My sentiments exactly. As I said, "indicitive of a different set of problems, I think."
Ken
I managed Colourgenics in the late 80's, Colourgenics and Steichanlab were the two go to labs in Toronto GTA for E6 .There were many other options but these two labs were well above the cut of others. Both these labs stopped E6 due to lack of volume plan and simple, Controlling a high end E6 plot is not for the faint of heart, minimum 8 control strips per day, while I was there we started at 6 am and ran till midnight, Shin Sugino , Westside , and others would book time and run through the night.
You can not imagine the volumes of film clips and runs that would go on. Sadly The Refrema's require film to keep clean process control,, The major players of this service are dropping it and leaving to one or two per City to hang on as long as there is people wanting to use slide or transparancies in their cameras.
In Toronto I would only use Toronto Image Works for E6, otherwise ship to New York to a refrema that is busy, not slow.
A local lab uses a Refrema dip and dunk processor,there running between four to five hundred rolls of film through every week. Do you think it's possible they can keep clean process control?
Thank you
Tell me if I'm wrong, but are the reasons for shooting transparency film are usually...
1. Project it
2. Used in commercial work in the old days because art directors like see a positive.
Transparency film has always been a challenge to shoot because of it's limited exposure latitude. Since most commercial shoots I imagine are done digitally and people rarely project slides anymore due to computers and data projectors, why not just let the process and the film die? I know I'm going to get some heat for this. BTW, there's nothing more beautiful than looking at an 8x10 chrome on a light box.
Tell me if I'm wrong, but are the reasons for shooting transparency film are usually...
1. Project it
2. Used in commercial work in the old days because art directors like see a positive.
Transparency film has always been a challenge to shoot because of it's limited exposure latitude. Since most commercial shoots I imagine are done digitally and people rarely project slides anymore due to computers and data projectors, why not just let the process and the film die? I know I'm going to get some heat for this. BTW, there's nothing more beautiful than looking at an 8x10 chrome on a light box.
I thought you just said another and the most important reason to shoot transparency film youself, " there's nothing more beautiful than looking at an 8x10 chrome on a light box". We could replace 8X10 with other film size (at least MF size) and I think the statement would work as well.
I just showed a group of friends yesterday some MF slides on a light table with a good loupe and they were all amazed at how beautiful and 3-D looking the images are. These are people who started with digital and never get a chance to experience the beauty of the slides and I hope some of them will give it a try themselves. Hopefully the industry will find a good way to keep E-6 viable as a niche art medium.
Is it a large or a small Refrema? Are they running multiple control strips? Is the operator experienced in quality control issues?
5 hundred rolls equals around 100 rolls a day which from my background not very much but then again it all depends upon the above issues.
I am sure under this amount and the quality control can be hard to manage.
I thought you just said another and the most important reason to shoot transparency film youself, " there's nothing more beautiful than looking at an 8x10 chrome on a light box". We could replace 8X10 with other film size (at least MF size) and I think the statement would work as well.
I just showed a group of friends yesterday some MF slides on a light table with a good loupe and they were all amazed at how beautiful and 3-D looking the images are. These are people who started with digital and never get a chance to experience the beauty of the slides and I hope some of them will give it a try themselves. Hopefully the industry will find a good way to keep E-6 viable as a niche art medium.
Like what? Not agreeing with you? I have great local E6 processing but won't go chasing it all over N. America when it vanishes here. I'll buy and shoot transparency materials as long as it doesn't involve heroic processing measures.
All questions im afraid i can't answer at this time,Bob. The lab to my understanding is the most popular E6 processing lab i could find. My thinking was it's better to go somewhere with a higher volume turn over than any other. Each order thus far appears consistent to the next. To my untrained eye there has been no drying marks,very clean transparency's and no color shifts each time i receive a batch back.
I guess i've not given you much info to go on,in fairness. They do advertise they run regular control strips. The E6 chemistry used in the processor are Fuji Pro 6 chemicals,if that makes any difference.
Thank you for the advice,Bob.
I think the most important thing is that you understand that the lab which is running more volume and runs control plots and are proud of their plots is the one to go to.
Fuji Kodak it does not matter, as long as you are getting consistant runs you are good to go.
One little trade industry trick, if you are taking photos of images with the same lighting ect. run a clip test at push 1/3 , make that your standard, then if the clip test is bang on run the rest, if your clip is too dark push the rest more, if it is a bit light drop back to normal... The front counter should have someone who is good at making a call or advising you .. By running the test at 1/3 you have more control of the final output and all it takes is giving them the test, go for lunch and coming back and making the final call on the balance of your film.
.* Heavy rain, high winds, hail, temps just above freezing, lightning and thunder, so dark that the streetlights were on all day long... and that was just yesterday alone.
.
Are you using a Vitamin-D supplement ?
With my schedule I barely get exposed to sunlight, so I use 10-20,000 I.U. per day.
Your requirements may vary.
Ron
.
...
Of course, I've also heard that Seattle has the highest suicide rate of any major American city due to the darkness and weather. (Not sure what our good friends up north in Vancouver, BC may think about that statistic.)
AND, my doctor also said that Seattle is the skin cancer capital of the US. Seems its episodic. There is so little direct sunlight year round that when the sun does come out everyone spends hours straight outside while unprotected. They're all terrified they may not see it again for another year or two. ....
Right now it's - you guessed it - raining heavily outside. And the weather report this evening is calling for rain for the next ten days straight, with wet snow mixed in on Wednesday and Saturday in the early mornings.
Imagine that...
Ken
Great. Cheer me up. I've got to spend a few weeks just north of Seattle on a job in the dead of winter a few months from now.
I suppose "bring a heavy coat" would be good advice.
MB
Lots of E-6 processing possibilites still out there, it seems. One just has to be willing to seek out and patronize the remaining locations, or use the postal services to reach them and then wait a couple of days.
Ken
Hello Ken,
exactly that is the point.
Reading the reports of all you North Americans the situation here in the middle of Europe even looks better.
Our situation here:
- about 45 professional E6 labs in Germany, Austria and Suisse ( about 35 of them in Germany)
- number of labs has been stable for the last two years
- most labs are doing mail order as well
- some labs have an extremely good mail order service (after only two days the films are back)
- quality of development is excellent with most labs
- all drug stores of the main drug store chains are offering E6 developing (some at ridicolous low prices)
- some labs have extended their programme of BW slide development
- five German manufacturers are producing slide projectors (Braun, Reflecta, DHW, Götschmann, RBT)
- Diaspeed has recently introduced a new revolutionary 35mm slide mount system without glass for best slide sharpness (much much better system than Wess; I've completey replaced Wess by the new Diaspeed mounts)
- AgfaPhoto fills the mass market of cheap ISO 100 slide film with it's AgfaPhoto CT Precisa 100 (it's made by Fuji); it's only 3 a roll
- LSI in Vienna reports significantly increasing sales of slide films by their online shop and their LGS stores (that is one reason why they have introduced three slide films under their own brand during the last three years: some weeks ago they introduced a Tungsten slide film).
Best regards,
Henning
Live it up. Kodak's down to 3 and Fuji's down to 5 E6 materials. Demand for E6 lab services and materials has already tanked in N. America. Both labs services and E6 materials are now either special order/mail order/ or limited availability items in many areas of N. America. I'm not so certain your situation will hold if either or both film makers cut selection further or, in the case of Kodak, stop production. What you don't know, apart from the impressionistic indices you cite, is the trend of processing and sales volume over the last 5 years.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?