35mm slide film availability...

Dean Taylor · May 1, 2015

hello

A beginner to 35mm photography asks about color slide film, as well as the dr5 method for b/w transparency: http://www.dr5.com/

What is available for 35mm color slides? Do you prefer to shoot with slide film?

Here is a quote from Ken Rockwell:

For color, most pros shoot positive film (slides)....
What you see is what you've got, and color consistency is critical in pro photography.

Slide film gives us the same colors every time. Slide film leaves nothing to interpretation when printed, projected or scanned, which is why pros who shoot color shoot slides. We get the color we want on-film, and every other stage in the production process will preserve and reproduce these colors.

Wedding and news photographers were the only pros who usually shot color negative film, and a lot of that was so they could have the freedom to botch a shot and have the lab correct it later. Careful pros in advertising and magazines always shoot slide film precisely because the colors they imagine while shooting can be reproduced exactly from the slides.

Do you share that point of view?

thank you

Dean

Steve Roberts · May 1, 2015

Hi,

I'm a big fan of Agfa CT Precisa 100 these days. There are all kinds of rumours circulating about its true identity, but whatever it is (almost certainly Fuji) it gives me excellent results and at considerably less cost than branded Fuji.

Best wishes,

Steve

AgX · May 1, 2015

AgfaPhoto CT Precisa that is.

Steve Roberts · May 1, 2015

AgX said:
AgfaPhoto CT Precisa that is.

If we're being pedantic.

From Ag Photographic's website:
"AGFA PRECISA 100, Colour Reversal (slide) Film. Now back in production offering superb value for this high quality film, and filling the hole left after Fuji scrapped Sensia. A great value film in 35mm with accurate colour reproduction and fine grain."

Steve

MartinP · May 1, 2015

Agfa don't make it, Agfa don't market it, the entry on the AG-Photographic site has a huge AgfaPhoto logo at the top of the entry and the box is clearly marked AgfaPhoto. I think you can most correctly call it AgfaPhoto Precisa 100.

Agfa do make, or at least fairly recently made a run of, an E6 aero-film -- but that isn't the AgfaPhoto stuff.

BrianShaw · May 1, 2015

Rockwell probably wrote that more than 20 years ago. Once upon a time that was the prevailing opinion. OBE now.

sagai · May 1, 2015

Slide film has eye watering pricing plus to develop it unless you very regularly do it at home, it is hard to find a lab, not to mention the pricing of lab processing.
Other than that slides for me have the most beautiful colours and saturation however I barely can afford to shoot with.

wildbill · May 1, 2015

Yes, It's all I prefer to shoot with when color is needed. It doesn't cost me more to shoot than c41 because I have a freezer full of it.
What's available? C'mon! Go to b&h and do a search.

Dean Taylor · May 1, 2015

Dean Taylor said:
What is available for 35mm color slides?

revised to (for my highly-strung friend @wild bill): what is available that you can recommend from first-hand experience?

okay, bill?

BrianShaw · May 1, 2015

Kodachrome

mnemosyne · May 1, 2015

Both slide and print film have their advantages and shortcomings. A lot depends on your personal workflow and preferences. I use slide film mostly when I know there is a real chance that I would like to project the final image. That is mostly when I go hiking in the mountains, where I like to take my lightweight and compact Agfa folding camera to take 6x6 slides on 120 film. I use Provia 100F. To see the final pictures projected on a wall is quite impressive. In all other cases I prefer print film, as it gives me the possibility to do my own optical printing, which I enjoy immensly and which is not possible anymore with slide film; print film also means more flexibility with exposure, which is something I enjoy, as it is liberating not to be forced to think about exposure all the time while photographing. Of course you have to interpret the negative when you print it. But for me that is not a problem, it is part of the fun. From a purely technical standpoint (resolution/grain) print film might be inferior to slide film, but in the real world, modern print films, even the consumer grade flavors, give you stunning results when printed optically. There is also more variety in speed and tonal palette among print film then slide film nowadays. OTOH, for a beginner to (analog) photography slide film makes sense as it gives you immediate and distinct feedback in cases of user error. You don't have to worry if it was you that runied the shot or the lousy automated lab print.

David A. Goldfarb · May 1, 2015

There's not much available--maybe half a dozen options--and it's largely a matter of what speed you need and personal taste, so why not just order a roll of each of the available transparency films and invest a day or two shooting them under various conditions and seeing what appeals to you?

I like Provia 100F, but I like a fairly neutral palette. Velvia 100F is more saturated and Velvia 50 even more so. I haven't tried Agfa CTPrecisa or Rollei Digibase, and I'm not interested in the false-color/cross-processing Lomography films for my own work, but that doesn't mean they might not be interesting to you. Provia 400X seems to be available from some Japan-based sellers, if you need higher speed and pushability.

wildbill · May 1, 2015

Dean Taylor said:
revised to (for my highly-strung friend @wild bill): what is available that you can recommend from first-hand experience?

okay, bill?

Ha!
You didn't say what you'll be shooting.
Fuji anything.

mnemosyne · May 2, 2015

I agree with David, you could easily try out the remaining varieties of slide film and find out for yourself.

Provia 100F for neutral colors (all formats from 135 to 8x10)
Velvia 50 or Velvia 100 for saturated colors (all formats from 135 to 8x10)
If you shoot 35mm, Agfaphoto Precisa 100 (99.9% identical with Provia 100F) is a budget choice

There is not much else left in terms of general photography color reversal film, really.

discontinued, but remaining stocks may be available from
Velvia 100F
Provia 400X

new slide film announced, but not yet released:
Ferrania 100 in 135, 120

ME Super · May 2, 2015

I use Provia 100F and AgfaPhoto Precisa 100 CT for general picture taking. As a matter of fact, I just used about 1/2 a roll of Provia 100F taking pictures of my daughter before she left for Sr. prom. Both Provia 100F and Precisa 100 CT can be pushed two stops, though with a 2 stop push I prefer to shoot these at 320 instead of 400. The Velvia 50 and Velvia 100 are amazing for landscapes, not so much for people. I've had bad luck with images being too yellow with the Rollei CR200 (which is the Agfa-Gevaert Aviphot Chrome 200 (essentially Agfa RSXII 200 on a polyester base)). The WittnerChrome version of this film doesn't suffer from the yellows, but use it fresh as it can go bad quickly.

I'm looking forward to trying the Ferrania 100 when it is released. There's talk that if things (including sales) go well, Ferrania will introduce a 400 speed E-6 emulsion, but that may be a few years away. They've also talked about doing an 800/3200P as well, which would be very cool but I'm not anticipating that one any time soon.

Meyer Trioplan · May 4, 2015

Though I shoot 120, the selection is about the same, aside from no Agfa Precisa available.

Fuji Velvia 50 is the ideal choice if you want a slow film with VERY vibrant colors for landscapes. I even like using this film for time exposures at night, though the color will shift a bit. Not recommended for portraits.
Fuji Velvia 100 is similar in palette to Velvia 50, but with an extra stop of speed, useful when hand holding your shots.
Fuji Provia 100F is a great choice for a somewhat more natural palette compared to Velvia. A great general purpose film that works well for both Landscapes and Portraits.
Fuji Velvia 100F is recently discontinued, but still found pretty readily if you look about. It's color palette is not at pleasing to most as the first three, but I've gotten decent results if I underexpose it by 1/3 to 2/3 stop, as it tends to blow out highlights in what I've seen.
Agfa Crossbird 200 and Digibase 200CR are the same film, and the only slide film currently available not made by Fuji. I actually like using this film for more retro subject matter, as it has a warm tone to it. It can be grainy even in 120, so 35mm is likely to be even more so. I've never cross-processed it.

AgX · May 4, 2015

Rollei Crossbird 200 and Digibase 200CR are the same film, and the only slide film currently available not made by Fuji.

Also available in a different 35mm conversion as Wittner Chrome 200D.

chazum0 · May 5, 2015

I have found that it's much easier (and a lot of times cheaper) to find 120mm slide film. I would assume this is because 35mm slide is more desirable for projection.

35mm slide film availability...

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency