Kodachrome - gloomy greens?

<p>I have been using Kodachrome much more recently - like many I suspect to help keep the process going.</p>

<p>However, it is all going a bit wrong. I sent my Mum off on holiday with her compact camera loaded with some and have been using it myself, however when projected, the greens of plants look dark grey green in colour. They don't have any life or vibrance. The reds, yellows and blues look passable, but green is horrible. Now I am getting complaints at the slide showings and my Mum refuses to use it any more.</p>

<p>Any ideas what may be wrong?</p>

<p>Ian</p>

<p>Well, Kodachrome greens <em>are</em> more subdued than in basically any other slide film. I find it realistic and pleasant to look at, others are bothered by it, especially those used to Fujichrome or digital. I was loading a roll of Kodachrome in my camera; a friend (also a photographer) saw it and asked "Why is the cassette yellow and red? Is it because it can't do green?"<br>

But if it really looks as horrible as you say, and more grey than green, I'd suspect that something is wrong either with the film (was it outdated or stored incorrectly?), in the processing (unlikely) or in the exposure (unlikely if the pictures otherwise seem well exposed). How do the greens compare to those from your other Kodachrome rolls?</p>

<p>Is it possible that the compact camera cannot recognise ISO 64 on the DX coding and exposed it at EI 100 instead?<br>

I have known of compacts which only work at 100 and 400.</p>

<p>I got a few rolls of K64 to try before it goes extinct, and my impressions of the colors were the same; the greens are muted and sometimes a bit gray, the reds and oranges look good, and the blues are rather peculiar. Unless you are really after a '70s color palette for some sort of artistic effect, I'm afraid I don't see the reason for using it (the longevity over E6 isn't a compelling reason for me). </p>

<p>Fredrik - my previous rolls have not had much green in them and where I did have green leaves, the sun was shining through them making them brighter. On my latest rolls I took some photos of poppies and roses in subdued light and the (admittedly already) darker rose leaves came out very muted - almost blended together.<br>

Steve, I set the camera to 64 - it does not have DX coding, but it still did not help.<br>

Jerry, I agree about the reds, oranges (and yellows). They really jump out. I don't like overdone colours, but as my projector is only 100 Watts, any reduction in colour soon shows as you can imagine.</p>

<p>Perhaps I need to use the film for more specific applications - not just general photography. I may also try it at 50 ASA.</p>

<p>Ian</p>

<p>I've shot many rolls of Kodachrome 64 over the years, and I've never seen bad greens (or any other color for that matter). It's an outstanding film when properly exposed.</p>

<p>Greens and blues <em>are</em> subdued in Kodachrome - it is not a "colorful" film unlike many E6 films - it is either a point in its favor or against it depending on your view. It is a high contrast film, but with neutral colors.</p>

<p>Perhaps the song about it making the 'world a sunny' day was misleading to me.</p>

<p>I've shot at least 4 rolls this year of PKR. Two rolls (April 09) were in Seattle and various areas in King County and the other two rolls (May 09) were in various areas in Los Angeles County.</p>

<p>The two rolls that I shot in Washington were amazing. So when I took a trip to California, I took along two more rolls of PKR and one Roll of E100VS, along with my 5D.</p>

<p>Results: PKR and E100VS were both shipped to Dwayne's in the same package. The PKR was so lifeless, very grainy and very flat. The E100VS had life to it. Yes, a bit of grain, but that's E100VS but the colors were vivid, images where sharp.</p>

<p>What are you comparing it to? Or, to put it another way: are there current slide films, other than Kodachrome, which are not enormously over-saturated?</p>

<p>I'd say Fuji Astia is not over-saturated and is a natural looking moderate contrast portrait film. I also use it for landscape and long exposure night photography. It's also quite fine grained. These attributes make it easier to shoot and scan than Kodachrome so anyone frustrated with Kodachrome might give it a try. For a cheaper film try Sensia 100.</p>

<p>from my experience with Kodachrome 64, if it's fresh, the greens should be green maybe just a bit subdued. see example bellow. however, recently i stumbled on this store on amazon and they sold 5 rolls for $25 that expired in mid 2007. so i bought some and the colors in general were a bit less vivid but greens in particular were muted. is it possible your film was old?</p><div></div>

<p>You're using Kodachrome--that's what's wrong. This revisits the reason pro nature/wildlife shooters abandoned Kodachrome in the early 90s for Fuji Velvia. Sentimentality/nostalgia aside, they and their clients liked the pumped saturation and vivid green palette that made Kodachrome 25/64/200 look washed out by comparison on the editorial light table. Unless Kodachrome processing is somehow easier to access than a good E6 line, I'd skip it in favor of any Kodak or Fuji ISO100 slide film.</p>

<p>I just did a roll of flowers for a camera club assignment and the greens were great. Occasionally, I do notice that greens in thing such as grass come out dark, but not all of the time.</p>

<p>Like I've said, Kodachromes' green foilages/plants can be blah compared to the "high-sat." films such as Velvia or Ektachrome GX. The Big K needs to be shot at or near 90degrees to the sun with a good polarizer to bring out its best characteristics. I coudn't imagine wasting a roll in a compact camera with no filter.</p>

<p>Thank you for the replies - very informative.</p>

<p>The only other slide film I have used is Boots own, but the greens on that were sickly and puce coloured, so now I use the legendary Kodachrome. I want so badly to like it, but I am struggling. Kostya, your greens are fine, but they are bordering on what I see. Imagine trying to record dark greens and then everything just goes muddy. The blues on your photo are like my blues. My film is in date - August 2009 expiry.</p>

<p>Actually, I have just been given some rolls of 100 speed Fuji Sensia with which I have taken photos of the wild orchids. I will see how those compare.</p>

<p>I am still learning for sure - up until recently I only ever used print film.</p>

<p>"You're using Kodachrome--that's what's wrong. This revisits the reason pro nature/wildlife shooters abandoned Kodachrome in the early 90s for Fuji Velvia."</p>

<p>Ah, yes. Velvia. That's a film that I loath beause of the nuclear colors. But that's because I prefer the natural pallet of Fuji Astia.</p>

<p>Grens are not very snappy and vibrant with Kodachrome, but the murky grey green you refer to is cuased by underexposure. I have encountered it myself before. Her compact is probably shoot the 64 at 100 - that is what most compact will defualt too when haced with a 64 iso or 160 iso, or other "odd" iso's.<br>

Note that the Olympus Stylus Epic will shoot it at 50, and looks great. You cant even see the slight over exposure.<br>

Either get her a Stylus Epic, or use an iso 100 slide film in her current compact.</p>

<p>Kodachrome 64 and woodland greens. Stylus Epic at ISO 50.</p>

<p><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/3007758801_d09e6a094b_o.jpg">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/3007758801_d09e6a094b_o.jpg</a></p>

<p>also,<br>

<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/3008597564_a2eca10e1c_o.jpg">http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/3008597564_a2eca10e1c_o.jpg</a></p>

<p>I don't really understand the problem. Are you guys still using Kodak Carousel projectors to show your work? <br>

I ask because as soon as an image is in a digital form the hue and saturation of each color is enirely determined by your taste.<br>

This was shot on Kodachrome 64 about 35 years ago:</p><div></div>

<p>And this one was shot about 15 years ago:</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks again. Randall, those look nice - I feel 'generous' exposure does help with the greens from what I see here. Greg, those are nice too - but as I project my slides in a little projector tweaks are not possible sadly.</p>

<p>I'm sorry, I didn't take notice of the phrase "...when projected...".<br>

But as I recall, most slide projectors use bulbs that burn at about 2800 degrees Kelvin. That's pretty far to the red end of the color spectrum and is thus is sure to muddy up greens and, to a lesser extent, blues.<br>

I don't know what can be done about it short of putting a light blue gel in front of the projector lens.</p>

 

<p>Darker colors in Kodachrome can lack purity. It's not an accurate film, it's a look you either like or don't. I find it best in bright sunny weather, any grayness, and it can get pretty lifeless.<br>

Just checked some scanned Kodachrome 25, and even there the greens can be muted.</p>