p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
We had a few days of freezing weather in UK over the last few weeks. I went on my usual morning walks and really thought that the landscape would look really nice if I had it shot on slides. Unfortunately I only had my EOS5 loaded with APX400 and my mobile phone.
Is anyone shooting slides nowadays? I am wondering where do you get them developed or if anyone is using medium format for them, any camera recommendations for it etc.. etc..
And of course if you have any pictures please post them...
Is anyone shooting slides nowadays? I am wondering where do you get them developed or if anyone is using medium format for them, any camera recommendations for it etc.. etc..
And of course if you have any pictures please post them...
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
I'd love to use slides, but in most parks they are hard to find and when you do they are much smaller than they used to be (or maybe I am bigger). And then when you find one it says "Children Only". The same goes for the swings too.
The pictures are lovely but they make me feel very cold and somewhat homesick for blighty.
The pictures are lovely but they make me feel very cold and somewhat homesick for blighty.
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
I've considered it but it makes regular film look cheap and my usual lab won't do E6. But I do occasionally get tempted by the thought of 6x6 positives ...
lynnb
Veteran
I have a roll of exposed Kodachrome 25 that missed the Dwayne's deadline. I'm thinking of mounting it as a piece of abstract art.
PS I've shot one roll of Ektachrome since then, but I scanned rather than mounted and projected. Cost of E6 film and processing is prohibitive.
PS I've shot one roll of Ektachrome since then, but I scanned rather than mounted and projected. Cost of E6 film and processing is prohibitive.
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armadsen
Established
I shoot E-6 regularly in 35mm, 120, and occasionally 4x5. My favorite is Provia, but I shoot E100 too (easier to find), and occasionally Velvia 50. The photo lab a few blocks from my house develops it. There’s another lab in town that does too, as well as a third about 50 miles away.
Michael Markey
Veteran
I shot nothing else in the eighties and nineties .
Mostly K64.
Far too expensive these days .
Mostly K64.
Far too expensive these days .
dexdog
Veteran
Wow, I just looked up Provia on B& H photo, almost $30 for 36 exposures, and currently out of stock. E100 is $22 for 36 exposures. I had no idea slide film was that expensive. Like Michael Markey, I used slide film almost exclusively in 80s and 90s, split about evenly between K25 and K64.
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wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
And then, for me, $18.50 per roll (plus postage) at, in this example, dwaynesphoto to process that roll of E6 to download and CD. Yeah, nope.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
It is around £30 for a roll of E100 around here and they ask for £14 to develop it. Yikes!
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
I seldom use color film but when I do I still prefer slides, when light allows.
BTW I noticed Kodak E100 has gotten a bit less expensive from some sellers.
Chris
BTW I noticed Kodak E100 has gotten a bit less expensive from some sellers.
Chris
dexdog
Veteran
I keep this roll of K25 in my camera/lens display case, which is really just my re-purposed china cabinet. I was not quite 16 years old when this film expired!
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
Gorgeous images. Typically for one born in eastern Canada, I felt the cold seeping into my bones when I looked at them...
Sadly like so many others, slides are now ancient history for me. If memory hasn't yet failed me, in my film fridge at home I have a few rolls of Fujichrome 50 and 100 in other '25 and 120, some Ektachrome 100 in 120, a few strange and long-outdated European manufactured slide films probably from the 19502-1960s, and a dozen colour negative films from Kodak and Fuji. None of which I dare use as it's all long outdated and the colors will be all over the place, even if those old films can resolve any images at all.
More a problem is what to do with the 40+ rolls of 120 Ilford XP2 I've kept frozen for I've forgotten how many years. I won't be using it so it will likely end up on Ebay later this year when I'm back home. No more to be said about this lot as after all we were discussing color slide film.
My recollections are that I last used 35mm slide film about eight years ago. I had almost all of my old E6 done by Vanbar in Melbourne, the results were excellent but I paid more for the processing as I had for the films.
For a few years in the '00s I did all my own E6 and C41 processing at home, with a Jobo Duolab and with mostly Fuji color kits. Then film and processing kit processing went skyward and digital came along and like so many of us I got lazy. It all became easier to just grab the Nikon D90 and blast away, as I did, thousands of digital images the first couple of years I had that kit. After 16 years of post processing, captioning and keywording I now shoot much more sparingly and I batch process images with dates, image number and place name. Only those images I rate as my best do I spend more time on the laptop to update them. Occasionally when I have free time at home and I feel that old urge popping up again, I scan a few rolls of old slides or negatives and go through the entire process with those. My Epson scanner can do up to 12 at a time but it's best for medium format. For '35 I use a Plustek which involves pushing the images through the scanner by hand. If I live to 132 I hope to scan all my film archives, but that's a tad optimistic, I suspect. If I had nine lives like our cats, maybe.
In the 1990s I had my C41 and E6 souped by a pro lab in Surabaya, but last year when I checked those slide folders I discovered they were all color shifting. I suspect the lab was cutting corners with its processing chemistry. Maybe they can be rescued, but all the scanning and post processing I'll have to do, sigh. Ten more years and a tenth cat life...
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Mackinaw
Think Different
The high cost of E6 means I only use it occasionally, but last fall, I did shoot a roll of Velvia and Ektachrome 100 in my Rolleiflex 6006.
Jim B.
Jim B.
armadsen
Established
The photo lab I mentioned earlier charges $8 / roll for E-6 development. I do my own scanning. It is expensive, but I'm fortunate that even with the high prices, I'm able to afford it for now, anyway.
JohnWolf
Well-known
Not me. I still have my projector, many carousels, and thousands of slides, mainly of India, but have not projected them since the dawn of digital.
I enjoy scanning them and creating slideshows with music, which I export as video, so they are easy to share and show. The ability to post-process is a real boon.
That said, an old-fashioned slideshow with family and friends is a wonderful experience.
I enjoy scanning them and creating slideshows with music, which I export as video, so they are easy to share and show. The ability to post-process is a real boon.
That said, an old-fashioned slideshow with family and friends is a wonderful experience.
Retro-Grouch
Veteran
These days, I'm not shooting anything but slides. In 120. Yes, I'm insane, and no, I'm not rich. But those who also shoot medium format transparency film will understand.
Processing is still widely available, if expensive, in most major cities in the US. Research is recommended, as some labs have a better reputation for consistency. Remember, the slide is your final image (barring scanning) so exposure and processing must be very precise.
Which brings us to cameras. I would say that whatever medium format camera tickles your fancy is the one to use. Older single-coated or uncoated lenses will give lower contrast, just as with B&W, but you might prefer that. Slide films are inherently contrasty, so an older lens might work to your advantage. Whatever you use, make sure the shutter is accurate! Slide film has much less exposure latitude, and an error of 1/2 stop can destroy an image. Bracketing is wise, but adds to the expense. No way around it; you will be spending some money.
I use a range of cameras, some new and some old, from a Bronica ETRSi to a Rollei 3.5-A. All work well with color transparencies, though I've come to prefer the more subdued look of the Rollei. And if you really want to go off the deep end, try shooting 6x9. The look of Ektachrome in that size is mind-blowing!
WoodallP
Pragmatist Barnack lover
So true, so many memories of a family slide night of the summer holidays.
Prest_400
Multiformat
Slides are basically what brought me to medium format, and specifically 6x9 with a Fuji RF.
As per "why film" which has been a discussion around, I have kept a warm likeness to slides. Enjoyed the family slides and shot Kodachrome myself, which few late Millenials have done.
As per the usual expense discussion, I sometimes think that my late teen self made a nice strategic decision and the GW690 had a very good bang for the buck when I got it a decade ago; as well as being modern and having the largest of the (normal) medium formats. Now it's a bit high film consumption but it does not change the fact that such a huge film gate is beautiful. Back then I thought Provia 100F and Portra 400 would be the go-to film combination! I did not do B&W then.
Recently, Slide I have kept some stock frozen for Spring, Autumn and other colorful things in between.
I did take 22 rolls of E6 in a trip to Asia, which were used to shoot beautiful beaches and colourful things. I have got some left over E6 rolls which are back in storage for the next season. After that, I hope to be able to buy some Fujichrome again to keep as an additional pallette.
And yes, mighty expensive nowadays!
GAS works differently for me in that I prefer to buy bricks of film and cover processing & printing costs rather than get more cameras.
Retro-Grouch
Veteran
Careful! Comments like that could get you banned from RFF!
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
Seems like a good time for a new thread with user recommendations of E6 labs, including services offered and prices.
Chris
Chris