[PRCo] Color Films Tested

[Fred Schneider]

Subjective opinion department:

Because of the gradual lengthening of processing times and rumors of  
its demise, I've been looking for other films that might be suitable  
as a substitute for Kodachrome.   I understand that the yellow box is  
hard to beat.  There are slides of me romping in Lake Erie at Presque  
Isle 64 years ago that are not noticeably faded.  And then there are  
my Ektachromes of Europe taken by me in 1960-61 that are horrible.   
Anscocolor and Anscochrome that dad used in the period from 1946 to  
1956 have had similar problems with fading of the cyan and yellow dye  
layers.   I admit I am leery.   But I have been told that most of the  
E-6 compatible films are now good for 75 years and I know I'm no  
longer good for that long, so what the hell.

For want of something better, I started my search not with the yellow  
box but with the green box.   Having heard just too much about cash  
losses and staff furloughs including a severe brain drain in  
Rochester, I really wasn't too interested in replacing one Kodak  
product with another.

My first try was the readily available Fuji Velvia.   Nice stuff if  
you like high contrast and extreme color saturation.  This is clearly  
a film for amateurs.  The first few rolls were enough to convince me  
I wasn't all that interested.  This is for people who want their  
color to jump off the screen and into their laps.

Second try was Fuji Provia.  Ah.  Now this is a lower contrast film  
than Velvia but higher contrast than Kodachrome.   My thoughts are:   
nice film to keep in inventory for dull days.  Provia to bring out  
the foreground and a split gray filter to darken the sky and you've  
got a pretty much unbeatable combination when the weather doesn't  
like you.   I think I'll continue to keep some inventoried.   I have  
some rather nice images on Provia of ships in the fog in Plaqamines  
Parish south of New Orleans last March.

The third try was Fuji Astia.  Rich Allman and I went out for the  
second day of renewed rail service on SEPTA route 15 in  
Philadelphia.  It was one of those absolutely picture perfect  
days ...  deep blue sky and fluffy clouds that create a great  
contrast with a polarizing filter.  Rich told me he had heard Astia  
was so good that it "out Kodachromed Kodachrome."  My thoughts are  
that the contrast range is about the same except at the lower end  
where shadow detail is actually a little better on Astia.   I could  
see detail in the white paint on Kawasaki cars and in the wheels  
under them.  Color saturation is a little stronger on Astia ... maybe  
closer to the now discontinued Kodachrome 25 than Kodachrome 64.    
Grain is supposed to be very fine on Astia --- exceptional for a film  
of 100 ASA --- but I did not get out a microscope.   I did not feel  
bothered that any one color was off.   I simply liked the results.  I  
bought 10 rolls the first time.  Would I buy another 10 or 20?   
Yes.   But I'm going to be totally honest:  I did not take any  
comparison images on Kodachrome.  This is a purely subjective  
analysis of Fuji Astia.

I have not tried the orange box since 1963.   Even back in 1960 I had  
less problems with fading with AGFA films than I did with any other  
E3 or E4 processes.

I welcome anyone else's subjective opinions.