Kodak 100SW

[Outdoorsman]

I was wonderding if anyone had an opinion on this film. I can't seem to find it on B&H and Kodak's site is short some files on the film, so I think it's ?discontinued? However, next month I will be going on a field trip for a biology class and the prof has "a bunch of film that needs to be used up," including the 100SW. Kodak calls it Saturated Warm. But all the graphs are gone from their site... is this Kodak's version of Fuji Astia? What can anyone tell me about this film?

[another view]

E100S (saturated) and E100SW (saturated warm) were replaced by E100G and E100GX respectively - this was about two years ago I think. E100G is probably Kodak's closest film to Astia but IMO Ektachrome films look a lot different than Fuji's. Even though "S" was saturated it wasn't as saturated as Provia but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

In my very limited experience with S, SW, G and GX, the new versions are pretty close to the old versions. Newer versions are supposed to have less grain - but Fuji still wins here. E100SW should be a pretty good choice - if there is one - for shooting in mid day lighting. It's a little lower in contrast than a lot of slide films which will help in that situation.

[92135011]

actually the Ektachrome 100G and GX has the same RMS granularity as Velvia of 8

[racingpinarello]

In my last trip to Argentina I used Kodak 100VS, the new version and I was disappointed with the grain. The previous versions seem to have less grain so I made a big mistake in going away from Velvia/Provia.

My assumption was that I would be in mostly snow and could use the warmer palaette of Kodak, but should have stuck with Velvia and a warming filter.

Loren

[Outdoorsman]

racingpinarello, I shot some of the same stock of 100VS that this prof had last spring (another field trip). He gave me 20 rolls of it, saying he didn't like its "brown" cast, and that it was about to expire, anyway. I ended up with like 12 rolls left over and I agree, it is waay too grainy! Looked like 400, it was so bad. But the saturation was so high, the colors just screamed.
So now he's got this expired stuff with good saturation and tons of grain, and yes, it's pretty contrasty as well... Didn't handle the pre-dawn light at all, either. It lost all the color and everything turned to mud...
He did say that he's got some Velvia 50 as well, so maybe I'll stick with that (w/ 81A)and try the SW.
AV, I definitely am glad to hear about the lower contrast-- we'll be going to the high desert- lots of sagebrush and lava rocks and dust and bright, harsh light- so anything that helps out with the contrast will be a good thing. I've shot the area before, and print film really helped out. And are you saying that the 100SW isn't made anymore? So this film my prof's got is probably expired? Hmm. I know he keeps all his film frozen or at least in the fridge... should I worry about any color shifts?

[another view]

SW was discontinued when GX was introduced. It's probably expired but should still be fine as long as it's been refrigerated - better yet if frozen.

Velvia 50 is in a class of it's own and unfortunately it's being replaced this year with a new Velvia 100. It came out a little over 10 years ago, and all the other Fujichromes have been updated now except that one. They did try Velvia 100F for awhile but personally I didn't like it and I'm not sure if it's made anymore (remember "new" Coke years ago?). Since the new Velvia 100 is not out yet, I don't know if I'll like it as much but I'm sure it will be at least a little different (other than the obvious speed difference).

This is one film not to use in high contrast lighting. It's usually best on overcast days, before/near sunrise or after/near sunset. This film is just the opposite as SW in this respect. And SW's warm tone to it will pretty much equal an 81A on most chromes, or maybe 81B on Provia.

I've shot a bunch of E100VS and it really makes bright reds, blues and yellows pop but overall it wasn't my favorite. I'm pretty much a Fujichrome guy.

[Outdoorsman]

SW was discontinued when GX was introduced. It's probably expired but should still be fine as long as it's been refrigerated - better yet if frozen.

Velvia 50 is in a class of it's own and unfortunately it's being replaced this year with a new Velvia 100. It came out a little over 10 years ago, and all the other Fujichromes have been updated now except that one. They did try Velvia 100F for awhile but personally I didn't like it and I'm not sure if it's made anymore (remember "new" Coke years ago?). Since the new Velvia 100 is not out yet, I don't know if I'll like it as much but I'm sure it will be at least a little different (other than the obvious speed difference).

This is one film not to use in high contrast lighting. It's usually best on overcast days, before/near sunrise or after/near sunset. This film is just the opposite as SW in this respect. And SW's warm tone to it will pretty much equal an 81A on most chromes, or maybe 81B on Provia.

I've shot a bunch of E100VS and it really makes bright reds, blues and yellows pop but overall it wasn't my favorite. I'm pretty much a Fujichrome guy.

You know, I had contacted this professor about the new Velvia 100, since I know he shoots Velvia exclusively. He already knew about it, but even more, he said he tested it and found it "satisfactory in most regards." I wonder how he got his hands on some?
I also heard not too many rave reviews on the 100F. And the cost of that stuff was astronomical!
I once pushed a roll of Velvia to 100. The colors looked drab and muddy. I did not care for it. I shot one roll of it some other time, but since, as you say, it's not really an all-around film, it became quickly useless to me. Provia has always done well in most situations for me. I'm pleased with both the 100F and 400F- they are all I will ever need in a chrome...
Now, I won't say I loved the VS, but no film I've ever tried had quite the saturation. The greens were actually my favorite. In shade, the greens of Provia look muted, like with any other film. But the VS made them so vivid it looked surreal... the poppy in my gallery was shot on 100 VS. I actually toned down the saturation a little before I posted it!

[another view]

I once pushed a roll of Velvia to 100. The colors looked drab and muddy.

Something doesn't sound right. Try it on an overcast day and shoot it at ISO80 - but tell the lab to do a full one-stop push. Of course, there's other ways to set the camera or meter (+1/3 compensation, do it in your head if shooting manual, whatever). Provia 100F works the same way with a two stop push, expose at 320 (fine with 200 and a one stop push though).

If you exposed at 100, then that would be 1/3 stop less exposure than what I'd use. Generally, that should give you even more color saturation but slightly underexposed slides. The first roll of Velvia 50 that I pushed was shot at 100 and has tons of saturation to it (partly cloudy day, car show). The whole thing about compensation is just from my own experience - YMMV. But your roll at 100 should have been at least as saturated as Velvia at 50.