Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: What happened to Ektar film?(Mr. Pytlak or anyone?)

my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

»	Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE » Operations » Film Handlers' Forum » What happened to Ektar film?(Mr. Pytlak or anyone?) (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2

Author

Topic: What happened to Ektar film?(Mr. Pytlak or anyone?)

Matthew Bailey
Master Film Handler

Posts: 461
From: Port Arthur,TX
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 02-27-2001 04:02 AM

I am wondering what happened to Kodak's
Ektar film. Is there another Kodak brand
that is being used in it's place?
Maybe Mr. Pytlak should explain this.

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-27-2001 12:19 PM

KODAK EKTAR 25 Film was introduced in 1988. It was replaced by KODAK ROYAL GOLD 25 Film:
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/e40/e40Contents.shtml

The technology has been improved even more with the new Kodak Royal Gold line of films:
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/service/35mm/films/royalGoldFilms.shtml

For the finest grain in a consumer camera negative film, the Kodak Royal Gold 100 film would be your choice today.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Rick McCluney
Film Handler

Posts: 66
From: Ocean Springs, MS, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 02-27-2001 02:39 PM

John,
I take it that the Royal Gold 25 is no longer available. I used it a few years ago and loved the detail and warmth in the pictures it produced. I have not seen it in a some time.
Rick

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-27-2001 02:45 PM

Try the KODAK ROYAL GOLD 100. Very similar quality at a higher speed.

Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-27-2001 05:54 PM

There is also a relatively new Ektachrome available that is also quite warm. Can't remember the number for it though, perhaps John does. I have shot it in 4X5 and gotten great results, but it is also available in 120 and 35mm as far as I know. It does not have the typical Ektachrome blue tint to it.(John, Don't get mad here) Also if you want really saturated colors and extreme fine grain try Fuji Velvia. Its ASA of 50 and resolving power are remarkable. One can make outstanding Ilfochrome prints from Velvia transparencys when its all done right! Ilfochrome prints also do not fade like conventional color prints do. The dyes are already in the emulsion layers, not created chemically during processing.
Mark @ GTS

Greg Mueller
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1687
From: Port Gamble, WA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-27-2001 06:27 PM

Hey as long as we're on this topic...
Astrophotographers around the world just loved Kodak PPF 400. It was pretty much the "standard", then Kodak discontinued it. People were buying up all they could get their hands on and storing it in the fridge. (I bought 120 rolls in the 120 format) Is there anything that is close to PPF400. Some are using E200 with a two stop push or hypering it. It's sort of a mystery as to why kodak stopped producing this popular film

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-27-2001 08:20 PM

Greg: Have you tried the new KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA Film?:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/portra/portraIndex.shtml

Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-27-2001 09:53 PM

Apparently, the point of Velvia is that it provides something approaching the Kodachrome look, but can be processed by anyone who can do E6 work. It's also available as a motion-picture stock (yes, 35mm reversal!) and is occasionally used for commercials and music videos. Apparently, it can't really be printed, so it's only useful for work that will end up on tape.

Personally, I'm a Kodachrome fan for the most part, but I have also been happy with the Ektachrome 400 asa stock for slides and Royal Gold 100 for when I need prints (like for the photos I've taken for the picture gallery here, since I don't have access to a slide scanner).

Last weekend, I shot some Tmax 3200 for the first time in a couple of years. I'd forgotten how great this is for B&W work with available light. Check out the exposure latitude in these pictures (click on the links below)...this was a pretty poorly lit nightclub type of place, with several stops' worth of difference in the light from one part of the stage to another. I shot these with a slowish zoom lens at f 3.5, 1/60 and the film was processed at 3200...I have another roll that was pushed to 6400, but I haven't scanned any of the pictures yet. These scans aren't that great, but they give some idea of what can be done with 3200 asa film.

picture 1 - small (30k)

picture 1 - large (240k)

picture 2 - small (26k)

picture 2 - large (290k)

(This is getting way off topic...)

Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-27-2001 10:41 PM

Scott,
Indeed Velvia has the highest resolving power of all the transparency films out there, including Kodachrome! I do allot of landscapes and it is really a great film for that. I can make grainless 30 X 40 Ilfochromes from them that look remarkable.
I love Kodachrome but unfortunately since Kodak stopped processing it the quality is pretty much touch and go. At least thats been my experience with the last dozen rolls or so. Perhaps you know of a good lab for it. Nothing around here so it has to be sent out. Also the new Kodachrome seems to have a more muted color than the old stuff did. The T-Max stuff looks great. What developer did you use?
John,
I have a bunch of the Porta here . I've shot it and its nice. Again the colors seem toned down a bit, but it is a very pleasing film.
Mark @ GTS

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-28-2001 06:59 AM

Scott: Great shots, by "unavailable light". Many times you can get really detailed images , even when the light is so dim that it's hard to see well enough to focus. Did you process the negs in T-Max developer?
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/j86/j86.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f32/f32d.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f32/f32e.shtml
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/p150/p150a.shtml

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-28-2001 07:13 AM

Mark, Scott:

Have you tried all of the KODAK ELITE Chrome films? Many prefer them to the competition:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/film/exEliteMain.shtml

Here's information on the KODACHROME films:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/film/exKodaMain.shtml

And here's a link to the line of KODAK professional reversal films:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/colorReversalIndex.shtml

Finally, information on the "Color Abuzz" reversal film for motion-pictures, used in many commercial and music video shoots and some features:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/reversal/5285.shtml

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-28-2001 07:26 AM

Greg:

As an astronomy buff, you might appreciate the following links:
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/p150/p150Contents.s html
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/government/ias/
http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/p255/p255.shtml#086

Greg Mueller
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1687
From: Port Gamble, WA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-28-2001 08:42 AM

Thanks John I'll check out those links. I did try the KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA on a vacation to Death Valley. I found the color a little subdued, at least on the kind I tried.
I still have close to 100 rolls of PPF. So I'm set for a while.
Here's a few of my humble efforts from last year http://users.silverlink.net/~mueller/astrophotos.htm
It's almost time to get out and start shooting again

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut

Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-28-2001 09:19 AM

Thanks John for the tip on the Elite Chrome. I'll get a few rolls for my next trip out. It would be nice if there was a film like Velvia but with a bit faster speed! I have never like any of the other Fuji products too well as the greens always seem to go towards lime green a tad bit too much.
Mark @ GTS

Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-28-2001 09:28 AM

I believe that it was Tmax developer, but I'm not 100% sure. I haven't been shooting much B&W lately, and it's not really cost effective to process it myself in small quantities.

Mark - I think that part of the "issue" with Fuji is that most of the US labs aren't as familiar with it as they are with Kodak, and so they don't do quite as good a job with processing it. I don't know that for a fact, but I've seen a fair amount of evidence that supports it.

That said, I'm not a big fan of the Fuji color negative films, but they do have some nice high-speed E6 reversal films, although I'm generally happy enough with Ektachrome 400 that I don't have much use for anything faster. I do want to try Velvia sometime soon, though.

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.