Ektachrome E-100 4x5

[Trail Images]

After a few months waiting for the product to reappear anywhere I've yet to find any on line. Exchanged emails in recent months with B&H, Samy's & Mike's with the response the same in each case. No idea when it will be in stock. Lastly I sent an email to Alaris and have not heard back as of yet. I assume this is impart to the 'upgrade" the plant did some time ago now maybe? Regardless, I still have an OK stock and been back filling recent outings with the plenty of MF 120 stuff.
Any updates you can share?.......thank you in advance.

 

[mshchem]

I hope there's still enough demand. Kodak is the only one left standing. Beautiful product!

 

[MCB18]

Sheets are on a different base, so need a separate coating run. I bet they’ll do another run at some point soon and everyone will get more stock

 

[Taylor Nankervis]

I recall the upheaval following Fuji-san pulling the plug on 4x5 a few years back, and I suspect things are not going to be too rosy with Kodak's offerings going forward. E100 in 4x5 is available here in Australia (Melbourne, @ VanBar) though at AUD$150 for 10 sheets (never mind about the "5% discount"!), I'm not surprised that a quick ask-around at lunch returned a string of "No, no, no way!". They do not have big stocks of this (or any) film at the moment. The cost is is vastly more expensive than it was around 3-4 years ago. Even 120-format film is stressing people out with its cost.

 

[MCB18]

I'm not sure I'd hold my breath waiting. It's a miracle that the company is still in business at all. If another 2008 were to come along some day, I believe that would finish it for good. In just the 25 years of this century, that company has withstood a constant barrage of circumstances that have been the doom of MANY America companies. 4x5 is a thicker base than 35mm. And 120 is still yet a third film base. And I have a suspicion that the 4x5 base is the hardest one to set up machinery on. And for much shorter production runs, at that. Imagine having the job as an accountant for Kodak or Alaris, or whoever they are. They're probably already pinching every penny as thin a bible paper to keep in business. 4x5 Ektachrome would logically be the first one to drop from production. I sure hope I'm wrong.

Kodak has its fingers in many pies now, film is something like 8% of their annual revenue if I remember right. They’re not hurting for cash. They’re very much diversified now, not unlike Fuji, with a lot of high volume industrial customers in high growth industries using their services. Even if we do have another recession they’ll probably be fine.

Yes, the sheet film runs are a more labor intensive process as the finishing isn’t nearly as automated, but the coating itself doesn’t change much. You put a roll in one side, put gels in the hopper, and you get a coated roll at the other end. As far as film bases, everything that isn’t Acitate movie film is now PET, which they can very easily tweak the thickness of. 0.1mm, 0.13mm, 0.17mm, all made on the same machine. Again, it’s a “put ingredients in, get rolls of PET out” type of thing. And both of these lines are used for other things besides film so if they break they’ll get fixed, it’s not like they’re just used to make film.

 

[mshchem]

Eastman is terrific at PET extrusion, I wouldn't be surprised if they supply others. But it still is a very fragile business to coat and confection sheet film. The current Ektachrome is as good as it's ever been.

 

[MCB18]

Eastman is terrific at PET extrusion, I wouldn't be surprised if they supply others. But it still is a very fragile business to coat and confection sheet film. The current Ektachrome is as good as it's ever been.

They have stated publicly that PET extrusion is something that they do for a variety of customers, though they don’t specify how many they serve or who they make it for.

Although at one point I think it was brought up that pretty much all of the flexible PCB substrate made in the US is made by Kodak, so make of that what you will.

 

[MattKing]

As far as film bases, everything that isn’t Acitate movie film is now PET, which they can very easily tweak the thickness of. 0.1mm, 0.13mm, 0.17mm, all made on the same machine. Again, it’s a “put ingredients in, get rolls of PET out” type of thing. And both of these lines are used for other things besides film so if they break they’ll get fixed, it’s not like they’re just used to make film.

AFAIK, none of the black and white film is on Estar base.

 

[mshchem]

AFAIK, none of the black and white film is on Estar base.

That's my understanding as well, with the obvious exception of sheet film. None of the cinema camera films including Ektachrome are polyester for concerns of breaking the camera.

 

[MCB18]

AFAIK, none of the black and white film is on Estar base.

I saw an email from someone at Kodak that I thought said that they had moved all stills films to PET at the end of 2024, but I could be mistaken. I will have to see if I can find it.

 

[mshchem]

I would be surprised if Kodak coats Ektachrome more than once a year. The cost to the consumer is mind blowing. With processing its like a dollar a frame.

 

[MCB18]

I would be surprised if Kodak coats Ektachrome more than once a year. The cost to the consumer is mind blowing. With processing its like a dollar a frame.

I think they do coat it somewhat regularly. Or if they don’t, they make massive runs of it. I recall in one of Destin’s videos at Kodak, he was shown a room with several dozen master rolls, and was told that it was all Ektachrome.

EDIT: I found the video I was thinking of and this is not what was said, they just mentioned Ektachrome as an example of what could be stored there.

 

[armadsen]

I recall the upheaval following Fuji-san pulling the plug on 4x5 a few years back, and I suspect things are not going to be too rosy with Kodak's offerings going forward.

Fuji still sells Provia in both 4x5 and 8x10. It’s as hard to get as 35mm and 120, which is to say: in stock every couple months and sold out within a few hours. But, it’s not discontinued. IIRC, they still sell Velvia 100 in sheet film, but Velvia 100 is banned in the US. Velvia 50 is 35mm and 120 only now.

 

[Taylor Nankervis]

Fuji still sells Provia in both 4x5 and 8x10. It’s as hard to get as 35mm and 120, which is to say: in stock every couple months and sold out within a few hours. But, it’s not discontinued. IIRC, they still sell Velvia 100 in sheet film, but Velvia 100 is banned in the US. Velvia 50 is 35mm and 120 only now.

Provia 100F is listed as (and has been for a while) discontinued in 4x5. I think these prices are outrageous. Likely around 6-7 years ago I bought 20 sheets for $93.

I haven't seen RDP in 8x10 for years (when I did, the very people who became so frustrated with drip-fed availability and high cost that they jumped ship to LF digital!).

If it plays out the way I imagine it to in the future, E100 might be the only E6 choice available, other than B&W or C41. It would be nice to have Velvia 50 back in 4x5...

The bigger, glaring problem is ever-increasing prices (gouging, if you will) which are surely and progressively eroding the base of faithful who will no longer splash unlimited amounts of money into either professional or past-time photography. I am approaching that point; 120-format is expensive enough for me!

 

[Samu]

5294 can be still bought, although it is not easy, since Kodak officially demands it is sold only to motion picture productions. There are still dealers who don´t care. But Ektachrome is the only color reversal film in the motion picture industry, which exists. It is if ciurse not such a big market as ECN-2, but it still exists. It means also that Kodak makes this film at least on acetate base on quite regular basis - not only once a yeat. Coating on Estar is another story, as slide film in large format is a niche product. Fuji remains a question. They seem to produce slide film, but what they can supply, is only a small fraction of the demand. For instance. I prefer the look of Provia to Ektachrome, but when possible at all, Fuji films have been sold by limits of 2 or 3 rolls per customer, which makes ordering very inconvenient and costly. I don´t shoot large format, and for slides, not even medium, as 6x6 frames are no more manufactured. I am not interested using slide film for scanning only. It is a waste of money in my opinion.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I would be surprised if Kodak coats Ektachrome more than once a year. The cost to the consumer is mind blowing. With processing its like a dollar a frame.

Years ago before digital, I would take a dozen 36 shot rolls of slide film like Ektachrome , or negative color film like Kodak Gold, on vacation with me. I'd shoot like a digital camera and thought little about paying for all that film developing and printing, usually at 1 hour photo stores. Those days are over.

 

[Trail Images]

Thank you each for your in depth updates on the product. And yes, I was also one of those that chased the Velvia 50 4x5 merry-go-round from pillar-to-post over the years. I can recall even buying a batch here in the USA and sending it to an on line friend in Australia who could not get it at the time back in the day. As a group we even sent emails to the Fuji CEO at that time on the product.
No more chasing left in me. I'll bare the price to a point, but not the hide-and-seek process.
Again, thank you all for sharing your knowledge & perspectives on the product at this time.
Very much hoping for the best at this point......

 

[armadsen]

Provia 100F is listed as (and has been for a while) discontinued in 4x5. I think these prices are outrageous. Likely around 6-7 years ago I bought 20 sheets for $93.

The situation might be different in Australia, but it is not discontinued in the US. I bought 2 fresh boxes of it a few weeks ago from B&H.

 

[brbo]

I saw an email from someone at Kodak that I thought said that they had moved all stills films to PET at the end of 2024, but I could be mistaken. I will have to see if I can find it.

It would be very cool if you could provide that email.

The understanding is that all still colour negative film in 135 and 120 is now on PET. There has been no (that I'm aware of) information that Ektachrome 135 was transitioned to PET base, too. It would be very odd since that would mean that they have to do two different coatings for cine and still Ektachrome on 135 thickness base.

 

[loccdor]

How does the cost compare to making a trichrome?

 

[abruzzi]

Earlier this year I got a box of E100 in 5x7. I forget exactly when but I think it was spring. The group buy Keith Canham put together had started six months earlier but at the time he had received word from Kodak that they wouldn't have any for a while. So if Kodak is making it once a year (I know that comment was more supposition than known fact) it may simply be that they under produced, sold out, and haven't scheduled another coating run. (E100 in 5x7 is very very fun!)

 

[MCB18]

It would be very cool if you could provide that email.

The understanding is that all still colour negative film in 135 and 120 is now on PET. There has been no (that I'm aware of) information that Ektachrome 135 was transitioned to PET base, too. It would be very odd since that would mean that they have to do two different coatings for cine and still Ektachrome on 135 thickness base.

I’m still looking for it, although I’m thinking now that it might have been sent in a community that I have since left and can’t access anymore. If I find it I’ll let you know.

 

[DREW WILEY]

When the next master roll is coated, they'll mostly slice it up into 4x5, plus any outstanding volume orders of 8x10 and possibly 5x7. The back and forth of this is like feast or famine. When it's available, buy some surplus boxes and freeze them.

I cursed the decade when color sheet films were mostly on triacetate base instead. It didn't seat as flat in film holders; and worse, it didn't maintain register with printing masks for very long due to being dimensionally unstable.

 

[MattKing]

Ask Kodak Alaris. From the Resources page on their website:

 

[Trail Images]

Thanks Matt, I did send an email to Alaris two days ago and have not heard back. I basically just asked for an ETA on the 4x5 Ekatachrome E-100 shipping date. If I hear anything back I'll post the response here.