New (?) Kodak Chromes ??

[scott_fleming1]

Does anyone here have any inside dope? Will they be as 'lurid' as

the current emulsions? Are they truly improved ... or is this just a

marketing strategy? Has anyone actually tested them yet or are they

as hard to find as a Kodak 14n image?

[george_jiri_loun]

My art director's wife chats daily with the Kodak chief's wife (just to say the placement of my source). She says that the new emulsion is, well - new. She means really new! That says it all... Greetings Scott!

[geoffrey_swenson]

Kodak just will not cut it for me. They come up with new emulsion (seems like daily), while Fuji is keep on going like the Indomitable Battery Bunny.

Kodak should just give it up and buy shares in Fuji.

I�ve just gone through several boxes of E100VS shot alongside with Velvia and Provia, and with very few exception I got a rainbow of weird colors. Forget �about it!

 

M. Fujimoto

[david_hempenstall1]

scott,

 

remember not all kodak chromes are 'lurid'.

 

EPN and EPP are fairly neutral. they are still 'current'. lots of work

is done on them every day.

 

VS and SW are certainly a bit crazy (SW a bit sickening in my

shockingly narrow opinion).

 

just thought i'd be specific (and make sure a broad brush stroke

is not painted).

 

as to the inside 'dope'... give me a call and i'll see what i can

arrange. i'm sure i could organise for a kilo or two to be shipped

over. grown in a garden shed, so i guess it qualifies as 'inside'....

 

big smile.

d.

[robert_cardon]

A note on the Kodak E-6 films:

 

I think the posted raise valid issues over E-100VS. A friend of mine reports the colors are a bit unrealistic, especially the reds in certain situations. I�ve never tried the E-100SW, but the E-100S seems like fine film. Overall the color balance is cooler than Velvia. In flat light the E-100S exhibits far less saturation than Velvia, but in bright light, it�s pretty close to what Velvia delivers, albiet a bit cooler. My side by side testing indicates it�s perfectably acceptable film. Now I�d be interested to hear if any have tested E-100S against Provia F and could report on the differences. I think it was on this forum that somebody reported the new Kodak emulsions would be replacements for the E-100S and E-100SW.

 

I do agree that it�s hard to beat Velvia, but if extra speed is desired, then E-100S seems like a contender. What�s curious is why the Kodak films are more expensive than Fuji. Does Kodak really think their film is that much better?

 

RJ

[geoffrey_swenson]

Again on E100VS

 

I�ve really given the E100VS a chance, but as I mentioned earlier the emulsion is totally unpredictable, especially in the shadows. Many, many weird colors, and when the shadows are a bit cold, then the blues completely get whacked out.

 

I try not to use warming filters when I don�t need them, (I have a color meter to check) but an 81B made the E100VS tamer, as the sky and shadows became more natural. It seems like this film cannot handle cool colors much at all.

Sadly, the Fuji films do not require such crutches. I�ve heard, but haven�t tried, that the VS also not too good at long exposures (or pushing more then a stop), where with Velvia I have had successful exposures up to 30 minutes (half an hour), believe it or not!!!

A few years back I also tried E100S but it was pitiful too.

 

As for why it is more expensive, I guess they are just more arrogant. At any rate, I will not try these new funny Kodak emulsions until there are honest improvements, (or they give out free samples).

At the same time, why bother when there is the excellent line of Fuji films. I�ve heard a lot of good of Astia too. So the bottom line is, why fix it if it is not broken�Use Fuji instead!

 

Cheer or Gloom, G.

[don_wallace1]

I tried posting on this before so forgive me if this or something like it appears twice.

 

Kerry Thalmann, a well-known large format landscape photographer, did a test earlier this year in View Camera on the various reversal films available in sheets. There is no "perfect" film of course and he confessed that he is drawn to the more saturated emulsions. He also said he had been a Velvia user for some time. However, after comparing, he put E100VS on top. He liked the saturation and found that the reciprocity characteristics were much better than with Velvia. Velvia started to shift in colour after only a few seconds exposure whereas the Ektachrome had much more tolerance. It is a really good article and I highly recommend that all LF photographers who shoot colour take a look at it.

 

I came to large format relatively recently after a long hiatus from photography. My favourite film way back when was Kodachrome 25 and since it was no longer available, I looked around for a substitute. I always liked Ektachrome but it was a little too cool for me so I tried the VS and the SW. E100 SW is now my main film. I tried Velvia and quite liked it but I photograph people as well as landscapes and found that for some things, like fair skinned people in sunlight, Velvia is horrid. I still use Velvia from time to time and quite like it but for most things, I prefer E100SW.

 

I think that too many people confuse their dislike of Kodak the company with Kodak films. I prefer Portra, for example, to the Fuji equivalents, but it is almost heresy to say so. Sure, Kodak pisses all of us off by dropping products we like but it is now damn near obligatory to buy Fuji and Ilford, not because they are better, but because Kodak is annoying.

 

Don Wallace

[scott_fleming1]

Nice to hear the other side Don. I think we need to keep Kodak around. Else Fuji, when they are all alone, will start treating us like they already do in the Lense department. ie not worth their trouble.