Ektachrome E100VS

[BetterSense]

I'm thinking about buying about 25 rolls of this at a good discount. I've never shot it though, and am kind of hesitant about buying a "vivid color" flavor of film as my sole color film (my only color film is occasional slides). Right now I use Sensia 100 and Elite Chrome 100 and both of them are fine but I like the looks of the Elite Chrome better. I liked the colors of Kodachrome the best especially the skintones and reds.

 

[Ektagraphic]

I would reccomend trying one roll to make sure you like the colors before you buy 25...but that is just me....what made you go to E100VS?

 

[BetterSense]

I have a good deal on it, is all. A very good deal. And I have to buy that many or none at all. Although I guess I could buy a roll on the normal market and try it, but by the time I shot 36 shots and got it back from the lab it might be too late.

 

[Ektagraphic]

Well if the deal is really great go for it. Are you getting a good deal because it is expired? If you really don't like it you could always sell it off on ebay.

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

E100VS makes a very good job of keeping skin tones natural.

 

[BetterSense]

E100VS makes a very good job of keeping skin tones natural.

Well that's good, because that's the most important worry I had. I know Velvia is really bad for people. I don't particularly loath the extreme or unrealistic saturation but the color balance with skin tones makes it so that I could never use Velvia all the time. I was worried E100VS was going to be "Kodak Velvia".

 

[Emil]

Hi. I use only Elitechrome Extra Color (EBX), which is the amateur version of E100VS. Before I tried this I used Sensia 100, but the color of ebx is much more powerful and warm. Also I experience fewer under/overexposed frames with the Kodak film, but I haven't tried it side to side with the Sensia, so it may be coincidence.

EBX gives a faint redness to skintones in my experience, but I do not see it as a problem, and if it were, it is much outweighed by the great colors at sunset, or the very nuanced green of backlit trees.

Personally I would not hesitate to buy E100VS at a discount.

This is my favourite picture on EBX http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2323/3531578943_e014fc0232_o.jpg

Here's one with skin tones in it: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3386/3649940489_6f90a0d4b4_o.jpg

I hope I helped

 

[Whiteymorange]

Go for it. I like E100VS a lot. I's quite saturated and a bit warm, as has been said, but that helps if you're shooting in the shade - and it puts Velvia to shame during the "golden hour" before sunset for landscape.

Opinions may vary, of course...

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

To gauge the quality of skin tones reproduction, you need a photo that is properly exposed for it. With all due respect, I don't think the photo Emil linked to gives a fair assessment of E100VS, so here is an example from my archives.

This is using an AI Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 around f/2.8 or f/4 on a blazingly sunny day around noon. We were on a boat, so there's lots of UV around. Nevertheless, it worked like a charm. The wide aperture probably helped reduce the contrast a little bit.

Here is a 100% detail from the scan. You will notice as mentioned above a slight redness, but to me this is more because of the scan than the slide itself. When viewed with a loupe, the slide is very neutral.

Ektachrome 100G is also a valid option for portraits, although it can render certain features a little bit pasty. Here's a sample taken with studio strobes on a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 135mm f/3.5 around f/11 or f/16.

Here's a 100% detail of the scan. Damn that Takumar lens could be sharp! E100GX could have done a slightly better job at giving colour to those features. The exact balance of the scan could be in cause as well.

But for the best skin tones, I prefer to go negative. My favourite film for it is Portra 400NC. Here's an example taken with a Mamiya C330 with 105mm DS f/3.5 around f/8 probably:

Did I say that the 105mm DS was sharp?

The thing I like about Portra is that it makes people alive, while still doing a great job at rendering landscape colours. What's more, it's great for any skin tone. Again, using the AI Nikkor 105mm at wide apertures:

So if you go for slide film, your best bet with Kodak would be E100G/X, but E100VS is a valid choice insofar as the saturation is useful to your pictures.

In the Fuji products, the only slide I've used on skin is Provia 400X. It's very nice, but so damn expensive. At any rate, if you intend to do serious portrait work go for Portra NC, or perhaps the Fuji equivalent. I have a beef with Fuji's colours, so for now I stick to Kodak for almost everything colour.

 

[dynachrome]

E100VS

I have used more EBX than E100VS and I prefer EB overall for its neutral color balance. What I can say about EBX for portraits is that if the person you are shooting doesn't have perfect skin tone, it's not the right film. I read somewhere that E100GX is discontinued but that E100G is staying in production. I don't know if either of these is true now. Last month I shot three rolls of Astia along with five rolls of EB and one of EBX. They are all good. The Astia and EB are more neutral. Unique had Astia for $4.79 a roll when I was there a few weeks ago. I think that's less than EB.

 

[BetterSense]

Thanks for the thoughts and especially the images. I mostly shoot slides just for family snapshots and vacation photos and so on, so I think E100VS will be fine considering I've mostly been using a random selection of expired Sensia and E200 slides .

 

[Ektagraphic]

Have fun and be sure to let us know how you make out.

 

[mrladewig]

I prefer E100GX for general purpose. Great skin tones. Great neutrals. Slightly warm, but clean blues. I like E100VS for certain scenes, but I like E100GX better. And I've seen no indication that E100GX has been discontinued.

 

[bob100684]

just got some E100GX from adorama via amazon..... dated 09/09