What Slide Film?

[PapaBob]

OK, I am not ready to ditch my trusty Nikonos IIIs, lenses, strobes, etc for a digital rig even though I have switched to digital for "air photography". I used to shoot a lot of print film because I had a good local "mom and pop" shop that would produce great prints and enlargements. They are now out of business.

My wife and I are going to Belize next month. I have not shot slides for about 15 years but I have decided to go back to the old E6. I have a quality scanner and can get good digital files from the pics that turn out. I think I can get better color and saturation from slide film.

Any suggestions in what I should shoot in 100 and 400 asa?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

---Bob

 

[fdog]

Bob, I would concur with you that chromes yield a bit better saturation and punchier colors...if.

...If your base exposure and fill is spot-on. Miss by more than a third of a stop, and hello, mediocrity.

Honestly, modern C-41 emulsions are awfully good. Colors can be quite impressive, and you can miss by a whole stop (or two!) and not even notice. And most of the dishwater look to prints come from the printing... go print some yourself, or have them done by hand from a quality finishing house, and your jaw will drop.

That said, for me, a well-exposed chrome is still a neck ahead of a well-printed negative.

As for your question, I use Ektachrome Pro 100G as a general underwater use film for wide-angle; I've prefered Ektachrome to help punch up blue water. For where you're going, with a N-III (strobe sync @ 1/60th) this will give you about f 4.0 while at 60 to 80 fsw. Assuming a bright sunny day.

I also use ProviaF 400 for those overcast days, which yields about the same exposure.

Hope this helps!

All the best, James

 

[bbiesenkamp]

Are you prepared to deal with the lower exposure tolerances for slides vs. neg while on vacation? If not I have tried several rolls of Portra both NC and VS to bring out the colors with good results. Portra is very forgiving with exposure latitude and I have blown up 400 (B&W) to 16x20 with no noticable grain.

If you really want the slides, you can't go wrong with Velvia. I don't know how good the 100 is compared to the standard 50, but I am sure a test roll will tell if you need the speed. Great color saturation.

Kodachrome is awesome evn though it is on the slowish side. I think there is a 200 speed, but I have only shot the 64. I have seen slides that are almost 50 years old with the reds still popping off of the slide. Processing is difficult since most labs don't do it.

Ektachrome is a good general slide film if you are not sure the type of shooting you will be doing. I use it if I am shooting nature and maybe some people. Or with a range of colors in a range of situations. I use Ektachrome VS if I am looking for more saturation than neutral slide film, but I don't want the supersaturation of Velvia. Ektachrome is a what you see is what you get film. It is available in faster speeds, but I have only shot the slow stuff.

I would recommend picking up a few rolls of whichever slide film is appealing to run some test shots. You should probably run slide film through your Nikonos to make sure it is calibrated correctly if it hasn't been serviced recently.


Good luck and I look forward to seeing the shots.

Long live film!

Brian

 

[PapaBob]

James, Brian:

Thanks for the good advice. I am aware of the decrease exposure latitude of transparency film, but 1/3 stop? I won't have a chance to shoot a test roll before I go so I am going to check to see if they have an E-6 lab close by so I can experiment "on site" so to speak. I have had good luck with the Portra VC in neg film since they discontinued my favorite Royal Gold in 400asa. I am a Florida diver and used to shooting in lowlight situations so, James, your F-4 rule will come in handy. Can I go to 5.6 or 8 if shooting 400asa, or are the chromes much better if I stick with slower 100s? Hate to admit I used to know this stuff and have some good old slides, but I am rusty and your advice helps.

Come to think of it, I should buy both chrome and neg film and cover both bases.

Thanks again.

---Bob

 

[fdog]

Bob:

Yep, my experience is miss by more than a third of a stop and you'll notice it; colors will tend to wash out (overexposed) or dull (underexposed). Good clean blue water, though, tends to survive a stop or so, so if your fill is spot on, the background will hold up. I usually deliberately underexpose the water by a stop to saturate the blue. If you think about it, you actually have 2/3rds of a stop as a "window" to fly through for correct exposure, which is quite generous.

Even when I am pretty sure of the exposure, if the shot has significance I'll bracket up and down in half stop intervals out to 1 stop. So if the "correct" exposure is f4, Ill also shoot a sequence of f4, f2.8 1/2, f2.8, f4 1/2, f5.6.

I would stick with 100 as much as possible, most 400 speed chromes do carry good color, but very noticable difference. Also, if shallow, ASA 400 can easily push you to the point of running out of strobe power, a reason to have an Ike SubStrobe 400. So, as I said, I use 400 for overcast days. I've yet to find ASA 100 to be inadequate with recreational depths on a bright sunny day, in decent visibility (80'+). Still, the extra depth of field is nice (depending on the lens), so it's your choice.

Looking back at the last paragraph, I should say that a big assumption throughout it is that you are using a N-III with strobes, so you are chained to 1/60th sec to sync with the strobes.

You are absolutely right, shooting E-6 and having it developed on the spot is great feedback; because you see the true recorded image (without the printing process compensating for exposure) you can quickly correct the next dive. I usually have a few rolls souped on site, to make sure everything is working well, then have the rest done back home.

If you're worried about hitting the exposure and want to be sure of bringing back some images, by all means bring both chromes and negatives. Better safe than perfect!

All the best, James

 

[louisianadiver]

OK, I am not ready to ditch my trusty Nikonos IIIs, lenses, strobes, etc for a digital rig even though I have switched to digital for "air photography". I used to shoot a lot of print film because I had a good local "mom and pop" shop that would produce great prints and enlargements. They are now out of business.

My wife and I are going to Belize next month. I have not shot slides for about 15 years but I have decided to go back to the old E6. I have a quality scanner and can get good digital files from the pics that turn out. I think I can get better color and saturation from slide film.

Any suggestions in what I should shoot in 100 and 400 asa?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

---Bob

Hi Bob. I shoot Proviaf in the 100 and 400 speeds. For years I shot Velvia for macro, but I've made the total switch to Proviaf 100 for both normal wide angle and macro. The only use I have for Proviaf 400 is shooting in rivers. For examples of the look of Proviaf 100 scanned, I have a few pages of photos (macro, wide angle, and land) up. Have a look at http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id78.htm Proviaf 400 results can be seen at http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id98.htm If I were going to Belize, I'd go exclusively with 100 speed. By the way, if you're old enough to refer to film speed as "asa", you're old enough to make an accurate exposure, I'll bet.

 

[PapaBob]

James:

Your advice is great and has me planning ahead. Thanks for the refresher course.

LouisianaDiver: My pro shop had Provia in 100f and 400f. I saw some professional shots in 400 blown up and they looked great. My shop guru claims the 400 gives great results so I am going to try both 400 and 100 provia with James warning about possible overexposure in the shallows in mind. ASA...ISO...old habits die hard I guess. Thank you for the compliment.

---Bob

PS I may have to dust off my old light meter. If the 400 doesn't work I can always use it in Florida. I am habituated to shooting in low vis.

 

[Curt Bowen]

OK, I am not ready to ditch my trusty Nikonos IIIs, lenses, strobes, etc for a digital rig even though I have switched to digital for "air photography". I used to shoot a lot of print film because I had a good local "mom and pop" shop that would produce great prints and enlargements. They are now out of business.

My wife and I are going to Belize next month. I have not shot slides for about 15 years but I have decided to go back to the old E6. I have a quality scanner and can get good digital files from the pics that turn out. I think I can get better color and saturation from slide film.

Any suggestions in what I should shoot in 100 and 400 asa?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

---Bob

I use provia 100F

If its dark I push the 100 - 2 stops to 320 with no problems.

 

[Dan Gibson]

Any thoughts on E100 VS?

I've just gotten a MMIII with built-in 20mm plus Santa brought me TWO YS-90DX's. All that and I'm still a relative newbie - yikes!

 

[bbiesenkamp]

Not as saturated as Velvia, and more saturation than regular E100. I have not shot any UW, but it would be my first choice since I am in the Puget Sound. Shoot a roll of E100 then E100 VS of the same or similar subjects for a test. Shoot a few other too for a better comparison. The best think you can do as a new photographer is shoot till you know your equipment and film like the back of your hand.

Brian