8x10 tranny films

[Scott Atkinson]

Jim: I'm also an old 4x5 Velvia junkie, but when I tested 8x10s head to head, I found that I actually preferred Ektachrome 100VS--it also helps that it's about 1-1/3 stops faster. You can find 8x10 Velvia if you shop around--try Calumet or Samy's. I also found some 8x10 Velvia 100F at Samy's (some say it's not available, but it is, or was), but again, I prefer the 100VS. I'm not a big fan of Provia, in any format. Haven't tried the new Astia in 8x10, though I like the 120 indoors under studio lights. For 100VS, try Jeff at Badger Graphic Sales.

[tor kviljo]

Have bought something like 300 sheets of various 8"x10" fujichrome films from Freestyle the last 5 years. Works excellent, and the RFP 100 & RDP 50 I have been using have performed perfectly with no need for color-correction. (have some Astia also I belive - havn't used that yet). To complete description, I develope in a JOBO ATL 3000 using Tetenal E6 chemistry. Freestyle/tetenal combination making the use of 8"x10"trannies a less than 2.5 $ a sheet experience... I Did'nt know Freestyle were out of "cold-stored Spesials" - 8"x10" sheet film (ieeeek!) - they have been able to supply this at rock-bottom prices for many years - hope the rumour is wrong.

[jantman]

Well, I'm not afraid to make it public to the world now that the deal is done. Up to a month or so ago, Freestyle had a clearance on 8x10 transparency film. Of most interest to me was 100D (the original Provia, circa 1995 or earlier) sold at $35 for a box of 50 sheets. Well, too bad I only bought one box. That one box, expired in 1995, is sitting in my fridge, and so far has shown near-perfect color balance.

Too bad the deal is over, I could use another box or two. Once this runs out, my color in 8x10 will be severely limited.

[Brian Vuillemenot]

I recently bought several boxes of 8 X 10 RVP from Adorama- they have it in 10 and 50 sheet boxes. I'm not sure what the supply is, but I was able to get severl boxes right away.

[Mark Sampson]

A dumb question- what do you all do to make a finished product from an 8x10 chrome (excepting commercial work)? Make massive scans for digital output? Ilfochromes? lightbox viewing only?

[tim atherton]

"A dumb question- what do you all do to make a finished product from an 8x10 chrome (excepting commercial work)? Make massive scans for digital output? Ilfochromes? lightbox viewing only?"

Scan, adjust in photoshop using the exceptional colour and other controls it offers, and either print in the office up to 13" (soon to be 24") wide prints or get lightejet prints made at the lab up to 4' wide or more (if you really want). The Kodak and Fuji lightjet papers, or prints made via Chromira combined with a good scan and Photoshop give you options and an end result that exceed what you could normally get with Ilfochrome and most other "traditonal" colour processes imo. The level of control of colour, contrast, hue etc etc is far greater.

[kthompson]

dumb question #2: couldn't you just do that with 4x5 chrome film? not trying to be a smartass--but that's pretty much what we've been doing--having mural sized lightjets made off of drum scanned 4x5 CT's.

I understand the allure of a big 8x10 chrome---for years & years that was the stable of the furniture catalog industry in the state I live in (High Point NC--Alderman's, Norlings, Omega studios etc.)--but those days seem pretty numbered now, even though I understand they still shoot some 8x10 over there. then again, they used to longroll contact print the catalogs, bypassing offset printing, so they had a backshop full of retouchers & lab techs putting together showroom type catalogs made on printing paper....

[Brian Vuillemenot]

Yeah, sure, but with an 8X10 outfit, I get more than twice the exercise of hauling around my 4X5. The large size also attracts twice as many chicks! (Size does matter!)

[tim atherton]

"dumb question #2: couldn't you just do that with 4x5 chrome film? not trying to be a smartass--but that's pretty much what we've been doing--having mural sized lightjets made off of drum scanned 4x5 CT's. "

Only if you are of the"there's really no point in using anythuing bigger than 4x5 school"... whereas I'm closer to Stephen Shore's dictum that "there are really only two film formats - 35mm and 8x10 - everything else is just a variation on one of those two" :-)

In most of the subjects I shoot I can fairly easily see the differnece in detail, look and feel from 4x5 to 8x10 even in an 11x14 print. And certainly in anything bigger than that. I recently did a shoot that used both 4x5 and 8x10 using the same film and (okay I know which are which), but to me, even in the magazine repro there is a subtle difference in look and detail between the two.

Take a look at Chris Jordan's work www.chrisjordan.com - looking at real life prints, I'm sure a lot of that, for example, just wouldn't work the same way. The difference in detail and smoothness is significant

[tim atherton]

k, Mark - having had some lunch and a Guiness at the pub, I could re-phrase it like this.

While those great big prints are great - love to see something printed up 5' or 6' wide - it's generally quite amazing - you don't get too much chance to show them more than one or two at a time, unless you are a Struthsky and have some big museum halls to hang a dozen or more in...

More common is this scenario; personally, I don't feel that prints up to say 11x14 make the most of the LF original neg/transparency. Yes, there may be plnety of reasons why you end up printing that size, but to my mind it's not ideal.

Far better is a print in the 20x24 to 24x30 range. They benefit from all the advantages of the larger original, but aren't so big that you can show or display them easily. Also, the viwer can generally still take them in from a reasonable distance in one "glance" (i.e. they aren't stepping abck so far away so they can actually see the top of the print!). But the viewer is also close enough to pick up a lot of the detail, depth and smoothness that comes froma LF original.

Now, lets take 24x30 - which is a size I particularly like for prints. For 8x10, thats only a 9 times enlargment. But from 4x5 it's a 36 times enlargement - that's quite a difference. For me, it's a difference that shows in the finished print.