What is the best film around to capture that 1970s look?

markrich

markrich

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Is there any off-the-shelf film brand available that gives that slightly off colour 1970s look to photos?
 
I have been wondering the same thing for a while. I think that from what I have seen Kodak Ektar 100 might be what you need. I think you get lots of colour shift depending on exposure so perhaps you can find the look that way.
I am sure you probably get better answers in a moment :)

This is the link I remember looking at. From Roger Hicks website
http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/reviews%20kodak%20ektar%20100.html
 
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I'm guessing at where you're going with this, so apologies if I've misunderstood...

The colour you see in books from the seventies, I believe, is the effect of the limited pallet allowed by four colour printing at the time. They hadn't yet perfected miscible inks, so what you got depended very much on how well the platemaker and the machine minder could balance the separations, to mimic the original image.

Movies from the 'sixties and 'seventies are often seen from old positives that have faded with time, because they were made on stock that doesn't have the longevity of, say, Technicolor. The optical soundtracks have also degraded, so you get that rather distinctive mushiness from your speaker.

Old colour prints, like the movie positives, have faded, so you're not seeing what the original viewers saw. The same applies to reversal transparencies, though I believe Kodachromes used particularly stable dyes, so a well kept set of Kodachromes will give you a better idea of what was considered "good" colour in the past.

I hope this helps.
 
Fuji R25 Single 8 movie film has a 1970s look, but you'd have to go to a fair amount of trouble to use it. Buy a Single 8 camera, buy film from Japan, send to Japan for processing. I believe they will stop the process this year. It is an amazing look however.
 
Re earlier point, I understand the colours fade over time. I was hoping there was a film that could provided a slightly faded, colour tinted, 70s look from the start. Just tried a search for the Schlecker but no joy. Perhaps I may have better luck at a store when I'm in Berlin next week.

I have the Voigtlander Classic 35mm f/1.4 SC lens on my Bessa R2a.
 
I suggest to try Ektar 100 and use exposure to control the tones. Roger has some examples on his website.

Roland.
 
I did read Roger's article with the Ektar after the recommendation near the top of the thread.
The adjusted in Photoshop image looks nice. Sadly I can't afford that level of software although I suspect with a little reading I could do the same in Aperture. :)
 
Color fading: The yellow/blue layer is the first to be effected by color fading since it's the top layer of emulsion. Next up is the green/magenta level. Given enough time, you're left with only red/cyan.

Also, for 70's look blacks, you'll want more mud then black.
 
Not sure what look your looking for. Perhaps something like this. With kodak Ektar 100. I think lens plays a huge part in getting that look. This is a Tokina 135mm Canon FD lens.
 
Your's truly trackside waiting on a train with Canon AE-1p & ektar 100. I think this is a Canon 35-70mm lens. I was also shooting with my canon 28/2.8 FD lens. Portra 160 NC is a good film too for what your looking for. that is if you can still find it.
 
I'm going to try and grab a couple of rolls of all those suggested here and give them a go. It'll give the people in the lab something to think or grumble about with all the variations they need to consider :)
 
This is Ektar 100, more or less as it came out of the scanner:

7032513133_1b3cbdb85e_o.jpg
 
SirAlien said:
I did read Roger's article with the Ektar after the recommendation near the top of the thread.
The adjusted in Photoshop image looks nice. Sadly I can't afford that level of software although I suspect with a little reading I could do the same in Aperture. :)
Click to expand...

I was wondering...

Is the "expensive" version of Photoshop much different from Photoshop Elements? In the past, Elements was considered to have 85% of the functionality of the pricy CS versions.

Also, I notice that fleaBay has Elements 8 for around 30 dollars....some of which look like they might actually be "new"...versus "used".

Just wondering,

Robt.
 
It depends on what sort of 1970's look you are after.. For example Ernst Haas used the Kodachome I until the end of the 70's (refrigerated), deep saturated tones even hard to duplicate with Kodachrome II (see The Creation). Kodacolors or Vericolors of the 70's used to exhibit a different spectrum, somewhat not so intensified (bleached) colors in comparison to the modern print films. If you are after the colors you've seen in magazines or books then they again are totally different than what was on the film as Sejanus.Aelianus pointed to they are only four color printing.

Do you have a sample print or slide so we could figure out what you mean?
 
You can do this with any film, fresh or not:

1. Overexpose your negative film when shooting.
Because as film fade, it becomes brighter when scanned, not darker.

2. Then in post-processing, increase the white balance temperature, this can be done even with the simpler programs than PS. By doing this, you'll contribute to the warm/worn look of yesteryear photographs.
 
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