Provia 100 vs Ektachrome 100

[Alan Klein]

I thought I'd post these results for these films for those wanting to use these films. They showing straight scans with only levels adjusted before the scan compared with final adjustments using Lightroom. 4x5 sheets scanned with Epson 850 with Epsonscan.

1st is Scans. Levels adjusted only.
2nd is after Lightroom adjustments
3rd shows Lightroom settings for 2nd.

[Kiwi7475]

I find E100 bluer (cooler) than Provia, I think your scans seem to suggest the same?

E100 is great to get those deep blu skies :-) and also it doesn’t seem to shit to purple in the deep shadows as much as Provia does.

[jmdavis]

It seems to me that E100, produces better greens in the grass than Provia as well. I always liked Velvia for Summer outdoor use.

[Drew Wiley]

The dimensionally stable polyester base of current sheet Ektachrome is far superior to the triacetate of Provia. Maybe those of you who scan don't notice the difference so much, but for those of us who enlarge optically, it's a BIG deal.

[Alan Klein]

The dimensionally stable polyester base of current sheet Ektachrome is far superior to the triacetate of Provia. Maybe those of you who scan don't notice the difference so much, but for those of us who enlarge optically, it's a BIG deal.

How is polyester Ektachrome better than triacetate Provia?

[Drew Wiley]

I already stated it, and it's a distinction that's been important for decades, but now not as well recognized by many because many traditional applications of sheet film have been replaced with digital substitutes. Polyester is dimensionally stable, triacetate is not and changes in dimension due to humidity fluctuations, and tends to shrink over time; it also eventually starts breaking down, while polyester is a lot more permanent. When sheets of film must be used in register like for masking or precise sequential printing purpose, any change in dimension whatsoever become a nightmare. A secondary consideration is that polyester sheet is stiffer, and less prone to sagging in a holder.

There was about a decade when color poly sheet films weren't even available, just acetate. I shot a lot 8x10 Provia back then, all of its several generations. Real headache in the darkroom. I had to generate all the needed masks within a relatively narrow window of time when the humidity was predictably level, then contact generate a single master printing duplicate, preferably on a stable poly duplicating film when that finally arrived, namely Astia 100F. That was for sake of Ciba printing. But now I can take those master dupes and make contact master internegs from them for sake of RA4 printing. There is so much surplus area to 8X10 format that even third generation duplicates exhibit no detail loss in large prints. And over all, the color quality is noticeably superior to what can be expected from digital printing options; but a LOT of work and learning curve is behind that!