Just shot my first roll of E6 Film... Wow!

[dano1]

Hey all,

<br><br>

I just shot my first roll of color slide film this past week, and I'm

impressed! I found an old roll of Fujichrome Sensia in the fridge,

one that I had bought in either fall or spring of 2003 to test out but

never got around to actually testing.<br><br>

 

I have a lab in town that sends it out, but it's not cheap. :( Over

$6 a 24exp roll, over $8 a 36exp roll. There's no discount for just

cut and sleeve with no mounts either. :(<br><br>

 

I love it though because the colors are so vivid, and accurate. No

more putzing around with the color channel curves and levels *trying*

to get everything right. It's already right on the film!<br><br>

 

Just thought I'd show you a few shots of my test roll. Anyone know if

there's a cheap place to get E6 developed? I don't need mounts.

Also, anyone want to reccomend an all-purpose E6 film? I shoot mostly

shots of my 12 nieces and nephews these days, but also like to do

nature shots. <br><br>

 

(Click for full size)

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<A HREF="http://dansfah.hopto.org/Statue.jpg"><IMG

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<br><br>

Dan O.

[steve_levine]

It's a shame that more of the digital converts, don't share your sense of excitement.

[arnabdas]

If you liked Sensia, try Kodak E100G/GX. You'll love it.

[john_shriver]

It's $8 a 36 exposure roll at my local dip-and-dunk lab (Dorian Color Lab). That's par for the course.

[rick_waldroup3]

Very nice shots Dan. I shoot mostly B&W but when I do shoot color I only shoot slide film. Try some of the Kodak saturated films or Fuji Velvia. Shooting slide film is fun, isn't it?

[alan_olander1664878205]

Great shots! Makes me want to dust off my FM2. You can buy Fuji E6 mailers for $4.25 through B&H. They will process any E6 film, 24 or 36 exposure, Fuji or Kodak (not dip & dunk, though). I have occasionally requested "do not mount", and they have honored that request. Can take up to 2 weeks to get the slides back, however, at least where I live.

[Robert_Lai]

Nice pictures!<p>I go through Wal-Mart. Cost is $4.88/36 exposure roll. E6 is sent to the Fuji plant in Albany, NY (I'm in Upstate NY). Kodachrome is sent to Dwayne's. The price is the same for E6 or Kodachrome. It takes about 10 days to get it back.

[greg lockrey]

OR you can do it yourself for around $2.00 per roll. But you do need a way to maintain temperature control at 100 degrees F.

[randall_pukalo]

Beautiful shots Dan! I am glad you too have discovered the Beauty of Slides!!! Shoot more slide film, lets keep E6 around. Walmart is cheap as other have noted, also Costco at 3.19/4.29 for 24/36 exp thru Kodak. But if you want unmounted, buy the Fuji mailers for 4.25 thru Adorama/BH Photo.

For your type of shots, I recommend more of the same - Sensia. Also try some Sensia 400 - much faster and great stuff - no grain and great colors, but $6.50 a roll thru BH. Or Astia 100f, the pro version of Sensia, b ut I dont see any diffrence personally.

Have fun!

[jon_noble]

Randall - I thought Provia ws the pro version of sensia?

[Robert_Lai]

Dan,<p>The next step to complete satisfaction is to borrow, rent, or purchase a slide projector. They're quite cheap now - well under $100 on ebay. Once you see these images projected to a huge size on the wall or on a screen, you can really see everything that is good or bad about an image.<p>If you edit carefully, then it may be enjoyable to your family too (only show the best, and keep it short).

[cbender]

I send all my E6 to Fuji via their mailers. It takes about 2 weeks, but the service is reliable and inexpensive. A&I is top-notch, but more expensive.

 

However, there was a ?rumor? a couple of weeks back that the Fuji lab in Arizona (where all those mailers go) was closing down. Does anyone have more info on that? Will fuji still be processing E6, just at a different address?

[Tim_Lookingbill]

Really nice shots, Dan.

 

Being new to photography that's the first I've seen slides looking

that good. I've been working with neg print film all this time and

can never get that look in my shots, but then I use a 35mm P&S

and process and scan at my local minilab.

 

I was under the impression from what I've read that C-41 negs

have a wider dynamic range over slides, but that shot of the

oranges receding into an almost black background seems to

indicate otherwise.

[juergenf]

Dan, I must admit that I hardly use any slide film, I just like print film better. Having said that I must say that those three scans are very nice in terms of color, sharpness and lack of grain. Sensia is sold as a 'consumer' film but it's great film none the less.

[r.t. dowling]

If you like Sensia, go ahead and stick with that for a while. It's great stuff and the price is right. Kodak Elite Chrome is also excellent, and about the same price as Sensia. Elite Chrome 100 is my personal favorite as an all purpose color film, but I wouldn't hesitate to use Sensia if I couldn't get Elite.

 

Try a roll of Kodachrome 64 and a roll of Velvia 50. Both are living on borrowed time, so don't get too attached to either one... but it's fun to try them and see what all the fuss is about.

 

As others have said, Fuji processing is a good affordable choice, and is available at any Wal-Mart, or you can buy prepaid Fuji mailers from B&H. Some places send their E6 to Kodak/Qualex, which now farms it out to District Photo. Avoid that if at all possible.

[discpad]

$8 per roll for dip & dunk processing is reasonable; but too much for leader card/roller transport processing.

 

In any case, as processing volumes go down, the price continues to rise, at takes more time and chemistry to keep the E-6 chemistry in control.

[david_m]

Just bear in mind that each time you project a slide you measurably cause image deterioration. It's best to project dupes and keep the originals in a cool, dark place.

[dano1]

Thanks all,

 

I just scanned some Reala 100 and was amazed at how much more grain there was than in the Sensia!

 

I think I'll be using Provia for our family vacation in Sandbridge, VA this year. It's only ~$1 more per roll than Sensia. I usually take about 5-6 rolls while on vacation, so I figure $4 a roll for Provia, plus $8.50 for development, $12.50 x 6 Rolls is $75.

 

I think I can handle that. :) Besides, the airplane ticket was $250, why penny pinch on the pictures?

 

 

Anyway, for those of you who were wondering how I got such good color and all out of this 3 year old roll of Sensia, GEM.

 

Yeah, my Nikon Coolscan V has ICE, ROC, and GEM, and I used all three on these slides. ICE was kept at low, as was ROC, but GEM only has one setting in Vuescan.

 

You all would be amazed at the difference GEM makes on Slides as well as negatives!

 

Dan

[g._armour_van_horn]

Excellent first outing with Sensia! I wouldn't suggest you change anything immediately, but you might want to try Fuji's more extreme films, Provia and Velvia, after you get comfortable with the Sensia.

 

Contrary to what someone mentioned, I can't imagine that they are any less likely to be around in the future than Sensia. In fact, if Fuji decides they can't profitably make their full line, it's the higher-priced emulsions that are likely to be around the longest. The pro version of Sensia is Astia, and though I've switched to it because of a specific problem I was having, it didn't actually take care of the problem so I may switch back.

 

Now that you're hooked on chromes, I'm sure you'll enjoy the trip.

 

Van

[g._armour_van_horn]

Oops! I see the comment about Velvia living on borrowed time was specifically about the now-discontinued Velvia 50. That one will definitely be gone soon, and I expect Kodachrome to not last all that long.

 

On the slide projectors, my choice is the Kodak Ektagraphic III AMT, it's the top model from the last generation and you can still grab them for under $100. At that price you might as well get the one with all the bells and whistles, even if you aren't going to ever actually use the timed-advance feature and sometimes turn the autofocus off.

 

Van

[ilkka_nissila]

I don't think a single image gets projected more than a few minutes in typical amateur usage, and this doesn't cause a visible effect on the slide. Yes, it's best to project dupes if you do it for extended periods of time, but a dupe is never as good as the original. IMO the best method is to shoot multiple originals in the camera. Avoids an expensive duplicating process at least on still subjects.

 

I exclusively projected originals to view them for many years and never got noticeable reduction in the quality of the slide when compared against the second dark stored in camera original, apart from dust.

[ilkka_nissila]

... this is with E6 slides, Kodachrome may fade in projection quicker.

[roger_smith4]

If Reala's too "grainy" expose it at ISO 80 and not 100.

[geoff_samuel]

Nice Shots. There is something special about viewing slides isn't there? It's a shame Kodak and Fuji don't seem to be advertising any of their film products anymore.

[ilkka_nissila]

I have seen Fuji and Kodak ads in photography magazines in the past year.

 

Slide film looks great on a light table or when projectd and it prints well digitally. But generally prints, if you want them, have to be done by someone experienced and motivated. This kind of printers are surprisingly hard to find.

 

The main problem with slide film is the fact that it's so sensitive to the colour of the light source. The best part is that there are so many options for colour (by choosing a different film) in iso 100 films.

 

But people hate hard work, which using slide film is sometimes ...