What colour film was used in Vietnam war?

[AlexP]

Our Vietnam war reenactment group is eager to get some pictures with the period feel, so film is a must. However while Tri-X is well known to be a film of choice for photographers at the time (and place), it was kinda hard to find information on colour films. What did they use? Kodachrome? Ektachrome? Negative films?
What modern film would be the closest in look and feel?

 

[AgX]

Those films were used that photographers found useful or were able to obtain. Such films included Orwocolor.

 

[Chan Tran]

I don't recall seeing color pictures of the Vietnam war.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Ektachrome would have been the film of choice. Color films of the era were less saturated than they are today. You may get something close to the look by playing with the processing. And Ektachrome fades with time, like memories.

 

[BrianShaw]

https://www.businessinsider.com/rare-color-photos-of-the-vietnam-war-2016-6

https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...he-vietnam-war-captured-in-colour-in-pictures

 

[Pieter12]

Most probably Ektachrome. Most photojournalists sent their film back to the home office for processing and turnaround speed was essential except for monthly publications. ASA (now ISO) speed of Ektachrome was faster and could be pushed, more suited to action photography.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

https://www.businessinsider.com/rare-color-photos-of-the-vietnam-war-2016-6

https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...he-vietnam-war-captured-in-colour-in-pictures

"She and her friend soon discovered old slides — film that was intended for projection onto a screen using a slide projector — that were taken by her father during the war."

That quote from the Business Insider article blew my mind when it made me realize that we do live in a time where we have to explain what slides are.

 

[AlexP]

So this is what we need, isn't it?
https://www.amazon.com/Kodak-Ektachrome-E100G-Exposure-Transparency/dp/B00009R77Y

 

[Lachlan Young]

Depends on who was bankrolling the job - Larry Burrows is recorded as using High Speed Ektachrome (ASA 160, officially pushable to 400 from 1968) and Kodachrome II (ASA 25) for his Vietnam War stories for Life Magazine in the mid-1960s. In some major markets (and if the film was airlifted out for processing/ publication) overnight Kodachrome processing was not uncommon - for those with publication/ commercial budgets.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I don't recall seeing color pictures of the Vietnam war.

No National Geographic magazines?

 

[AgX]

Many photographers had no access to Kodak films. Something you all seem to overlook.

 

[Chan Tran]

No National Geographic magazines?

No! I was in Vietnam during the Vietnam war and we didn't have National Geographic. Didn't know about it then.

 

[Dan Fromm]

overnight Kodachrome processing was not uncommon - for those with publication/ commercial budgets.

Funny, I used to drop K'chrome off at Fairlawn in the morning, not too late, and pick it up late afternoon for the regular price. K'chrome dropped off in the Cambridge store behind the Grace building came back the next day.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Many photographers had no access to Kodak films. Something you all seem to overlook.

Interesting. That's what PXs stocked.

 

[AgX]

Many photographers could not even get near a PX.

 

[wiltw]

I just did a search for Vietnam era photos, and it appears that about 3:1 ratio of B&W:color photos recorded the conflict. And in searching for film emulsion names, largely the emulsions used were generally not included information, and the biographical comments by notable photographers of the times had commentary about the experiences of the conflict, wth no one mentioning favorite emulsion, with a sole exception of someone mentioning Ektachrome 64.

 

[Lachlan Young]

Funny, I used to drop K'chrome off at Fairlawn in the morning, not too late, and pick it up late afternoon for the regular price. K'chrome dropped off in the Cambridge store behind the Grace building came back the next day.

Yeah, but my point was about the costs of getting it from wherever news was happening in the world to Fairlawn or Hemel Hempstead etc to get same-day/ overnight process in time to hit press deadlines for the magazines etc (press deadline for a Sunday magazine printed in rotogravure might be Tuesday simply to allow enough time to go through pre-press and print the sheer number of copies - even at the very high impression rate of rotogravure). And photographers/ TV crews often seem to have been prepared to get important film/ 16mm footage back for publication or broadcast by persuading people flying from the scene of action to London, or NYC (or wherever the film needed to go) to act as a 'pigeon'.

 

[AlexP]

I believe fast-made high-contrast B&W pictures were intended for newspapers while color for magazines like Life, Time etc.

 

[Pieter12]

I believe fast-made high-contrast B&W pictures were intended for newspapers while color for magazines like Life, Time etc.

Newspapers actually want flat images. The pinting process adds contrast.

 

[foc]

What colour film was used, I imagine depended on what side of the conflict the photographer was on.
I recall seeing many colour photos in Life magazine, so I can assume that the photographer was on the USA side and therefore used western film like Ektachrome.
I don't remember seeing any colour images from the Viet Cong side and if there were any I would assume they were Orwocolor/Svema type film.

The OP wants to create that colour film look from that period. I don't think Kodak or Fuji films, colour negative or transparency, will recreate that look.
Of course the easiest way to do so in a software programme like Photoshop.

Maybe have a look at some of the Lomography colour negative films. Check out their samples photos on their site and see what catches your eye.
LomoChrome Metropolis colour negative is one example.
LomoChrome Purple colour negative another example.
You could also try some of the "new" Silberra film.


AFAIK, the Lomography Colour Negative 100, 400, 800 are Kodak films and I don't think they will give you the look you are after.
I think shooting in 35mm would better suit your project.

If you do proceed, can we see some of your results, please?

 

[spark]

US soldiers and marines also had Kodacolor-X available. ASA 80, less contrast and less saturated than modern print films. I recall greens were a lot more muted than Ektachrome. Most of the pix in albums are showing their age with color shifts.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I asked a FB friend who is Vietnam vet, and he said "all of us and Stars and Stripes only used Tri-X. Colour was too difficult to get it processed reliably. Some places we could process it ourselves. Tri-X shipped out to Saigon took a long time to get back and we were often on the move. When the film/prints finally came back they were often really scratched up. Larry Burrows for Life Magazine, shot colour for special assignments".

 

[wiltw]

Back in the 1960's most shots taken with intention they be included in daily newspapers were typically B&W...easy to process and get into print rapidly. .
Color shots generally did not have fast processing, there was typically a day delay just for processing, and printing color was generally not economically done back then...few papers would print color photos. The color shots were mostly done for magazines like Life, which did not have daily deadlines, and were equipped for routinely printing color images.
Color photos by US photographers during the Vietnam years could have been Kodacolor-X, or Ektachorme-X or High Speed Ektachrome. or Kodachrome

 

[Ian Grant]

All the colour images I've seen from the Vietnam war look like High Speed Ektachrome, or plain Ektachrome. Personally I never likedthevE3/4 Ektachrome prefering Fujichrome and that would have been available in the region as well particularly as S troops and foreign war correspondents were frequently in Japan.

Ian

 

[AlexP]

Thanks a lot for answers, we would try both ektachrome and digital retouching