Mackinaw
Think Different
Back in the 80’s we lived in a rural area a long way from any processing lab, so I learned to process E-6 at home. It’s not at all hard, but you do have to hold the first developer at 100 degrees, plus-or-minus a 1/2 degree, for a few minutes. If you can find a way to keep a water bath at that temperature for several minutes, you’re pretty much home free.
Jim B.
michaelwj
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Ordering my Ektachrome T-shirt this week!https://www.kodak.com/US/en/Consumer/Products/Classic-Tshirts/default.htm
Does not ship to Australia
dave lackey
Veteran
Does not ship to Australia
Surely there is a way to get you a T-shirt from here. What is shipping cost fircsomething small and light like a T-shirt?
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
These days you can get a full minilab like a Noritsu or Agfa DLab2 for the cost of hauling it away. You need a moving truck and a few folks to help with pushing an 800lb processor but oterwise now that so many labs are gone, all their equipment is just taking up space waiting to be carted away. More often than not, these machines are simply broken up for valuable metals to be recycled.
Phil Forrest
Larry Cloetta
Veteran
I have thought about doing that, but in the waning days of local processing service here (small town with 5 or 6 places with minilabs) it became increasingly frequent to go to pick up prints or slides at any of those places, only to be told they were not ready because “the machine is down” awaiting for the repair tech from out of town (300 miles) to come get it running again.
Thinking ownership through with that history in mind put me off, but I know no more than that.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Repairing an Agfa Dlab is easy. The system is basically just a timed transport. I went through the Agfa tech course and although the machine seems very complicated, just a few specialized parts and a bunch of basic ones make it work.
Phil Forrest
Phil Forrest
Bob Michaels
nobody special
I too processed much E-6 at home back in the 80's as both of the local labs had QC problems. Buying 100' spools of Ektachrome and bulk loading it saved a lot on film. But mounting each individual slide in a heat sealed cardboard mount was a time consuming PITA until I learned a key lesson that sticks with me today.
I learned to be a decisive editor during the process, not later. While processing 3 rolls of film in a tank was easy manually mounting 108 35mm slides was not. So I learned to sit down at a light table with 3 (or however many) uncut rolls of processed transparencies and rapidly decide which frames to mount and which went into the trash. I learned to edit first and have confidence in my irreversible decisions. That sticks with me still.
I have read for years everyone's bitches and time consuming struggles to scan all 36 negatives in a roll of 35mm film. Not me, I used those old skills learned back in those E-6 days to edit the uncut negs first and then only scan the real keepers.
So I suggest one not consider home processing of E-6 unless you have or are willing to develop the ability to do a primary but irreversible edit. Otherwise you can drive yourself to frustration manually mounting volumes of individual slides.
Richard G
Veteran
Can't see what you're all seeing. It just takes me to a front page. Can't find the actual story. Help, please. I scrolled through 11 pages of contents and found some interesting stories, too skimpily covered to be at all satisfying.
dave lackey
Veteran
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
No one gets 100% keepers. I'm happy to get one or two per roll.
Bob Michaels is absolutely correct; one must edit and cull mercilessly.
Today how many RAID arrays must be filled with countless mediocre images,
each indistinguishable from the next...
BTW has Kodak designated any particular lab(s) to be their official Ektachrome processor(s)?
Chris
Bob Michaels is absolutely correct; one must edit and cull mercilessly.
Today how many RAID arrays must be filled with countless mediocre images,
each indistinguishable from the next...
BTW has Kodak designated any particular lab(s) to be their official Ektachrome processor(s)?
Chris
Contarama
Well-known
Im sure my local camera store with Kodak credentials will be able to handle it.
michaelwj
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I think it’s geoblocked. I get the same “something went wrong” front page.
brbo
Well-known
You are making it sound like mounting slides is a must or that mounting a slide is somehow more time consuming than wet printing a negative. Neither is true, or course.
You still have to develop the film first and developing E-6 is just as easy (easier in fact) as C-41. It just takes a bit longer and it's the longer times that make it easier.
brbo
Well-known
https://www.kodak.com/motion/support/laboratories_directory/index.htm
It was reported a while back that Kodak sent a bunch of rolls of their new Ektachrome to be developed at various labs and then shared back their sensitometric results with the labs. Apparently this data wasn't meant for the public to establish the "best" labs but to help the labs get an idea about where they stand in comparison to other labs and Kodak's internal processing.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
I've given up trying to view that article. When I click on the link it takes me to the main page, tells me there has been a mistake and please scroll down to find your article. I gave that up after about five pages!
Freakscene
Obscure member
I've given up trying to view that article. When I click on the link it takes me to the main page, tells me there has been a mistake and please scroll down to find your article. I gave that up after about five pages!
It’s geoblocked Keith, and the splashpage you get taken to is the .au site - get a vpn, or go visit the US.
Marty
valdas
Veteran
So they have Steve Jobs poster on the wall and want to bring film back???
NickTrop
Veteran
Never tried to develop color, but I'm thinking a Sous Vide wand to keep water temp consistent? You can throw in a couple steaks while you're at it.
Ted Striker
Well-known
It wasnt sustainable for Fujifilm (which is 1000 times more stable a company than Kodak), why would you think it would work elsewhere?
Ted Striker
Well-known
Fascinating article. The machines that Kodak created are just amazing. Yet at the same time, one can see clearly why Kodak is in an unwinnable situation. Downsizing their operation basically means blowing up the whole process and starting over. It would take a staggering amount of capital (which EK does not have) to build a coating facility that is right sized to today's much much smaller film market.