Whats the difference between Kodachrome and Ektachrome

[pentaxuser]

Astia is mentioned in these posts in what seems favourable terms with no mention of Provia and yet it is Provia that has survived. Why was that?

pentaxuser

 

[MattKing]

Astia is mentioned in these posts in what seems favourable terms with no mention of Provia and yet it is Provia that has survived. Why was that?

pentaxuser

"Nice Bright Colours...."

 

[DREW WILEY]

Most people who take chromes don't really understand that what looks the most snappy on a light box might not be the best choice for color reproduction in a print or in publication. And now that Fauxtoshop is running around like chicken with its head cut off, no color film seems loud and obnoxious enough for some people.

 

[RPC]

Astia is mentioned in these posts in what seems favourable terms with no mention of Provia and yet it is Provia that has survived. Why was that?

pentaxuser

Astia was used by photographers, many pros, who generally didn't plan to project their images, but instead wanted low contrast transparencies for quality skin tones and publication, and didn't need colors that popped. When digital came along they switched to that for convenience and ease of manipulation.

The remaining slide films today serve the purpose of giving the contrast and saturation needed to look good for those who still want to project, view directly, or scan, and prefer positive images.

 

[pentaxuser]

Thanks all for the replies to my question

pentaxuser

 

[Agulliver]

Most people who take chromes don't really understand that what looks the most snappy on a light box might not be the best choice for color reproduction in a print or in publication. And now that Fauxtoshop is running around like chicken with its head cut off, no color film seems loud and obnoxious enough for some people.

+1

 

[trondsi]

Most people who take chromes don't really understand that what looks the most snappy on a light box might not be the best choice for color reproduction in a print or in publication. And now that Fauxtoshop is running around like chicken with its head cut off, no color film seems loud and obnoxious enough for some people.

I shoot a lot of slide film because I shoot mainly for myself. But when it comes to printing, I don't really think negative film looks consistently better. Sometimes better, yes, but far from always.

 

[trondsi]

Astia is mentioned in these posts in what seems favourable terms with no mention of Provia and yet it is Provia that has survived. Why was that?

pentaxuser

Astia was a favorite of mine, a really excellent slide film. I wish they would bring it back.

 

[removed account4]

ted -
these days the main difference between ektachrome and kodachrome is
ektachrome you can easily get processed if not locally through mail order ...
and kodachrome, you can't ...

Most people who take chromes don't really understand that what looks the most snappy on a light box might not be the best choice for color reproduction in a print or in publication. And now that Fauxtoshop is running around like chicken with its head cut off, no color film seems loud and obnoxious enough for some people.

LOL
people have been shooting loud and obnoxious film for years ( color AND bw )
what i think is really funny is that no one was running around
telling people who shot velvia and ektar or azo &c
that their work was gauche ...
too bad people can't just do what they want ..

more power to the fauvists !

 

[DREW WILEY]

I call em Fauxists !

 

[trendland]

1) Kodachome is much much more stable in the long term perspective in regard of its color saturation. If the word "when" has not been said : "This is only the case W H E N Koachrome has seen a preety good storage in the dark.(not used in an extensive way of projection)

This is a main advantage of Kodakcrome.

2) The sharpness is extraordinary in comparison with other films of the modernest type. Some say this issue of Kodakcrome is in regard of
its special design (K14 developement) and has to do with its very thin layers. I am not so quite sure if this seams to be correct - but YES Kodachrome films are real champions with very sharp resulting slides.
That means the resolution is at its best and the grain structure is extra fine.
But be aware of : This is not the case with higher speed Kodachromes !
And higher speed is beginning at ISO 64 with Kodachrome.
There the ISO 100 Kodak Ektachrome has its own advantage (Velvia 50 is at the same point) If you are not so sure about this - have a look at quite grainy ISO 200 Kodachromes........terrible !
So the point of extraordinary sharpness, extreme fine grain, and massive resolution of Kodachromes may result on the speed of K25 films.
But the special design of layers are responsible of Kodachromes finest characteristics in the second line (from my point).
Notice : with K14 the colors are not located within the layers firstly like with all other color emulsions (today two designs are remaining c41,e6)
They came into the film during K14 process - some say this let the layers produced in a very special thinnless. May be that is right - I am not sure about 100% because this seams to be a quite relative issue (the thinnless of film layers)
3) Ektachrome has the better schwarzschild improvement. And it has a more "true colors" look from the setting of the emulsion design.
Kodachromes has its special individual look with deep and real saturated colors. This may be a special advantage if you want to create (or you need such look) a 70th vintage aestetics with saturated yellows orange and red.Habe a look at advertisement of that Periode (vintage look, Kodachromes look)

4) Of course e6 developement is just " in the line of fire" that means you can operate it today but you have to hurry up -no one is able to give a guarantee if e6 will be still there in 10 years.
With k14 you just need a cash injection of some 100k - some Million from fathers money because you have to build up an idustrial facillity to handle an equivalent true k14 developement.
If you are able to manage this - there will probably a way to lent some additional Million to produced the films under official licence by yourselfes..... Kodachromes are out of Produktion since 2005 ???
So somewhere at this time many bought it , some freezed it, many did not know that developing of Kodachromes was discontinued and exposed it.
And some are able to handle k14 with household equipment in own kitchen .....?????
In short : no way with Kodachromes today !
with regards

PS : PE is not meant (household equipment) but some other experts are biting their teeths with k14.

 

[DREW WILEY]

The final generation of Astia (100F) was distinctly LESS grainy than Provia, and across the board down into the shadows, even less than Velvia. The palette wasn't anemic. More saturated than any color neg film, again, across the board. And more accurate than the options. Kodak E100G was a close second, and had a bit more
punch. It was nice to have the trio of films - modest, med, and high contrast that Astia, Provia, and Velvia respectively offered. When it comes to printing, those kinds
of options are important. For those of you who like honey and jam smeared all over sugar cubes, Fauxtoshop does it all. So does Krylon fluorescent spray paint.

 

[NJH]

Your point about comparing saturation to negative films is really important IMHO, that is why lower contrast E6 film options are so important. Currently we have a pretty enormous contrast gap between Provia and the available pro negative films IMHO. It always makes me laugh when people talk about Provia as a general use film as really it isn't is just the most widely useable of the current options (prior to E100).

 

[Wayne]

Ektachrome is born again and Kodachrome refuses to die

 

[DREW WILEY]

Astia is far better than Provia at long exposure in terms of hue accuracy. In fact, the Fuji CDU duplicating sheet film, designed for relatively long lab exposures (the sweet spot was from 10 sec to maybe 1 min) was simply tungsten-balanced Astia. Regular daylight Astia 100F was an even better duplicating film once you found the appropriate colorhead balance. In fact, I've done up to third-generation 8x10 sheet film duplicates with it by contact without noticeable hue shift. Provia wouldn't survive even one-step usage as a dupe film without exhibiting hue shifts (and I've tested every single generation of Provia too, under very strict standards using very specialized equipment). And Astia 100F (F meaning fine-grained) had finer grain than even Velvia, and best of all, was on a dimensionally stable polyester base (very important in punch and register duplication work). But this is a mere academic debate at this time, since Astia is gone. ... Alas, Kodachrome is gone too. I loved Kodachrome 25 for 35mm work. But when I saw a bunch of 5X7 sheets of Kodachrome work from Hollywood taken in the 40's, that was a Wow moment - looked like they were made yesterday, and oh, the hues. But if it's financially unrealistic to revive even 35mm Kodachrome, one can hardly imagine how expensive the sheet film version would be to buy and process today. Maybe E100G will in fact revive at least in roll form - it was one of the best general-purpose E6 films ever, certainly Kodak's best. But I've moved on to Kodak color neg films, which are now the best ever in that category, Ektar being my top choice for general photography, and Portra 160 sheet film for making internegs from my old 8x10 chromes, so I can print them RA4.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Ektachrome can be processed by anyone with the right set of chemicals and know-how

So can Kodachrome!

PE

 

[dmr]

Back when both were commonly available and I was climbing the learning curve in real photography, I always thought of Ektachrome as having a cooler rendition and a coarser grain than Kodachrome.

Fast-forward 40 years. Kodachrome most definitely ages much better than Ektachrome!

 

[Helios 1984]

Ektachrome can be processed by anyone with the right set of chemicals and know-how

So can Kodachrome!

PE

Checkmate

 

[Sirius Glass]

Ektachrome is born again and Kodachrome refuses to die

Oh Kodachrome died a long time ago. Some refuse to face reality.

 

[George Mann]

1) That means the resolution is at its best and the grain structure is extra fine.
But be aware of : This is not the case with higher speed Kodachromes !
And higher speed is beginning at ISO 64 with Kodachrome.

So the point of extraordinary sharpness, extreme fine grain, and massive resolution of Kodachromes may result on the speed of K25 films.
But the special design of layers are responsible of Kodachromes finest characteristics in the second line (from my point).

I had zero performance issues with K14-64! In fact, I preferred its performance over K25.

 

[George Mann]

So can Kodachrome!

PE

So when do you estimate its return?

 

[George Mann]

Oh Kodachrome was murdered a long time ago. Some refuse to embrace its possible resurrection.

I like this version better!

 

[Photo Engineer]

So when do you estimate its return?

Probably never. But, as they say, "never say never"!

PE

 

[Theo Sulphate]

... as they say, "never say never"!

PE

You do realize, don't you, that such an infinitesimally slight positive statement, coming from someone with your authority and gravitas, has just sent the Kodachrome futures market up by 600 points.

Rumor has it there's a functioning K-Lab on the dark side of the Moon. Maybe the Chinese Chang'e 4 that landed there three days ago can spot it.

 

[Wayne]

You do realize, don't you, that such an infinitesimally slight positive statement, coming from someone with your authority and gravitas, has just sent the Kodachrome futures market up by 600 points.

He also said "It will not come back".