Home E-6 Processing

[mike_shaffer]

I have been inactive in the photography hobby for some time. I was

distressed on my return to learn that Kodachrome had become so

expensive to process and difficult to find. I used to shoot nothing

but slides and preferred Kodachrome over all other films. Now that KC

is on the way out I was thinking that there is little reason to shoot

slides anymore since if I want pictures that fade I can do that as

well with C-41 films and get more exposure latitude in the process.

 

However one thought did come to mind. Maybe there would be a point if

I was to get into home processing. I know that C-41 is difficult and

expensive for home processing but how about E-6. Is home E-6 a

reasonable thing to try?

 

Another related thought... for making 120 roll film contact prints

would a slide projector be an adequate light source? Also what about

using a carefully aligned slide projector as a make shift enlarger

for 35mm just to try out the processing side of printing before

spending the bucks on an enlarger?

 

mike

[will_legge]

To print color you need a filter pack to balance the print. Color

enlargers make this easy. A projectors light source is too bright for

printing. They may be difficult to focus to make 8x10 prints as well.

If you are making black and white contact sheets, it can be done with

an ordinary 40 watt light bulb.

 

Where does your distain for E-6 come from? Kodachrome will also fade.

All color material does. To run an E-6 line requires the same level

of control as C-41. I would recommend a Jobo processor.

[bujor_b]

Mike,

 

I would add to what Will just said that another disadvantage of using a projector is the stray light in a consistent quantity, if you don't project the image from another room through a "hole" in the wall.

 

At home, E6 is almost double trouble stepwise in comparison to C41, plus, if you decide to do light fogging, you have to come up with a safe and reliable exposure system for your "long" stripe of film. If you opt for chemical fogging, besides the increased toxicity of the color developer solution, your control on the process is near to none. It is all up to your camera exposure skills.

 

If you want to try all at home, I can e-mail you the exact composition formulary for both E6 processes, starting from scratch, along with the processing steps and/or the controls (where applicable), which may affect your slides final aspect.

 

the rookie

[jordan_w.]

Mike, there have been a lot of threads in the fairly recent past on the feasibility of home C-41 and E-6 processing which you'll find if you search the photo.net archives. I have some comments on my website as well. C-41 is generally easier than E-6 in home kits, as Bujor mentions, but home kits are available for both processes.

[robert_davis2]

Home C-41 is mostly just boring work. Pour chemicals in. Play with the tank a little. Wait. Repeat. E-6 is longer times and more steps. Worse if you screw up E6 you've screwed up the final product. If you screw up C-41 maybe you haven't screwed it up enough to notice in the print.

 

Get an enlarger. Used color enlargers aren't that expensive. Color paper is fast. I'd bet you'll find the slide projector way too bright. That plus the already mentioned issue of filters.

 

On the cost issue. Both E6 and C41 aren't expensive if you do enough. It's only expensive if you're doing very few rolls of film.

[robert_martin5]

I have processed and printed color negatives in my home darkroom for over 30 years. I also tried color positives and find color negatives easier and I get better results on prints. Color is a lot more difficult than B&W. I find it a requirement to have a color enlarger, color analyzer, timer, and temperature controlled processing. I built my first color analyzer and temperature controlled processing, but later purchased a color analyzer and JOBO CPP2 for processing. You can make prints without the color analyzer and temperature controlled processing, but you will waste a lot of paper and time.

 

I am now moving to a digital flow. I am using both a digital camera and film. I take my color negative film to a professional photofinisher and have the film processed - no prints. I then scan the film on a film scanner. If I want prints, I output to a CD and take to a photofinisher for prints on Fuji Crystal Archive photographic paper. I only print a small percentage of the images. When I get an acceptable digital camera, I will probably stop using film, but I have a lot of negatives and slides I want to scan.

[andrew73]

If you have film negatives and you're sending out for professional printing anyway, why go to digital in between? I suppose you're Photoshopping them or something.

[mike_shaffer]

My distain for E-6 comes from experience (though admittedly limited). I have both ektachrome and kodachrome slides from the 1950s. The ektachromes have all faded to majenta. The kodachromes could pass for brand new slides. Kodachrome has always given me exceptional sharpness compared to E-6 films as well but the main thing is that I have no confidence that E-6 films will outlast me. I do have faith in the kodachromes though.

 

I appreciate all of the input. Nix the slide projector idea. I may look into playing around with contact prints in MF. If I can use a simple light bulb to make proof sheets I can then just send out enlargements to a good lab until I can get up the $$$ for my own printing setup.

 

At the moment I don't see myself buring up a lot of film in a short period of time so it looks like my best approach is to send out all color processing (both 35mm and MF) and experiment a little bit with B&W processing (of the negatives) first. I would like to play with EFKE 50 in MF and T-max in 35mm. I will have to keep my eyes open for some used processing equipment.

 

I recently started working in a WalMart photo lab (I know not exactly pro-lab stuff) so I can get the 35mm negatives done there but I don't think that I would trust their send out service to do the true BW or MF work.

 

Any suggestions on good mail order labs (good value not just top quality) for development and optical enlargements would be appreciated.

 

BTW does anyone have any idea why my IE can't seem to display this forum properly? On many of the posts the text seems to write all over itself. I have to view source to read much of it. or it looks like the attached screen capture.

[thomas_dannhauser]

Mike, I'm not sure when your prior Ektachrome experience dates from. The E-6 process was introduced about 1976 or so, and today's modern E-6 films have greatly improved image stability relative to their older Ektachrome relatives. With a little care (storage in a cool, dark, dry place), I suspect any images you shoot on a modern E-6 film will outlast you.

 

Home E-6?? Most critical step of standard E-6 is first developer, which requires very careful control of time, temperature, and agitation. The color developer is extremely alkaline (pH=11.7) and needs to be handled with care. Standard E-6 has 7 different processing solutions, along with 2 to 3 water wash steps. It takes about 40 minutes to run a single process (only the first 15 in total darkness, if that's any help), and then you need to dry, chop, and mount your film. How valuable is your time?

 

I know there are 3-bath E-6 kits specifically designed for home use, but I am less familiar with these. If you are still interested in home processing, this might be a simpler approach.

 

Slide projector as printing light source? -- can't speak for all of them, but I would worry about the uniformity of the illumination across the field. The popularity of digital scanning and printing has made second-hand enlargers both cheap and plentiful, so you should be able to find excellent equipment at bargain prices.