp. CN film, developed and with prints cost me more than a slide film with development.
If you consider projection than there is an even much more significant price gap: With projection my huge, brillant picture of 1m x 1,5m or 2 x 3m cost me less than 1€ in total.
A print from CN film of that size cost me much more than 100€, and doesn't have the brillance, resolution, fine grain and sharpness of the projected slide.
9. BW slides:
Their tonality is unique. Yo can not get this unique look with prints.
Once you have seen BW slides, you are hooked.
10. You always have an original color reference for scanning and printing: Look at your slide and you know how the real colors are.
That is impossible with color negatives: Our brain is not able to convert the color negatives to real natural colors.
Besides the superior detail rendition of slide film that has been the main reason for the popularity of slide film in professional photography.
11. Slide film is the best photography teacher: You have to do it right at the moment you click the sutter (if you're doing the real stuff, viewing the slides on a light table and in projection; without scanning and further manipulation).
Slide film makes you a more disciplined and deliberate photographer. You think before you shoot. Less clicks, but more good shots in the end.
12. With slides you feel like being back in the scene at the moment you shot it, it's so real.
It's a "time machine":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus
Slides, color and BW, that is where film is absolutely unique and can not be replaced by CN or digital.
Cheers, Jan