E6 (reversal film) developing

Edi · Feb 16, 2021

Hi friends,

I wanted to share an E6 question. not sure if you guys have experienced this but my last Ektachrome medium format roll came out with little density in the blacks and I was wondering if you think it was because a bad exposure when shooting or bad developing? The colors in the photos dont seem bad exposed thats why im a bit confused. Thnx

Edi · Feb 16, 2021

Edi said:
Hi friends,

I wanted to share an E6 question. not sure if you guys have experienced this but my last Ektachrome medium format roll came out with little density in the blacks and I was wondering if you think it was because a bad exposure when shooting or bad developing? The colors in the photos dont seem bad exposed thats why im a bit confused. Thnx

jusg forgot to add that this lack on density on the blacks look like a redish color on the frame

dmtnkl · Feb 17, 2021

I think it would be helpful if you shared some details about the development process. Did you hand it over to a lab or did you develop it at home?

koraks · Feb 17, 2021

Edi said:
the blacks look like a redish color on the frame

How old was the chemistry, was it mixed according to the instructions and where the process parameters within their required bounds?
Lack of density in the blacks suggests a problem with the first developer.

John Salim · Feb 17, 2021

Looks like your colour developer is exhausted ( or old and oxidised ).

John S

Rudeofus · Feb 17, 2021

Especially 120 format rolls of slide film should have pronounced black areas outside the image frame. These are immune to exposure errors and therefore a much better place to judge the blacks.

There are multiple possible reasons for low density blacks:

Overly active first developer, e.g. too hot, or too long first developer time
Weaked color developer (e.g. due to excessive or poor storage, or mixing error) as mentioned by John.
Poorly stored or overly aged film stock.

These three causes will give different look, therefore a scan of some of these slides (including area between frames) may provide us with further hints.

koraks · Feb 17, 2021

Having another look at the posted image, I see a very weird effect in the shadows that almost looks like Sabatier effect, where the blacks seem to be of a high density red, while the areas that are supposed to be slightly less dense are in fact a higher density bluish black. So either there's a fairly severe problem with processing, or there is (also) something a bit out of order with the digital workflow.

foc · Feb 17, 2021

koraks said:
I see a very weird effect in the shadows that almost looks like Sabatier effect, where the blacks seem to be of a high density red

Yes, I noticed that effect too.
If it was a C41 problem I would say it could be retained silver but being E6 I think it is a developer problem, low activity.

Edi · Feb 17, 2021

Thanks guys. It was developed in a lab so not sure where the problem could have been

Donald Qualls · Feb 17, 2021

If the rebates (film edge and between frames) have that same look, there's clearly a processing problem at the lab. I presume you're seeing the same thing holding the film up to light as we're seeing in the scan -- it looks like a deficiency in the cyan dye (yes, the wall has a lot of cyan, but there it isn't trying to be matched with yellow and magenta to make black). Color developer on the way out can do this; it's possible a first developer error could as well. Fogging with red light before processing could also do this, but that would affect other colors, not just the blacks.

Edi · Feb 22, 2021

Thanks guys, speaking to the lab most likely it seems that it was a chemistry issue as it was the last roll before renewing the chemistry so it wasn't fresh enough

dmtnkl · Feb 22, 2021

Edi said:
Thanks guys, speaking to the lab most likely it seems that it was a chemistry issue as it was the last roll before renewing the chemistry so it wasn't fresh enough

I started about a year ago developing Ε6 at home because of lab issues. Never been more pleased with the results.

Maybe you could give it a try, it is surprisingly easy.

Bronson Dugnutt · Feb 22, 2021

Here's a quick scan of some Fuji developed in bunk (read: oxidized) E6 chemistry. It exhibits an overall red shift, not just deep shadows. I generally have excellent results when mixing fresh solutions but wanted to see what impact 2-3 days of oxygen exposure would have. Long story short, E6 is much less forgiving than C41.

Edi · Feb 22, 2021

Bronson Dugnutt said:
Here's a quick scan of some Fuji developed in bunk (read: oxidized) E6 chemistry. It exhibits an overall red shift, not just deep shadows. I generally have excellent results when mixing fresh solutions but wanted to see what impact 2-3 days of oxygen exposure would have. Long story short, E6 is much less forgiving than C41.

View attachment 267309

yeah, it looks like the same issue. yours look with a stronger effect though

E6 (reversal film) developing

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