Slide film....Is it worth it?

[Asha]

As I'm making a transition back to monochrome for all my 35mm and MF photography, I am debating wether to continue with colour for LF, not least of all as I can visualise a photo easier in greyscale than i can in colour ( strange but true)

If I find that some scenes (particularly landscapes) really do demand colour then I am struggling to find a strong enough reason to shoot them on slide film as opposed to colour negative film.

For the moment i still possess a moderate amount of E6 and C41 film, however I doubt I will be replenishing as my stocks diminish.

I appreciate the stained glass window negatives and the colours that some of the film can offer, such as Velvia, are wonderful ( not that some C41 film doesn't offer superb colour rendition too!) however, as I do not mount the slides to project them and simply scan and print them through an inkjet printer as I do the monochrome & C41 frames, I cannot see that the narrow latitude of slide film, the need to purchase specific development chems and and the additional cost of the film is worth it simply to print out onto paper.

So those of you who still shoot slide, what are your reasons?, do you feel there are distinct advantages over shooting C41?

 

[Kevin Allan]

So those of you who still shoot slide, what are your reasons?, do you feel there are distinct advantages over shooting C41?

I've had a minor resurgence in the use of slide film, but only because I asked for 4 rolls of Agfa Precisa CT100 (repackaged Fuji Provia 100F) as a Xmas present. I am enjoying using the film but I still remain of the view that there is no concrete reason to prefer slides over negative film.

 

[angelpaaul]

Like Kevin, I had another go at using slide film. I find that the latitude of negative makes it 'easier' to scan than positive film. My opinion is that slides are best projected using a good old fasioned projector onto a screen. And as I could't be bothered with that I'm sticking with negative.

For the moment i still possess a moderate amount of E6 and C41 film, however I doubt I will be replenishing as my stocks diminish.

Mind you, I could always be persuaded to try again

 

[IainG]

Back in the day, slide film was considered far superior probably due to the relatively poor colour negative film. There were a few poor slide films, but the majority were excellent, and the standards are still very good. My favourite was Kodachrome, but there were some really good slide films from Fuji and Agfa.

These days, I still shoot slide film, Fuji Velvia and Provia, and I've got a stock of Ektachrome which are all really good. However, the negative films by Kodak, Ektar and Portra are in my opinion outstanding, especially for scanning. Even the Poundland Agfa film returns some excellent negatives.

Slide film still has that special quality though, and there's something special about looking at a positive image on film, especially 120.

 

[excalibur2]

My favourite was Kodachrome, but there were some really good slide films from Fuji and Agfa.

My Agfa shots taken about 40-50 years ago have faded slightly, but Kodachrome is estimated to be still good after 100 years...Perutz was crap for longevity. But my colour negs have also faded slightly taken 40-50 years ago but with a touch up with Photoshop can still look good.
So it would be interesting to know how long modern colour pos and neg films will last.

 

[Woodsy]

Personally, I absolutely love shooting on slide. I much prefer it to negative in general, and will typically only shoot negative if the dynamic range of the scene is prohibits using slide. For what I like to shoot though, it's also rare that I wont be able to use grad filters. Finally, you only have to look at the results from Tim Parkin, or Alex Burke to see that slide is still completely capable.

On another point, with the considerably wider dynamic range of negative not withstanding, I find colour negative such a ball ache to scan and get the colours right in post, whereas slide I find takes minimal work to get the final image looking like the slide I'm holding.

 

[35millimetre]

I adore the colours I get from Velvia, and even the slightly cheaper Agfa Precisa. I get mine developed, scanned and sent back though - I might not bother if I had to develop it myself.

 

[Knikki]

I still have some Kodak Extachrome (wish they would make it in 120 again) and was looking at them on the light box and scanning then, slide just has a rich colour that I find sometimes lacks with negative film. I don't like Veliva, have shot lots of it in the past I much prefer Provia.

If you still have some slide film knocking about then use it and enjoy it, I am sure you will Asha.

 

[David_H]

Back in the 80's I used to shoot slide film and develop it at home in the kitchen using a black changing bag, developing tank etc. Is it still possible to do this or have the powers that be outlawed from having the chemicals etc?

 

[Knikki]

Back in the 80's I used to shoot slide film and develop it at home in the kitchen using a black changing bag, developing tank etc. Is it still possible to do this or have the powers that be outlawed from having the chemicals etc?

Funny just asked a similar question in another thread and yep you can still get the chemicals or kits if you want to do E6 or C41 processing.