Ektachrome

[bunnspecial]

I know this is the "Digital Photography" forum, but I still shoot a lot of film-including a lot of slide film.

In the beginning of 2017, Kodak announced that they were re-introducing Ektachrome slide film. Since 2012, Fujifilm has been the only supplier of color reversal(slide) materials, and only in three emulsions-Velvia 50, Velvia 100, and Provia 100F.

I LOVE Velvia, and am one of those snobs who really only likes the ASA 50 version of it(although I shoot 100 in sheet film since I have to buy RVP50 sheets from Japan, and also have some RVP100 in 220 on order).

With that said, Kodak's last generation of Ektachrome-specifically E100G and E100GX-were beautifully "clean" films with nice, crisp, and bright but not over-done color rendition. Thus, I've been eagerly awaiting the reintroduced film.

When I first heard a few weeks ago that it was starting to ship to distributors, I placed a couple of small pre-orders with a few different suppliers. Those pre-orders are starting to trickle in, and the first arrived today.

I wasted no time in loading some in the F4(I'm going to load some old stock E100G in my other F4) and hope to have it at the lab by mid-week and hopefully get the processed film back in my hands by Thursday or Friday(work schedule permitting). Let's just say that I'm excited about finally having some in-date Ektachrome in my freezer.

BTW, I'm interested to see what sort of color rendition the new stuff has. Ektachrome has traditionally been a fairly "cool" film. The E100GX version was designated as "warm" but it always looked "normal" to my eyes. I suspect that Kodak has either replicated the more popular E100G or "split the difference" and put it somewhere between E100G and E100GX(kind of like they did with saturation on the Portra films when the NC and VC versions were combined into a single type). Fortunately, warming filters are a thing, and chances are it will always be behind an 81B or 81C(I grab an 81A even with the already-warm Velvia).

 

[kenoh]

I know this is the "Digital Photography" forum, but I still shoot a lot of film-including a lot of slide film.

In the beginning of 2017, Kodak announced that they were re-introducing Ektachrome slide film. Since 2012, Fujifilm has been the only supplier of color reversal(slide) materials, and only in three emulsions-Velvia 50, Velvia 100, and Provia 100F.

I LOVE Velvia, and am one of those snobs who really only likes the ASA 50 version of it(although I shoot 100 in sheet film since I have to buy RVP50 sheets from Japan, and also have some RVP100 in 220 on order).

With that said, Kodak's last generation of Ektachrome-specifically E100G and E100GX-were beautifully "clean" films with nice, crisp, and bright but not over-done color rendition. Thus, I've been eagerly awaiting the reintroduced film.

When I first heard a few weeks ago that it was starting to ship to distributors, I placed a couple of small pre-orders with a few different suppliers. Those pre-orders are starting to trickle in, and the first arrived today.

View attachment 795367

I wasted no time in loading some in the F4(I'm going to load some old stock E100G in my other F4) and hope to have it at the lab by mid-week and hopefully get the processed film back in my hands by Thursday or Friday(work schedule permitting). Let's just say that I'm excited about finally having some in-date Ektachrome in my freezer.

BTW, I'm interested to see what sort of color rendition the new stuff has. Ektachrome has traditionally been a fairly "cool" film. The E100GX version was designated as "warm" but it always looked "normal" to my eyes. I suspect that Kodak has either replicated the more popular E100G or "split the difference" and put it somewhere between E100G and E100GX(kind of like they did with saturation on the Portra films when the NC and VC versions were combined into a single type). Fortunately, warming filters are a thing, and chances are it will always be behind an 81B or 81C(I grab an 81A even with the already-warm Velvia).

Looking forward to seeing some output from this.

 

[tizeye]

While looking forward to seeing some posted, what do you use to digitize?

 

[bunnspecial]

While looking forward to seeing some posted, what do you use to digitize?

My main scanner for 35mm negatives is a Nikon Coolscan V(I have an 8000 still on lay-a-way at a local shop, and when I get it I'll see how 35mm results from it compare to the V-I suspect I'll keep using the 5 since loading the 8000 is a bit tedious).

For logistics reasons, the first scans I post will probably be from my "back up" scanner-a Coolscan III. This doesn't have the resolution of the V, and gets passed on a lot since it's SCSI. The former isn't a huge deal(3200 dpi vs. 4000) and the latter isn't a problem if you're also a PowerPC collector . It will probably be a week and a half before I can use my V again.

 

[fathergll]

Very cool. I've thought about going to film but personally it would have to be medium format at the very least to make up for the IQ difference of digital.

 

[bunnspecial]

Very cool. I've thought about going to film but personally it would have to be medium format at the very least to make up for the IQ difference of digital.

35mm is all we're getting for now in Ektachrome.

Hopefully, if it's successful we'll see medium format and even sheet film.

If I had to rid myself of all but one of my film cameras, I'd keep my Hasselbad 500C...

 

[bunnspecial]

Here's a quick scan. It will be a few more days before I can use my Coolscan V, so the Coolscan III is serving in the meantime. I had to take it apart and clean the optics as I was getting fuzzy and "glowing" highlights. It's still not perfect, but I hope that I can give better scans from a better scanner soon.

These shots were done on a Nikon F4, and this particular one was with a 14-24mm f/2.8. I used matrix metering and shot as metered more or less, although I did make some use of exposure lock/recompose. Unfortunately, I thought I had the(cryptic) MF-23 data back set to print exposure data between frames, but instead it printed the date on the frames. The F4 data back is unfortunately a victim of 1980s Japanese "put in more features than anyone needs, but too few buttons and displays to actually show what's going on" design philosophy. The data back can be used as an alarm clock, for crying out loud!

In any case, here's what I have. The scans are, overall to my eye, a reasonable representation of the transparencies. As I predicted when the film was first announced, the color balance is a bit cool for my taste. My first roll was done with no filtration, but the next roll will most likely make judicious use of 81 series filters at a minimum(perhaps even an 81B or C-I never go stronger than an A with Velvia) or likely a "Moose" warm polarizer. With that said, when properly exposed my impression is that blues and reds are very strong(blue has always been one of Ektachrome's "strong" colors) while greens are a bit weak.

 

[fathergll]

Here's a quick scan.

Wait, did you include a link to the scan?

 

[bunnspecial]

Sorry-got too caught up in writing to attach. I’ll do it when I’m back in front of my computer

 

[bunnspecial]

Let's try now

 

[fathergll]

The scan is very low res but the colors are very cool.

 

[bunnspecial]

Unfortunately, I can't upload full-res files. There's a lot more resolution in the original scans than shows.

 

[fathergll]

Now this might get me back to film and pick up a medium format camera. 72 MP scan . https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1924/45127479441_75e68daf90_o.jpg

It's a Kodak Ektachrome 64T expired. Come on Kodak!

 

[baypharm]

35mm is all we're getting for now in Ektachrome.

Hopefully, if it's successful we'll see medium format and even sheet film.

If I had to rid myself of all but one of my film cameras, I'd keep my Hasselbad 500C...

Makes me wonder why they stopped producing it in the first place if they are now thinking of bringing it back. I’d keep my Mamiya 7 over any 35mm...

 

[bunnspecial]

Makes me wonder why they stopped producing it in the first place if they are now thinking of bringing it back. I’d keep my Mamiya 7 over any 35mm...

Just to be clear, there's no "thinking about bring back" Ektachrome at all-it's done and I have some of the product in my hands.

Kodak's last totally new emulsion was Ektar 100, and strong initial sales in 35mm led to it eventually being available in sizes up to 8x10.

The new E100(Ektachrome) is in 35mm and Super 8. I suspect Kodak saw the strongest initial market for these sizes, and others will follow assuming sales hold as strong as the initial "run" was. Most places are now reporting January availability at the earliest(for 35mm) for those who missed out on the first batch.