Re: [Leica] Kodachrome

[Bud Cook <budcook@ibm.net>]

Folks, I shamelessly saved the post below from Henning Wulff because it
explains to my satisfaction some interesting differences among color
reversal films.
Thanks to Mr. Wulff, here it is:
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This is written from Canada's West Coast, but film considerations are
generally not influenced too much by 50 degrees of longitude (latitude
is
another matter).

I've used most of Fuji's films (and Kodak's), and find that overall, I
probably prefer Kodachrome as a travel film. If you know a good place to

have it processed, that would be my recommendation.

Kodachrome, as well as Kodak's E6 films, tends to have a longer 'toe'
than
films from Fuji, especially Velvia, meaning that shadow areas are
separated
better. Fuji films tend more to the 'black hole' syndrome, where
anything
below a certain luminance level tends to be completely black. On the
other
hand, Fuji films, (especially Velvia again) tend to have a longer
'shoulder' than Kodachrome, meaning that highlights are differentiated
better. The overall result of these two factors is that Velvia in
practice
is better rated at 40, so that you get enough shadow detail, and
overexposure is not as likely because of the long shoulder. Kodachrome
25,
on the other hand, with its long 'toe', and shorter 'shoulder', is more
easily overexposed and less likely to be underexposed, so can be rated
at
32. This means that effectively Kodachrome 25 is only 1/3 stop slower
than
Velvia. Their resolution is effectively similar, and both are for most
purposes grainless, but Kodachrome has higher acutance (edge contrast
effect) which results in Ilfochrome prints _looking_ sharper when made
from
Kodachrome. Color rendition is a personal choice, and somewhat
influenced
by fashion. Advertising demands high decibel levels on TV and shouting
colors in ads, so Velvia with its higher saturation wins in those areas,

and I use it for that reason for most of my commercial work, but for my
personal stuff I prefer Kodachrome 25's color rendition. Some colors on
Velvia can look downright violent.

All the above comments about Velvia apply to some degree to all of
Fuji's
100 speed films, except that Astia has especially nice skin tones. For
travel I would pick Sensia, as I do not prefer either Provia or Astia
for
that purpose. My local pro lab sells all Fuji films with processing for
a
very good price, so I get film stored and aged to perfection with top
notch
processing for $12Cdn.


   *            Henning J. Wulff
  /|\      Wulff Photography & Design