I’m in the business of making detailed, sometimes very large prints which has always held me back from 35mm because of the dreaded word: grain. Super fine T-grain keeps images smooth and suitable for scanning.hahahah you guys are awesome. I see myself pairing my Nikon F5 with a 500mm lens for my next trip to Antarctica this coming December, and to Svalbard in 2020.
I recently did a comparison between old and new Kodak Ektachrome E100 film.But first an amusing story about how these two rolls met. Even though the E4 process which followed did not require re-exposure of the film after the first development, there were guys that still used the floodlamps because they thought chemical reversal was somehow not as good. Now they just need it in 120 and 4×5! One question: I’ve been looking online and some places sell “E-100” (B&H)and others sell “E-100G” (Adorama). But we were entirely ready to be disappointed again.Just got my first roll back, and my impression was, “very literal”. Through the entire decade I never shot one roll of color print film. The film reps also confirmed that amateur films were expected to spend more time in ambient temperatures, aging along the way.
I mainly shot MF b/w film and did my own D&P. I was therefore unaware of the change made to K64 in 1987. Colour neg film, especially the top Fujfilm versions, had got so much better that they sufficed for my needs in 35mm. I think it’s the added exposure latitude of Provia that provides a little more extension in the shadows that puts it over for me in the “true-to-life” department. Samples of the film batches would be processed from time to time and their colour balance assessed. It metered easily and performed as expected for a transparency film. Under-exposing will kill contrast and color. For me, I have a limit to this. It’s also a milestone that, frankly, many of us never thought possible. Prior to that, fresh Kodachrome 64 often gave slightly greenish results. Just shoot it at 100, and make sure you’ve got the right camera, lens, and light for a 100 speed film.Ektachrome E100 is no different from old school slide films in that it’s a difficult, inflexible film meant for the more experienced shooter (or at least one who has a reliable camera with an accurate metering system, and a general understanding of light).
It rewards patience and anticipation, precise subject placement, and an intimate understanding of color. The distinctive look is well suited to a wide range of applications, such as product, landscape, nature and fashion photography. I have been using my Hasselblad more and more. One thing certainly true of both Titian’s paintings and Ektachrome is the sporadic vividness of the blues, and I don’t necessarily mean in skies. I naturally gravitate towards fine grain film, such as E100, but my limit to printing 35mm will most likely be 24×36 for most prints, which is actually still quite large.
Increased film speed is useful under dim lighting conditions, or when you need Now that I am retiring, there may be time to put aside my Fujifilm W3 Real 3D digital cameras that I have used for the past decade and dig out the Stereo Realists again.So with at least these two variables (not to mention the exact calibration of the camera with respect to exposure), I wouldn’t be surprised to have different people using different labs and different scanning possibly get different enough results to disagree on some aspects of a particular “film”, when in actuality you can’t evaluate a “film” in absence of at least the processing, and then either viewing or scanning, and all that’s before you get to any subjective judgement.I dunno if I agree with your praise of Provia.
A slight difference in the developing procedure may change the characteristics of the film. KODAK PROFESSIONAL Black-and-White Films deliver superior performance across the board. A keeper. It seems to like the bright light better than Fuji.