so next week i make the leap from a Rollei 6008i to a Leica M6.

for the last 2 years i have used velvia and provia F. now that i am changing cameras, i thought it would be a good time to look at film choices too. i have dealt with a large camera with relatively slow film for so long that i am not really interested in particularly fast color film (400 etc). i am interested in color slide film suggestions and rating suggestions that have worked and come up with interesting results. for instance, i want to try provia f rated 2/3 above 100 and then push the processing 1/3. i want to get the extra speed, while minimising the effects of grain from pushing. this should also make the colors more contrasty. ideas like that i guess.

also, kodachrome. special processing i know. worth it? is it expensive?

sorry this was so long.

john

-- john molloy (ballyscanlon@hotmail.com), December 12, 2001

Answers

I have decided on 2 types of film for myself (in my leica as well as my SLR). Provia 100F (normally rated, or pushed a stop and exposed at 180 ISO), and Provia 400F (normally rated, pushed one stop and pushed two stops). If i really need more then ISO 1600 I go with Ilford Delta 3200 (either at 3200 or 6400), but that is very rare these days... and i am not very please with the results. If i want a black and white print i take scan my color slides and convert them in photoshop... I used to use Velvia, but have found i like the colors of Provia 100F more.

-- Matthew Geddert (geddert@yahoo.com), December 12, 2001.

Velvia and Provia 100F are great film choices. If you need the speed Provia 400F is great. I would also suggest you try Kodak E100VS or it variants.

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), December 12, 2001.

Don't worry about grain in Provia. It's almost grainless -- even less grain than Velvia.

-- Dave Jenkins (djphoto@vol.com), December 12, 2001.

If you know and like Velvia and Provia F, I'm not sure why you would switch just because you're going to 35mm. Having said that, I assume you aren't planning on putting the Leica on a tripod as often as you did the Rollei. If so, I wouldn't rule out faster film. IMHO, it takes EI400 to make the Leica a great hand-held camera. Anyway, I use Sensia 100 for color and Delta 400 for B&W with my M6. When I have 100 speed in it, I reach for the flash more than I would like to. I think you might enjoy doing some B&W stuff with your Leica too.

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), December 12, 2001.

John, I see no reason to stray from your favorites. Velvia and Provia are just as good in 35mm as in 6x6. As to Kodachrome: I've generally been happier with the color rendition of the Fuji films. But perusing my new copy of Brian Bower's Leica Lens Book makes me want to try some Kodachrome 64 again. In his pictures, it looks very good!

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), December 12, 2001.

About 3 yrs ago I went to Europe and shot a bunch of Kodachrome (it had always been my favorite). But after seeing what Qualex did to my film when they processed it (scratchs & spotting), I'll never take that risk again (fortunately, through shear number of images I still got a descent selection). Ever since, I've shot Provia 100F (and the occasional roll of Kodak E100VS) and never looked back. About the only thing I miss is the archival quality. Perhaps Qualex is better now or there are other alternatives, but I'm not willing to risk it (yet).

-- Ron Buchanan (ronb@fusive.com), December 13, 2001.

I use Kodalux, NJ all the time for E6 and K14 and think they are as good as any pro labs I have used here in NYC. The do occasionally have color spots on the film, but at least they do not leave fingerprints or scratches as I often find on the other labs I have used here. It amazes me that so-called pro labs do not use lint gloves when handling film, sometimes you even see them doing it when you go into the store - you would think it would put people off...I have had my problems with Kodak in the past too, but I hate to say it, this seems par for the course with all processing.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), December 13, 2001.

I guess I must be lucky, I've found a pro E-6 lab 2 blocks from my office that does great work (so far, anyway). You'd never think from looking at the building.

-- Ron Buchanan (ronb@fusive.com), December 13, 2001.