Kodak ends Ektachrome

[nzoomed]

Originally Posted by the Kodachrome Kidd

Greetings All-I have read this post with some interest,as i have shot several rolls of AGFA's CT Presica 100 Speed Slide Film; I can tell you all this:It is indeed a nice looking slide film.Very Sharp,with great colors.I had shot this film while it was still being made in Germany,and to my eyes this was one of the closest E-6 type films to look like Kodachrome.Now,everyone sees things differently,so it may look different to all of you.According to my friend Wlodek who resides in the U.K. there were three different types of this film made in a very short time,but the current version may indeed be made by Fuji.
Nevertheless,it is still a great film and i feel you all should try a few rolls.I used this film almost exclusively during a recent "Railfan" trip to phootograph Railroad trains and this film worked for me.Now,as far as i know it is not available for purchase here in the USA,but there are a few sellers offering this film for sale on eBay.Have a look and buy a few rolls as this film is worth the purchase price.AGFA's CT Presica was once available in 200 Speed but these are not being made currently.I hope this helps! Buy some rolls and try it out.Long Live AGFA Slide Film,but i still wish i could use my Kodachrome as well...

I think its now a matter of using what is the best remaining films available on the market, i just hope there are more young people like me getting into film photography! I am very keen to try some of this AGFA film now, and i know that seller on ebay stocks lots of film, and has a good supply of ektachrome as well.
Im so impressed with the photos im getting with my XA3, that I almost dont want to bother with buying an SLR camera anymore!
I should post some of my test photos that i did with just a regular C-41 film (kodak royal gold) very grainy, but great photos, cant wait to get my first roll of ektachrome processed.
I cant wait to shoot some kodachrome on it, i think i may just do that and hope that i can get it developed not too far down the track!

[KR4myF2AS]

Originally Posted by nzoomed

I think its now a matter of using what is the best remaining films available on the market, i just hope there are more young people like me getting into film photography! I am very keen to try some of this AGFA film now, and i know that seller on ebay stocks lots of film, and has a good supply of ektachrome as well.
Im so impressed with the photos im getting with my XA3, that I almost dont want to bother with buying an SLR camera anymore!
I should post some of my test photos that i did with just a regular C-41 film (kodak royal gold) very grainy, but great photos, cant wait to get my first roll of ektachrome processed.
I cant wait to shoot some kodachrome on it, i think i may just do that and hope that i can get it developed not too far down the track!

NZ: If you are still interested in picking up more Ektachrome, Adorama is still advertising (as of this am) its "cousin" Elitechrome, as being available. The image on the site shows the regular-balanced variety, not the "extra-colour" film (ersatz E100VS) that folks are so studiously avoiding. BTW: Have you put out any feelers re E100D?

[lxdude]

Originally Posted by the Kodachrome Kidd

I had shot this film while it was still being made in Germany,and to my eyes this was one of the closest E-6 type films to look like Kodachrome.

I've not used AGFA in decades, but I recently looked at some slides from 1976 and found that some of those I remembered as Kodachrome were in fact Agfachrome! A nice neutral film-a bit warm in color, so that whites look slightly cream-colored. Rich color without being gaudy, unlike my few Fujichromes from the same time period, (and later). Plus, the Agfachrome has held up beautifully, while the Fujichrome shows considerable fading, especially of the yellow dye, which means the famous Fuji greens are looking rather dull now.
I would have used Agfachrome more, but I had my Kodachrome, and the Agfachrome was somewhat grainier, plus longevity was a question.

Agfachrome and Fujichrome were both sold then with processing mailers. The Agfa mailer was made of cloth, not paper! More a pouch than an envelope. Processing was excellent.

[nzoomed]

Originally Posted by KR4myF2AS

NZ: If you are still interested in picking up more Ektachrome, Adorama is still advertising (as of this am) its "cousin" Elitechrome, as being available. The image on the site shows the regular-balanced variety, not the "extra-colour" film (ersatz E100VS) that folks are so studiously avoiding. BTW: Have you put out any feelers re E100D?

Thanks for that will check it out, although their shipping appears expensive their cheapest chipping option is $59 for 5 rolls??!! havnt put anything out yet on APUG in regards to e100D, im sure it will spark some discussion.

[KR4myF2AS]

Looking through the batch of Ektachrome I got back yesterday, I find myself even more disheartened that EK opted to discontinue E100G and E100VS. While neither could ever replace my beloved Kodachrome, E100G (especially) is, by any objective measure, an excellent film. Sharp, good neutrals, accurate colors and fine -grained (especially the 120 version), E100G has been my go-to film for transparency shooting for the last year or so. While I have a sizeable stash of both E100G and E100VS to see me through the next couple of years, I find myself now wondering what follows. Ultimately, I guess, that will be determined by decisions of the powers that be at Fuji. In the interim, I will continue shooting my Ektachrome, enjoying the effort, and trying not to dwell on matters...

[sdkodachrome]

Originally Posted by KR4myF2AS

E100G (especially) is, by any objective measure, an excellent film. Sharp, good neutrals, accurate colors and fine -grained (especially the 120 version)(

Well, the 120 version of both G and VS are still available, both at B&H and Adorama (in some cases both singly and in 5 packs). Adorama even seems to have some 35mm VS left. (Adorama never says explicitly "in stock" the way B&H does about anything; you have to assume that if they have no warning about availability, it's probably in stock.)

So it's only 35mm G that's completely exhausted at all "real" online stores (as opposed to maybe eBay resellers?).

[KR4myF2AS]

Originally Posted by sdkodachrome

Well, the 120 version of both G and VS are still available, both at B&H and Adorama (in some cases both singly and in 5 packs). Adorama even seems to have some 35mm VS left. (Adorama never says explicitly "in stock" the way B&H does about anything; you have to assume that if they have no warning about availability, it's probably in stock.)

So it's only 35mm G that's completely exhausted at all "real" online stores (as opposed to maybe eBay resellers?).

Checking a number of sources - on-line and stores locally - you would seem to be correct re availability of 35mm E100G (a couple of ebay sellers, but we won't talk about the inflated prices!). It is beginning to look like EK's estimate of Ektachrome's availability following its discontinuation in March (six to nine months, if memory serves) was fairly accurate; or else, in their disenchantment with the Great Yellow Father, folks simply abandoned the films. I find it somewhat curious that E100VS in 35mm remains in abundant supply; kept away from people, the film is great for just about any other type of shooting (saturated, yes, but not garishly so). Although well supplied, I am tempted to order another case of E100G in 120 (20 pro-packs) at the end of the month; I feel fairly secure in the knowledge that E6 will be with us for a while longer...

[KR4myF2AS]

Having postponed the inevitable as long as possible, I finally gave in this am and began an edit of some 40-odd rolls of 35mm and 120 format E100G and E100VS recently returned from the lab. Overall, I am satisfied with the results I have gotten to date with both of these emulsions. But looking closely at the work shot on E100VS, I found myself doing a double take: I find myself seeing striking comparisons between this film and some of the early iterations of Kodachrome! Now a qualifier to this remark: the similarities relate only to the rendition of the primary colours, the degree of colour saturation resulting AND ONLY to the landscape/nature/wildlife/architecture work I have shot (i.e. nothing with humans present in the image!). I am curious about the experience and/or opinions of those with a knowledge/experience with the earlier emulsions. Am I imagining things? Wishful thinking on my part? For what its worth, I shoot E100G and E100VS (in both 35mm and 120 formats) at 125 ISO, a practice extending back some three-plus decades.

[sdkodachrome]

The thing I have noticed is that E100VS seems to have the same low tolerance for underexposure that even the most recent Kodachromes had, and the blued out shadows which I find more prevalent in (otherwise properly exposed) E100VS remind me of the same with KR. (I even noticed this in E100VS pictures that people had posted online, before I noticed it with my own shots.)

This is as opposed to the wider latitude (and less blue shadows unless really underxposed) with E100G.

(Reminder: When I first went from KR to E100G, to me the "glaring" difference was not the color rendition as much as the way wider latitude of E100G. Pictures that had given KR problems because of high conrast, E100G did a better job on. But, say, some midday pictures which needed increased contrast (which KR "automatically" gave), E100G seemed often a little "flat" on (though could be much improved in post-processing the scan*).

(*It's easier to add contrast to a picture which doesn't have quite enougn, in post-processing, than to remove it from a picture which has too much, isn't it?)

[KR4myF2AS]

Just checked the usual sources (B&H, Adorama, etc.) re remaining Ektachrome stocks. Both Ektachrome E100VS and Elitechrome (both "regular" and ersatz E100VS) are now unavailable. The only place to shop for either of these, or for 35mm E100G and "regular" Elitechrome, is now ebay (if you don't mind the extortionists' prices). However, for medium format folks, 120 E100G and E100VS remains available as either singles or propacks - depending on where you choose to shop. Time to lay in supplies of either (or both), before it's too late...