Review of Kodak's NEW Ektachrome E100

Last October, I received my five 35mm rolls of the new E100 Ektachrome that I had ordered from the FPP store.  Of course, I was elated to see Kodak Alaris finally ship their product after what seemed to be a long wait (not anywhere as long as Film Ferrania!).  Considering that this new E-6 film had some hurdles to overcome in the digital hegemony, I am pleased that Kodak Alaris took a chance on bringing it forth.  I have been shooting slide film since the mid-1970s, and while I don't shoot it as often as I did over a decade ago, I still find it relevant to my photography. 

Since Kodak pulled out of the E-6 market in 2012, we have been left with only one E-6 emulsion manufacturer -- Fujifilm.  I'll admit that I have been shooting fresh Provia and some fresh and expired Velvia in the last few years, and there is nothing wrong with either film.  However, given Fujifilm's penchant for dropping well-liked film stocks, who knows how long before they are gone?

As a long-time user of film from Eastman Kodak, I loved Ektachrome, and its varied emulsions.  For me, an ISO 100 slide film was my mainstay when shooting nature and macro.  While faster emulsions were available, I used them far less often.  Kodachrome 64 was a superb film, too, though I shot it less often than E-6 film.  Since Kodak had withdrawn form making ANY slide films, I was using old stock that had been refrigerated.  The problem there, of course, is that as films age, the results will not be optimal.  So, I was pretty excited when Kodak Alaris announced in early 2017 that it was bringing a new Ektachrome into the world.  I didn't expect it to take over a year before it was available, but it has been worth the wait.

So far, I have shot two rolls of the new E100, and both were developed by The Darkroom in San Clemente, CA.  While I have an E-6 kit at home, I did not want my results tainted by personal goof-ups.  One roll was shot in my trusty Nikon N80 in Aperture-priority mode, and the other in my also trusty, full- manual Nikon FM.  I got the film back uncut, and cut it into 5-frame lengths to fit my archival print file pages.  I am not putting the film into slide mounts because it's easier scanning in strips.  I can mount it in mounts later, should I want to.  The film was scanned on my Epson V700 photo scanne at 2400 dpi. 

As an experienced E-6 shooter, I trusted my instincts when shooting with this film, compensating for the lighting conditions when it was appropriate.  A polarizer was used in some instances.  I am very pleased with my results, and the E100 film is everything that I had hoped for.

N80, Mackinac Island, MI

N80, Mackinac Island, MI

N80, Mackinac Island, MI

N80, Whitefish Point, MI

N80, Mackinac Island, MI

N80, Tacquahmenon Falls, MI

Nikon FM, Looking Glass Creek, NC

Nikon FM, Bat Cave, NC

Nikon FM,  NC

Nikon FM, Bat Cave, NC 

Nikon FM, Chimney Rock, NC

Nikon FM, Chimney Rock, NC

How to cook your film

I know that it is the end of what seems to be the longest month of the year...January. It seems like January has 40 days, doesn't it?   The calendar assures that it is only 31, but I swear there is an extra week hidden in there.  Perhaps it is because we are so damn busy in December with holidays, parties, birthdays, etc. that January seems so long.  In any case, it's also one of those months that I find myself catching up with things that got put on the back burner, like developing film.  I have been working through developing and scanning a lot of rolls of C-41 film that I shot in the second half of 2017.  One new thing that has made my work go so much easier has been one of those immersion heaters for Sous Vide cooking.  I had seen them being used for C-41 and E-6 processing as heaters for water baths to bring the chems up to the proper temperature, and keep it there.  So, I ordered one online from Amazon for $68.00. It's a Sous Vide Immersion Stick Pod by Primo Eats, and it's an amazing device. Although designed for slow-cooking food, it makes a perfect water heater with thermostat control and a rotor that circulates the water.  The temperature range is 5-100° C, so having the water bath at 38.5°C is not a problem.  In fact, I could set it for 20°C for b&w processing, too.  This has saved me a lot of water -- I had been using hot water from the tap to heat up the chemistry; and has saved me lots of time, as well.  I can set everything up in the water bath, turn on the stick pod, and go off and do other things until the chemistry is up to the right temp.  The device heats up the water quite quickly, but of course, the chemistry in the bottles also has to be heated by the water circulating around them.  Once it's at the proper temperature, you can be sure that it will stay there while it is in the water bath. This will give you more control over your processing, for sure.

Set the temp and let it heat up.

I label my tanks with numbers that correspond to how
many rolls I have processed in a batch of chemistry. I usually
stop at 20 rolls.

So far, so good.  The film has come out great, and I no longer worry about whether the temperature has changed. I also put the developing tank in the water bath in between rotations, just to make sure it is staying where it should be.

And here are a few shots from my Pentax K1000 and Lomo 400 color film, from last May-June.

Pretty In Pink...FPP's Infrachrome Film

UM's Ingalls Mall with Rackham in the background, 2014.

I have been scanning in some slides from the summer's shooting, and realized that although I have shot a number of rolls of Infrachrome Film from the Film Photography Project Store, I haven't previously posted about it.   Before I start, here are some answers to questions I get about the film.

Q: What is FPP Infrachrome film?
A: It is most likely Aerochrome (E-6) film from Eastman Kodak.  I can't think of any other manufacturer that would have made such a distinctive film.

Q: Why shoot it?  Nothing looks real.
A: That is the point entirely.  You see an altered color landscape, and in bright sun, you get red and pink tones of green foliage, and other color shifts.  Blue sky tends to stay blue.  It's obviously not a film for every-day use.

Q: What filtration do I need for those quirky colors?
A: I suggest a yellow filter (K12) and a polarizer to get the best results.   You can experiment with a deep yellow or light orange and see what differences you get.

Q: What conditions are best for IR film?
A: Any infrared film works best under full sun conditions, whether it's B&W infrared or color infrared.  You need the sun to provide adequate infrared reflectance from the foliage.  Shadows tend to be very dark, as they are not reflecting IR.  IR is the opposite end of the spectrum from ultraviolet, or UV.  UV rays are very short wavelengths, and the longer wavelengths of IR basically gets to the level of heat.  Obviously, not a winter film!

Q: What 35 mm cameras work best for Infrachrome?
A:  Stay away from cameras that have a film cassette window on the back, and if they use IR inside for figuring out frame counts, like the Canon EOS cameras.  Time to go back to basics, and use something like a Pentax K1000, Nikon FM2N, Canon FTb, Minolta X700, etc.  You definitely want the camera to do the metering.  Of course, you could also use a rangefinder camera.

Q: Where do I send it to be developed?
A: Unless you are doing your own E-6 developing, the only place I recommend is thedarkroom.com in California.  They are used to dealing with it, and after I sent a couple rolls to another lab with awful results, I wish I had sent them to The Darkroom.   The film isn't cheap, so don't mess it up.

Every time I shoot a roll of this film I am amazed by the results. It's also a learning process, as every time, the conditions, subject,  and time of day give me results that are often surprising.   What really work -- strong afternoon sunlight, lots of vegetation, and a few clouds really add to the image.

Here are a few examples form the FPP Infrachrome film.