Kodachrome replacement

[ChrisPlatt]

A question for former Kodachrome users who plan to continue shooting slides:
Which transparency film will you use in place of Kodachrome and why?

TIA,
Chris

 

[alfredian]

Velvia 50

Velvia 50

Velvia 50. Why? it's what put the first big bite on Kocachrome, based on quality. Comparable in sharpness & saturation, it's done up in E-6 chemistry, so it's cheap, quick & local. Pros (pre-digital) began switching to it and the first thing to go was large-format 'chrome (120 anyway).

I don't know how well the slides will hold up. Last year I was chatting with an old family frend. Came over from England to Upstate NY in the late Fifties & shot some Kodachrome and some Ektachrome - lots of Fall Foliage. Going through the boxes of slides last year he noticed "the Kodachromes looked like I'd picked them up at the store yesterday. All the Ektachromes were muddy brown."

Still & all, Velvia 50 goes well on safari with Efke 50 or Pan F 50. It's all fine-grain & I don't have to worry about that half-way-through-a-roll "DOH" moment when I realized I've shot one roll right, the other roll a stop or two off.

 

[maclaine]

I've played around with the Fuji offerings before, and while my favorite of their line is Provia 400X for speed and relatively fine grain, I'm thinking about experimenting with Kodak E100G plus a warming filter. I love the way E100VS looks with a warming filter, but skin tones can get a little crazy if you're not careful. There's something about Kodak's color rendition that you just can't get with Fuji's stuff. Ektachrome may not look exactly like Kodachrome, but it's closer than Astia, Provia, or Velvia.

 

[dmr]

Probably Astia. It's the closest look and feel I've found.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I have a large stash of Provia ISO 400. Very versatile, fine grained, does well with push-processing and its colors are realistic enough.

 

[Shac]

I agree with dmr - in my experience Astia comes closest - I find Velvia doesn't come - besides the "over-vibrance", the Velvia blues are not to my liking nor do they resemble Kodachrome blues. YMMV - colour (in film) is rather subjective

 

[LKSC]

Unfortunately Astia has been discontinued in 35mm by Fuji:

http://fujifilm.jp/information/articlead_0066.html

 

[RichyD]

I tried Astia, 120 format , but got inconsistent results and discontinued in UK anyway. Fuji Provia 100F, just too blue a cast, though I've been happy with 400X. Then I shot a roll of Kodak 100G and was very pleased; good colour balance, bright , clean, rich without being over saturated so I'll be using that, but sparingly. Only downside, it is about two thirds more expensive than Provia, hardly competitive.

 

[jpa66]

Unfortunately Astia has been discontinued in 35mm by Fuji:

http://fujifilm.jp/information/articlead_0066.html

What? Oh, please say it ain't so! Are you sure? I'm going to check the link now. If it's gone, I don't know what I'll replace my slide film with.

 

[tokengirl]

Unfortunately Astia has been discontinued in 35mm by Fuji:

http://fujifilm.jp/information/articlead_0066.html

This is really terrible news. I don't shoot a lot of color, but Astia is my favorite.

 

[Edward C. Zimmermann]

A question for former Kodachrome users who plan to continue shooting slides:

The question is: do you want to also project them---- Kodachrome was a very poor projection media.
If its not about projection but part of an archive and digitalization workfolow then I've move over the Ektar 100. Its scans well, has high saturation, vivid colors and should show excellent archival properties.

Which transparency film will you use in place of Kodachrome and why?

For projection:
In 35mm I use mostly Kodak Elite 100. In Germany its quite inexpensive and available in the drugstores. When I need more speed I go with Fuji Provira 400x.

 

[bigeye]

I've been happy with Kodak E100G for color.

.

 

[robert blu]

provia 100 F, good colors and fine grain.
robert

 

[Riverman]

I like E100G. Find it the most versatile slide film. To my eyes it handles skin tones well and I prefer its warmth over Astia which I find a little too cool.

 

[dmr]

This is really terrible news. I don't shoot a lot of color, but Astia is my favorite.

🙁 .......

 

[sper]

Ektar 100 is the true replacement.

But just short of that +1 for E100G.

Don't think 'replacement,' that'll only frustrate you. Instead think about what you're photographing and what'll work best for your personal vision.

Or throw in the towel and buy some Tri-X!

 

[mervynyan]

second Ektar 100

 

[wblynch]

Ektar 100 is the true replacement.

I tried projecting Ektar 100 and it just looked terrible on the screen.

I will try the E100G.

 

[Sam N]

Astia is beautiful, especially with skin tones. I have a couple rolls left in 35mm. I heard Astia was also discontinued in 4x5. I did manage to get a box of it at my local shop and the results are great.

I tried projecting Ektar 100 and it just looked terrible on the screen.

You have to use a special anti-light bulb in your projector 😀

 

[Steve_F]

I use Ektachrome E100G. I'd say it gives very true to life colours. I used to shoot a lot of Velvia but looking back they all seem a little 'too rich' in all aspects. Try the E100G I think you'll like it.
I was looking through slides recently taken of me as an infant on the 60's, on Kodachrome 25 and they too look like yesterday (in archival way). There were also a few Agfa, I think, that were yellowing. My father always shot Kodachrome but now shoots digital as it's cheaper and more convenient! I'm shooting loads of my kids on slide for future-proofing. I mean if I'd have found a 44 yr old hard drive......then what.

Steve.