What film emulsions available/common in the 80s and early 90s?

[Hari]

Also, Kodachrome 64 was available in 120 size. I shot about half a dozen
rolls back then. Plus for sheet film, Super-XX and a lot of others.

 

[Noserider]

I was a high school photo student in the early 80's (and photo shop monkey) who turned news/sports pro by the late 80's thru the 90's into the 2000's.

As one who was set on becoming a pro I was focused on films that would be acceptable for publication, so for color it was pretty exclusively Kodachrome 25 and 64 up to the later 80's when most magazine/editorial action/sports shooters I was in competition with switched to Fuji Velvia and RDP (100 ISO and less garish and which became Provia). Looking for an edge I tried and used most other medium and slow speed slide films such as Kodak's EPR, EPN, both of the Lumiere's (quite a fantastic look btw) and a reasonable amount of Kodachrome 200.

In the news-paper era of my photo career the newspaper I worked for stocked Tmax 400 in bulk rolls with single rolls of TMax P3200 for the really dark stadiums. I was allowed to shoot any other film I wanted and I would rotate thru Ilford HP5+ and Fuji Neopan 400 which was many of the other shooters at my paper as well as our crosstown competitors most commonly used black and white film. I also mixed in Neopan 1600 as well as Tmax 100 and tried to use everything but the day to day black and white for the paper was Tmax 400 (first version). I ended up mostly processing the Tax 400 in D-76 1:1 which helped keep the highlights in check, it seemed with the earlier versions of the Tmax films everyone had problems keeping the denser parts of the negs from being unprintable. One shooter on staff only shot Tri-X and processed in HC-110 Dil B and he did that for years, same film same developer same time same temp.

For color at the paper we stocked Kodak EPD 200 which the color separation guys as well as the press we ran on had a good handle on color balance and even though EPD wasn't my favorite color slide film I got some good images with it. We did all the E-6 processing in house by hand in tempered water baths and I got pretty good at doing slight pushes and pulls to hit a good balance for reproduction. Every now and then I would end up shooting a roll of something else and that weeks color would be off and shot would hit the fan with people freaking until I pointed out the film stock change. The big wigs didn't like an inconsistent product so I had to more strongly adhere to using EPD. Eyeroll.

There was a small time just before everyone and everything went digital when the papers switched to using color neg and we mostly used Ektapress 400 and 1600 as well as Fuji Superia 400 and HG 1600.

Looking back I can see how much the impact of the switch to digital in the newspaper industry had. When I got further up the command chain I used to pick up the film from the local film supplier and I would get 10-12 bulk rolls of Tmax 400 every other week, sometimes weekly depending on the workload/size of the paper. A staggering amount to me now and yet I know that the daily papers had 2-3x the volume.

 

[Ambro51]

One of my “hobbies” in those days was visiting little mom and pop drug stores is south jersey looking at their film stocks. 116, 616, 828....id Buy that stuff.

 

[rlouzan]

Fujichrome 100

 

[shawn]

Let's not forget about 110, disc, and APS. I think my parents stopped using 35mm in the early '80's.

No APS in 80s or early 90s. That was mid to later 90s as I recall. Disc cameras died pretty quickly (certainly by 1990 though the film continued). 126 and 127 was still around in the 80s and being used.

Shawn

 

[Richard G]

Has the quality of 800 speed color film changed a lot from the early 90's? I remember back then Kodak or Fuji 800 had ridiculous grain at 5x7 prints, but now I get fantastic quality at 20x30 using Lomo 800 (Kodak).
It could have been the typical awful 1 hour processing labs that caused it.. which is why I don't miss those 'film glory days'...

Yes. The grain from Kodacolor 400 even was pretty savage. And it was merciless with any underexposure, unlike say Fuji Superia 200 or 400 now.

And I also see envelopes in my archives of Kodacolor II. I haven’t checked but I presume that’s 100 ISO too

 

[shawn]

Were ASA 400 films common? Would I have likely used Kodak Gold? Would I have been able to readily buy Tri-X from the shops?

Kodak 200 or 400 color film was pretty much available *everywhere*. Tri-X or PlusX was very easy to find too. As were camera stores....

Shawn

 

[James24]

I used to use FP4 and HP5 a lot. I think XP1 came out in the late 80s too.

Kodachromes, Ektachromes, Agfa CT18 for transparencies.

 

[Prest_400]

Has the quality of 800 speed color film changed a lot from the early 90's? I remember back then Kodak or Fuji 800 had ridiculous grain at 5x7 prints, but now I get fantastic quality at 20x30 using Lomo 800 (Kodak).
It could have been the typical awful 1 hour processing labs that caused it.. which is why I don't miss those 'film glory days'...

Although Kodak Vision 3 in MP is theoretically not even in Portra 800, I could imagine that in the late 90s to mid 2000s the Kodak vs Fuji war did a lot to improve the films. OT but I've watched a few contemporary movies shot extensively on Kodak 500T and it has a nice fine grain and texture to it.


I would imagine the Lomography (Kodacolor) and Kodak Color Plus being the most similar to the films of the time. Ditto for Fujicolor C200.



Kodachrome 64 in 120 I'd love to try! I was lucky enough to catch some of the 35mm in 2009 but what an experience it would be in 6x9 😱


From looking at our family snaps from the time, negs of:

Kodacolor VR, Ektar 125, earlier Golds
Agfacolor
Fujicolor HG and such variations
Konicacolor


B&W seems quite more classic and unchanged, taking the example of Ilford (https://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Ilford/Chronology.html) FP4+ and FP5+ and the first of Delta were introduced in 1989-90, but they may have had tweaks.
Interestingly back in the day (2005 as a kid) I never heard of Ilford.

 

[oftheherd]

In Melbourne Australia I used Plus X (100 ASA), Tri-X, Panatomic X (32 ASA) Kodacolor 100 and 400 ASA, Kodachrome 25 and Kodachrome 64. Ektachrome 160. All bought from the local pharmacy. I also used Ilford FP4 in the mid 1980s and bought some in Italy and can’t remember if my local pharmacy had that too.

I was using FP4 and HP5 in the mid-70s in Korea. I thought HP5 had better tonality, but Tri-X pushed better. Also, it seemed impossible to water spot the Ilford films while they were drying. I got so curious, I actually tried to cause water spots and simply could not.

Kodak HIE (infrared), also Konica film, and Ilford.

Infrared was a fun film to use. Kodak had a nice booklet on its use.

 

[Archiver]

What a great set of suggestions, stories and memories, thank you everyone! This thread has turned out even better than I had hoped.

One of my regrets is the relative photographic void of my teenage and young adult years. I make up for it now with solid photography that documents my daily life.

But what I'd like to do is create retrospective memories, using cameras and film that I could have used at that time. My Olympus XA2 is at the ready, as my Dad's lovely Pentax ME, I just need to find the right kind of film and shoot things of that time period in the right way. Thank you all for your suggestions of appropriate film!

 

[CMur12]

Also, Kodachrome 64 was available in 120 size. I shot about half a dozen
rolls back then. Plus for sheet film, Super-XX and a lot of others.

That's right! I remember being deliriously happy when Kodachrome became available in 120.

I used to use FP4 and HP5 a lot. I think XP1 came out in the late 80s too.

Kodachromes, Ektachromes, Agfa CT18 for transparencies.

I remember using a lot of Agfachrome CT18 in the early 1970s, and I really liked it. But it had to be developed by Agfa in their own proprietary process and I believe that it was discontinued by the 1980s in favor of new E6 emulsions.

- Murray

 

[David Hughes]

What a great set of suggestions, stories and memories, thank you everyone! This thread has turned out even better than I had hoped.

One of my regrets is the relative photographic void of my teenage and young adult years. I make up for it now with solid photography that documents my daily life.

But what I'd like to do is create retrospective memories, using cameras and film that I could have used at that time. My Olympus XA2 is at the ready, as my Dad's lovely Pentax ME, I just need to find the right kind of film and shoot things of that time period in the right way. Thank you all for your suggestions of appropriate film!

Hi,

In your shoes I'd go and buy some Fuji C200 (for prints) and experiment with one or two others.

Don't forget that the lens, light and exposure will affect the colour you get from the film a little, or too much if things go wrong. Anyway I'll wish you luck.

Regards, David

PS and think hard before using slide film as a projector etc,etc will be needed and then there's storage etc...

PPS And don't forget to get some photo books from that period for total immersion...

 

[Prest_400]

One of my regrets is the relative photographic void of my teenage and young adult years. I make up for it now with solid photography that documents my daily life.

But what I'd like to do is create retrospective memories, using cameras and film that I could have used at that time. My Olympus XA2 is at the ready, as my Dad's lovely Pentax ME, I just need to find the right kind of film and shoot things of that time period in the right way. Thank you all for your suggestions of appropriate film!

Glad that for my time I had a digital camera for quite some time although sometimes I wish I'd taken more with film, but you know how youth and money have a seemingly inversely proportional relationship. A couple of months ago I printed some TriX I shot 10 years ago, alongside some Kodachrome, and I'm very glad I did take those images then.
OT but there may be an ironical "digital dark age" because people do photograph a lot with the phone but the archiving isn't active. In a way a phone snap is a memento and an object of validation by publication, but

Back to the topic:
I've ended up doing a similar "retrospective memory", after thrifting an Oly Mju I, I began to think how that might be a portal to 1991. Kodacolor (Plus or Gold) and Fujicolor C200 is what I shot with it and it does work nicely.

I actually had an underexposed Fuji 200 frame that fooled my friend into thinking it was an old photo.

Can't find that resource, but I recalling reading a piece about different snapshot formats and how the 10x15cm/4x6" print is the 1980s-2000s snapshot format. I just got a few of these printed recently, including some shots from the above combination.

I remember using a lot of Agfachrome CT18 in the early 1970s, and I really liked it. But it had to be developed by Agfa in their own proprietary process and I believe that it was discontinued by the 1980s in favor of new E6 emulsions.

- Murray

My dad extensively used Agfachrome (CT18) in the late 70s-mid 80s and it's a reason why I shoot film. Those little slides had a great beauty.
However, for the OP's project, even modern slide (RDPIII-E100) can sometimes have a slightly vintage look with the right subject and lighting.

B&W would be rather similar in most cases. Another suggestion that is deemed quite "old school" is Fomapan, but that might have an older time look.

 

[Archiver]

Hi,

In your shoes I'd go and buy some Fuji C200 (for prints) and experiment with one or two others.

Don't forget that the lens, light and exposure will affect the colour you get from the film a little, or too much if things go wrong. Anyway I'll wish you luck.

Regards, David

PS and think hard before using slide film as a projector etc,etc will be needed and then there's storage etc...

PPS And don't forget to get some photo books from that period for total immersion...

Thank you, David! My local dev lab stocks some nice photo books, which I use for my usual film photography. I have a slightly more costly one with a hard slipcase that I use for the meagre number of pictures from my pre-digital days.


For the Pentax ME, I'm using the original SMC 50mm f1.4 that Dad got with it, and I've picked up a perfect SMC 28mm f2.8 of similar vintage.

 

[Archiver]

Glad that for my time I had a digital camera for quite some time although sometimes I wish I'd taken more with film, but you know how youth and money have a seemingly inversely proportional relationship. A couple of months ago I printed some TriX I shot 10 years ago, alongside some Kodachrome, and I'm very glad I did take those images then.
OT but there may be an ironical "digital dark age" because people do photograph a lot with the phone but the archiving isn't active. In a way a phone snap is a memento and an object of validation by publication, but

Back to the topic:
I've ended up doing a similar "retrospective memory", after thrifting an Oly Mju I, I began to think how that might be a portal to 1991. Kodacolor (Plus or Gold) and Fujicolor C200 is what I shot with it and it does work nicely.

I actually had an underexposed Fuji 200 frame that fooled my friend into thinking it was an old photo.

Can't find that resource, but I recalling reading a piece about different snapshot formats and how the 10x15cm/4x6" print is the 1980s-2000s snapshot format. I just got a few of these printed recently, including some shots from the above combination.

My dad extensively used Agfachrome (CT18) in the late 70s-mid 80s and it's a reason why I shoot film. Those little slides had a great beauty.
However, for the OP's project, even modern slide (RDPIII-E100) can sometimes have a slightly vintage look with the right subject and lighting.

B&W would be rather similar in most cases. Another suggestion that is deemed quite "old school" is Fomapan, but that might have an older time look.

Kodak Gold 200 and Fuji C200 are on my list as we speak. Your 'portal to 1991' with a Mju sounds exactly like what I'm aiming to do. I've got the family Nikon L35AD which we got in about 1987 or 88, but I feel the XA2 has more of the look that I'm after. Will definitely look into Ektachrome E100 as well.


This project might become more than just retrospective memory. We shall see!

 

[Pál_K]

Yes, Kodak Gold was everywhere. Also other formats: 127 film, Polaroid pack film, SX-70 and 600, Double 8mm movie film.

 

[mcfingon]

What a great set of suggestions, stories and memories, thank you everyone! This thread has turned out even better than I had hoped.

One of my regrets is the relative photographic void of my teenage and young adult years. I make up for it now with solid photography that documents my daily life.

But what I'd like to do is create retrospective memories, using cameras and film that I could have used at that time. My Olympus XA2 is at the ready, as my Dad's lovely Pentax ME, I just need to find the right kind of film and shoot things of that time period in the right way. Thank you all for your suggestions of appropriate film!

I've still got my XA2 that I bought in 1980, but it doesn't work any more. Some sort of electronic failure with the shutter button I think. The film I used in it most back then was Ilford HP5 which was fairly easy to find, even in country Western Australia where I live. A relatively fast film suited the go-anywhere nature of the camera. I also used some Kodachrome (which was processed in Melbourne then) when I was on motorbike trips as it was a nice compact camera to go in my jacket pocket and likely to survive if I fell off on a dirt road adventure. I'll try and find some photos from that era to show.
John Mc

 

[mcfingon]

And here's a scan from the first roll of film through my XA2. The pic was taken in October 1980 on Ilford FP4, so I must have used some of that too. It's of my brother-in-law Gordon and his motorcycle-travelling dog Gypsy on their 1974 BMW R75/6.

John Mc

 

[lxmike]

I used an awful lot of Agfa and Konca film back in the day, andof course Fujichrome by the boatload