Cross Processed Fuji... I'm in love!

[Disaster_Area]

I recently grabbed a bunch of expired Fuji RMS and Astia really cheap and have been getting it dipped in C41 at the local drug store. So far no one there has commented that they can't do slide film... or bitched at me for "ruining there chemicals". Honestly most of the 18 year olds working there probably wouldn't know E6 from C41 from Kodachrome 🙂 So I'm getting as much processed there as I can before someone catches on. I'm absolutely loving the results! One thing though; alot of the reading I did on cross processing said to over expose by a stop, I've found the exact opposite. Underexposing by a stop gives me much better saturation and doesnt blow my highlights... and the WILL blow.

More can be found on my site:

http://jbhildebrand.exposuremanager.com/g/cross_processed

 

[steverett]

Awesome set! I especially like the last one (the wooden face). Astia is my favorite color film. I've only processed it normally, though -- while I was at school, E-6 was cheaper than C-41 (free). I graduated with dozens of rolls of unused slide film, but having it developed now is a bit pricey, so I'll probably start doing a lot of x-pro.

 

[jan normandale]

yeah it's underexposing for sure; there are several groups for this on the net if you do a search. Lots of useful information if you are just getting fired up.

Xpro Cross Processing
Cross Processing Xpro

 

[Disaster_Area]

Yeah.. I'm really liking the Astia, the RMS seems to have the same colour characteristics (green ambient, over saturated reds) but seems much more prone to blowing highlights compared to the Astia. Who knows though, we're dealing with 4 year past expiry film in the wrong chemicals.. I dont know if I can make any generalizations 🙂 I got a half dozen rolls of Velvia 50 with the lot as well.. I'm debating now whether to xpro it as well, or develope it normally, it's only about a year out of date. I'm leaning towards xpro 🙂

 

[dmr]

I've done this a couple of times with Sensia. I just took it to Walgreens, played dumb (I can be very good at that if I want) 🙂 and ordered a DO with no prints and no scan.

Some examples here:

http://omababe.blogspot.com/2007/10/cross-processing-bean.html

 

[Disaster_Area]

actually.. that's the funny part. I was going to ask for no prints, no scan etc to keep from getting caught, but I forgot! I'm now on my fifth roll processed by them and every time they give me prints, contact sheet and low rez scans on a cd, all for $8 and no one's made a single comment. "Dude.. your shots are all ... green? I think your camera's broken"

 

[steverett]

When I cross-process print film in E-6, I overexpose 2 stops. The highlights usually blow out, but with the colors so washed out I like it. 1 stop would probably be more balanced.

Anyway, maybe that's what your sources were basing their info on. I've only x-pro'd slide film once, and I exposed it at box speed and the negatives came out normally exposed. I think it was ektachrome; each emulsion will behave differently.

 

[steverett]

Cross-processing is (was now, I guess) one of those things on my "eventually try it once" list

It was for me too, only I liked it enough to keep doing it. Not so for pushing 100-speed slide film to 1600.

Next on my "eventually try it once" list is Redscale.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Redscale? Me too! That's my next avenue.

I've been doing old Sensia xpro for years exposing at box speed, and the technicians at the photo shop know about it and are cool.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Here's the sort of stuff I get with expired Sensia after xpro...

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

And another...

 

[Papercut]

i don't know much about x-processing, so i may be off base (and will HAPPILY retract if I am) ... but if this "playing dumb" to get your E6 film developed in c-41 chemistry does in fact pollute the lab's c-41 chemistry and hence has negative effects on other people's processing, this seems rather unethical to me -- just to avoid paying a good lab for proper (i.e., non-contaminating) x-processing? ...

If such is the case, I would think that in the long run this hurts us all as ruined film (for "mysterious reasons" from the lab techs' and other film users' point of view) only makes film processing less profitable for the lab and drives more people to digital. ... something to think about, perhaps?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

to get your E6 film developed in c-41 chemistry does in fact pollute the lab's c-41 chemistry

Only if the xpro exceeds 5% of the total throughput.

Which I doubt ever occurs.

My guy knows what I do and takes the film with no problem whatsoever.

 

[Papercut]

ahhh, cool beans i'm glad to hear that: HAPPILY retracted (as I would hate to think that us friendly film shooters would be so callous as to damage other people's film just to save ourselves a couple of dollars)! 😀

 

[dmr]

Next on my "eventually try it once" list is Redscale.

I have a roll of redscale shot, but I've kinda been procrastinating re-rolling it the right way and taking it in.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Just take it in, and if they notice say you've got a weird camera.

 

[capitalK]

i don't know much about x-processing, so i may be off base (and will HAPPILY retract if I am) ... but if this "playing dumb" to get your E6 film developed in c-41 chemistry does in fact pollute the lab's c-41 chemistry and hence has negative effects on other people's processing, this seems rather unethical to me -- just to avoid paying a good lab for proper (i.e., non-contaminating) x-processing? ...

I have a friend who works at a lab in town and he was told absolutely he could not do it. He presented the managers with the manual for the processing machine which specifically says the ratio of E6 film that can be processed without affecting the chemical balance adversely. I can't remember what the ratio was, but with the amount of film they process daily doing a few rolls here and there wouldn't come near affecting it.

They still said no, not under any circumstance was he to do it.

 

[dmr]

A FOAF of mine runs the photo lab at a local Wally World. I asked him about this a while back and he says it was their policy not to try to develop "slide film" in the Fuji, not because of misunderstanding what can and can't be done, but because it's not a service they offer.

Kind of a moot point, since his store no longer develops film.

Now if you for some reason try to process Kodachrome in a C41 minilab, yes, it will {f-bomb} up the chemicals and any other rolls that run through.

I can really understand a photo department having a policy of "no slide film in the Fuji" to err on the side of caution. I honestly believe that if I had handed the Walgreens folks a roll of Kodachrome and played dumb, they would have processed it and spent the next day or so getting the minilab back into production after spoiling who knows how many rolls of other customers' film.

 

[Andrew Howes]

ektachrome 64t on an overcast day is a good one to xproc.
I did that on weddings sometimes, was still cool in 1997.
I got one left from then, I am inspired again to give it a go.
now, which camera.

 

[Silva Lining]

I cross processed some Velvia Slide film using a 'kitchen sink' Tetenal C41 kit last weekend. The pictures were taken using at 1920's Voigtlander Avus and a RADA 6x9 rollfilm back.

Why?...why not 🙂

I scanned the positives in as negatives and just love the blue colour. I've attached an inverted copy for comparison

( Can't speak for commercial developers, but I developed this in a tank alongside some Fuji Colour Negative film and developed a further three rolls afterwards, apart from making the developer look like cranberry juice, it had no other effects on the development of subsequent films...)