Slide Film!

[Happy Medium]

I'm looking at starting to shoot slide film. I've been looking at Fujifilm Astia 100F and Provia 100 in particular. Does anybody have any experience with these, or any ideas for good slide film in general? As I said, I'm new to the idea and really don't know where to start. Thanks!

 

[photogoddess]

I've used Astia for portraits - Good stuff. Provia has a bit more contrast IMO so I'd use it for landscape stuff more than portrait work.

 

[wharrison]

Happy Medium:

You might find the extensive information at the sites below more than useful.


http://www.imx.nl/photosite/technical/kodachrome.html

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/technical/E100G/E100G.html

As for myself, I much prefer Kodachrome 64 - mostly because of the longevity of the dyes and the image - not to mention the fine detail, etc.

Of course, it will also make a difference as to what projector you will be using to project your slides. Previously, I posted a great deal of information on Leica projectors at this site and you might find it useful reading or reference material.

Hope these inforamtional links are more than useful.

Best regards in your photographic endeavors.

Bill

 

[ang]

I use Provia and Velvia often--I shoot a lot of outdoor and landscapes. Provia is my favorite. Velvia delivers more color if that's what you like in your photographs--for some people's taste it may be overkill.

I just got back from the Island of Capri (Italy). I used Velvia 50 on a very bright sunny day. I usually like the extra color in my landscapes, but this was the one time I thought it was too much. I was disappointed in the results. I think the natural vibrant colors of the ocean and shorelines alone would have been enough, the Velvia put it over the top for me.

I have not used Astia, but I've heard equally good things about it. As others might say, experiment with all three and see what you think.

 

[ksmattfish]

A note for newbies about Kodachrome. It's K-14 process, which means it has to be sent away for developing. Almost all other slide film is E-6, and can be processed at any full service lab.

 

[wharrison]

Happy Medium and "newbies"

About Kodachrome - even though it is a K-14 process and it has to be sent away for developing - my slides of 40 years ago are still sharp and highly detailed with distinct color separation.

Best of all, they exhibit no fading of the color dyes whatsovever - something which cannot be said of the Agfa and Fuji slide film that I used during the same period or tried again many years later.

But don't take only my word for this assessment - read below and check out the other comments at the reference given below. Do your "homework" and choose wisely with an eye towards the future use or appreciation of your slides.

"Its longevity is un-matched. I've picked up boxes of my grandfather's WWII-era Kodachromes and they looked as good as new. I dug through and found some Ektachromes or other E-4 process films also. What image there was left was hard to discern." comment by Kodachrome Loyalist

"It is almost haunting at times to look at Kodachrome slides taken so long ago, they still look like the day they were taken." comment by jbeecham

See the site below for additional references

http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/film/slide-film/Kodak/PRD_83326_3118crx.aspx

Please don't take my comments as an adversion to explore the range of photographic possibilities, but one should keep one's eye toward the future enjoyment of your past photographic efforts.

Again, my best wishes in your photographic endeavors.

Bill

 

[Ghoste]

I've shot Kodachrome K-14. It did take a while but it was worth it. I was happy with the outcomes and my manager loves the stuff. I would really like to use Velvia, I've heard great things about it. We have like 5 rolls of.. 50? Or 100? Don't remember? What's the stuff they are changing to like 100F? So I think I'm going to grab these last 5 rolls before we stop getting it in. Anyways, most of our customers are shooting the Fuji or Kodak, and the have been around a while, so that says something.

 

[J_S]

I think i'm right in saying the new fine-grained Velvia 100f is the replacement for Velvia 50. But I don't know what it looks like compared to the regular Velvia 100. Velvia 100 and Kodak Elite Chrome Extra Colour 100 both deliver contrasty slides with plenty of punchy colours. To my eye, the Velvia gives very slightly more saturated colours, particularly the greens which come out 'greener'. However the Kodak is nearly half the price here in the UK so that's what I use. Here it's often cloudy so I use that film nearly all the time to add a bit of 'punch' to scenes that would otherwise come out pretty 'flat'.

If I were shooting landscapes in Italy on a sunny day like Ang did I'd stay away from Veliva and the Kodak as the colour would be too unnatural. For this situation i'd use Fuji Provia. I've tried Fuji Sensia but I found it way too unsaturated for cloudy days.

 

[Ghoste]

Yeah, I was told Velvia brings out much cooler colors and Provia brings out the warms.

 

[ksmattfish]

Happy Medium and "newbies"

About Kodachrome - even though it is a K-14 process and it has to be sent away for developing - my slides of 40 years ago are still sharp and highly detailed with distinct color separation.

Best of all, they exhibit no fading of the color dyes whatsovever - something which cannot be said of the Agfa and Fuji slide film that I used during the same period or tried again many years later.

But don't take only my word for this assessment - read below and check out the other comments at the reference given below. Do your "homework" and choose wisely with an eye towards the future use or appreciation of your slides.

"Its longevity is un-matched. I've picked up boxes of my grandfather's WWII-era Kodachromes and they looked as good as new. I dug through and found some Ektachromes or other E-4 process films also. What image there was left was hard to discern." comment by Kodachrome Loyalist

"It is almost haunting at times to look at Kodachrome slides taken so long ago, they still look like the day they were taken." comment by jbeecham

See the site below for additional references

http://www.photographyreview.com/cat/film/slide-film/Kodak/PRD_83326_3118crx.aspx

Please don't take my comments as an adversion to explore the range of photographic possibilities, but one should keep one's eye toward the future enjoyment of your past photographic efforts.

Again, my best wishes in your photographic endeavors.

Bill

I wasn't trying to slight Kodachrome at all. It is a wonderful film, and I know it has a huge following. I'm just spreading some info that many people don't know. My experience working in a pro lab for 4 years is that new Kodachrome users are often quite disappointed at the counter when you tell them it'll be two weeks, rather than the 3 hours for E6.

You might also mention what lab/service you are using to get yours processed. I believe there are only couple labs in the USA that process K-14. The pro lab I worked at stopped taking in Kodachrome because we had such horrible customer service with our mail in/processing service. Film would get lost, or take months to return, and the people on the help line were never very helpful or concerned. We got tired of of being yelled at for something we had little control over.

Here's another help slide info link

http://www.phototechmag.com/buying_slides.htm

 

[selmerdave]

I believe Dwayne's is the one and only lab this side of the Atlantic doing K-14. One interesting thing of note, I just sent a couple more rolls of with the PK-36 Kodak mailer that seems to have been updated recently (along with the price). It says on it 7-day turnaround for E6 or K-14, but I'm not holding my breath. They also had a "valid until" date that was blacked out, through the ink I could read 12-08. Under it and not blacked-out was stamped 05-07 or something, hopefully this is not a doomsdate for Kodachrome.

Dave