"retro" looking Ektachrome emulsions - now I get it

[John J. Genna]

I always wondered what everyone meant when they said how the original

Ektachromes (EPR, EPN, EPP) had a dated or retro look to them. I had seen some

old examples of EPR and thought they looked fantastic and that they looked

anything but retro. This summer I shot E100VS for the first time and then

right after that I shot EPR for the first time, thus enabling me to compare

the two and now I totally see what they're talking about. The shadow areas in

EPR not not really solid black, they come out a dark gray, maybe even brown,

which makes sense since this technology was Kodak's next step from the E-4

emulsions, whose shadows were REALLY gray. If you look at E100VS, the shadows

are true black.

[25asa]

The VS film is more exagerated since its a high contrast and high saturation film like Velvia. EPR has normal contrast and saturation. I would compare EPR against E100G to be fair. I shot a roll of each not long ago and they looked close to me.

[edgar_njari]

That's one part of it, yea, but there is so much more that makes certain films look vintage

wide highlights sholder and shadow toe, color precision, sharpness, flesh to neutral reproduction, color crossover

Are only a part of the complex network of factors that make older emulsions have a different look.

 

The best way to find out what gives that retro look is to ask yourself a counterquestion: what has improved over the last 20 years.

[george_d._gianni]

I always thought the EPR emulsion to be too blueish and, as you found out, not producing solid blacks though it was rather contrasty.

 

Back in the early nineties I much preferred EPP for its delicate skin tones and not too vivid colours. EPP reminds me of the current Astia and still does not look retro. But compared to it directly, or compared to the modern E100G/GX emulsions, it sure is grainy!

[bill_tuthill]

Here is an interesting old thread about <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00CKM4&tag=">

EPR 64 experiences</A>.

[john_shriver]

All the neutral Ektachromes look a bit bluish outdoors, since the color temperature can be bluer than 5000K, especially in shadows. EPN and E100G are at their best in the studio with electronic flash. The warmed-up version, E100GX, works really nice outdoors for me, things just look right. The problem is that a neutral film doesn't see what your brain sees, your brain filters out the color of the light.

 

But they're all better than the E-4 Ektachromes, which were just icy blue in outdoor light.