Slide film "tint"

**i_trax** · 07-14-2021, 06:35 AM

Memories...

I remember that Kodachrome had a slight red tint / tone - I did like it.
The ORWO Chrom had a slight blueish tint / tone - I did not like it.
What about the Agfa , can anyone remember?
Was Agfa the most naturally looking and the most stable slide film?

**gofour3** · 07-14-2021, 07:59 AM

All slide film can have a bluish tint, depending on your shooting conditions. That's why a Skylight filter was a must, something you just left on you lens all the time.

Kodachrome has the best archival storage time of any slide film, if that's what you mean by stable?

Phil.

Not a Number · 07-14-2021, 08:04 AM - **1 Like**

As I recall if you wanted reds to really pop out - use Agfachrome. For greens go with Fujichrome.

Kodachrome was unmatched for that warm golden hour rendering outdoors. More an orange-yellow rendering in my opinion than red - definitely warmer.

I'd rate Fujichrome as rather neutral other than how it renders green tones.

**Bob 256** · 07-14-2021, 08:11 AM

Agfa had the best reds of any emulsions I can remember (prints also had vibrant reds) but it wasn't noted for stability. As gofor3 mentioned, Kodachrome is noted for that (dark fading, although it's light fading was substantially worse).

**UncleVanya** · 07-14-2021, 10:16 AM

The predominant color on the box of film have insight into what it leaned toward. In the case of Kodak you ignore the yellow.

Kodachrome leans red.
Ektachrome leans blue.
Agfa leans red/orange
Fuji leans green.
Etc.

There were articles back in the day that confirmed this. It was apparently fairly intentional.

stevebrot · 07-14-2021, 10:25 AM

There were different renderings to be sure, but the only "tint" behavior I am aware of was with Ektachrome going bluish overall when spectral balance of the light shifted that direction.

Added: I shot Fujichrome for a number of years, primarily for its rendering of foliage. I was shooting a lot of high mountain meadows and Kodachrome's rendering was, for some unknown reason, anything but verdant. The cool thing was that despite delivering nicely with the greens, white snow remained white and gray rock remained gray.

Steve

Dartmoor Dave · 07-14-2021, 10:50 AM

I used Kodachrome 98% of the time and I don't remember it having any particular tint at all. It just took whatever colours it was given and made them look exquisite.

Ektachrome definitely tended towards the blue and Fujichrome towards the green. I used Agfa 200 occasionally back in the days before Kodachrome 200 came along, and I think it had a slightly sepia look. . . although that might just be because the slides haven't aged well and that's the way they look today.

All of my E6 slides have developed some colour shift as they've aged, while my Kodachromes still look as fresh as the day they came back from the lab.

**othar** · 07-14-2021, 01:15 PM

Wow, it seems to be a real science picking the right film for the job.
As I usually take my time filling all frames (1 to up to 12 months for a single roll of film

) I have to admit I am already happy when I remember the ISO value of the film and if it is a color or b&w film

Wheatfield · 07-14-2021, 01:17 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by gofour3

All slide film can have a bluish tint, depending on your shooting conditions. That's why a Skylight filter was a must, something you just left on you lens all the time.

Kodachrome has the best archival storage time of any slide film, if that's what you mean by stable?

Phil.

Kodachrome has (I guess had at this point) archival dark storage, but also was the absolutely worst film for dye fading when being projected. Processed Kodachrome and light don't get along well.

**DWS1** · 07-14-2021, 05:33 PM

I may be the oddball here, but I loved Ektachrome.

**ChrisPlatt** · 07-15-2021, 03:34 AM

If you are planning to use a current slide film Ektachrome E100 looks pretty neutral to me.

Modern Ektachrome image permanence is claimed to exceed that of Kodachrome.

Chris

**fs999** · 07-15-2021, 04:57 AM

For me Kodachrome was orange, Ektachrome blue, Fujichrome green and Agfachrome red.

tibbitts · 07-23-2021, 07:31 AM

My contrarian comment is that the "tint" varied a lot more from roll to roll than from one film to another, at least in the case of Kodachrome in the 25/64 K14-process era. I went through hundreds of rolls of "pro" versions and used Kodak processing, and the results you got, basically green vs. magenta, were all over the map, even from the same emulsion batch. There was less variation in Ektachrome and Fujichrome, again processed by their respective manufacturers, and my recollection of KII was that there was less variation in that (although there was no "pro" version that I was aware of.) Today when people talk about CMOS vs. CCD or whatever I just don't get it, since to me those results are so similar that I can't tell them apart (except for other aspects of the sensor like noise or dynamic range.) On the other hand, if I'm using automatic white balance now, and maybe move the camera by just a fraction of an inch, that will often be even more dramatic than going from exposure #37 on one roll of Kodachrome to #1 on the next - completely different result.

**Lowell Goudge** · 07-24-2021, 03:25 PM - **1 Like**

My recollection is that Kodachrome was always warm and any daylight balanced E6 process, regardless of who’s, was cool

07-14-2021, 10:25 AM	#6
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	There were different renderings to be sure, but the only "tint" behavior I am aware of was with Ektachrome going bluish overall when spectral balance of the light shifted that direction. Added: I shot Fujichrome for a number of years, primarily for its rendering of foliage. I was shooting a lot of high mountain meadows and Kodachrome's rendering was, for some unknown reason, anything but verdant. The cool thing was that despite delivering nicely with the greens, white snow remained white and gray rock remained gray. Steve Last edited by stevebrot; 07-14-2021 at 08:45 PM.

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07-14-2021, 06:35 AM	#1
i_trax Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Perth Western Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,621	Slide film "tint" Memories... I remember that Kodachrome had a slight red tint / tone - I did like it. The ORWO Chrom had a slight blueish tint / tone - I did not like it. What about the Agfa , can anyone remember? Was Agfa the most naturally looking and the most stable slide film?

07-14-2021, 07:59 AM	#2
gofour3 Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,092	All slide film can have a bluish tint, depending on your shooting conditions. That's why a Skylight filter was a must, something you just left on you lens all the time. Kodachrome has the best archival storage time of any slide film, if that's what you mean by stable? Phil.

07-14-2021, 08:04 AM - 1 Like	#3
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,526	As I recall if you wanted reds to really pop out - use Agfachrome. For greens go with Fujichrome. Kodachrome was unmatched for that warm golden hour rendering outdoors. More an orange-yellow rendering in my opinion than red - definitely warmer. I'd rate Fujichrome as rather neutral other than how it renders green tones.

07-14-2021, 08:11 AM	#4
Bob 256 Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Idaho Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,378	Agfa had the best reds of any emulsions I can remember (prints also had vibrant reds) but it wasn't noted for stability. As gofor3 mentioned, Kodachrome is noted for that (dark fading, although it's light fading was substantially worse).

07-14-2021, 10:16 AM	#5
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,460	The predominant color on the box of film have insight into what it leaned toward. In the case of Kodak you ignore the yellow. Kodachrome leans red. Ektachrome leans blue. Agfa leans red/orange Fuji leans green. Etc. There were articles back in the day that confirmed this. It was apparently fairly intentional.

07-14-2021, 10:50 AM	#7
Dartmoor Dave Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Dartmoor, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,890	I used Kodachrome 98% of the time and I don't remember it having any particular tint at all. It just took whatever colours it was given and made them look exquisite. Ektachrome definitely tended towards the blue and Fujichrome towards the green. I used Agfa 200 occasionally back in the days before Kodachrome 200 came along, and I think it had a slightly sepia look. . . although that might just be because the slides haven't aged well and that's the way they look today. All of my E6 slides have developed some colour shift as they've aged, while my Kodachromes still look as fresh as the day they came back from the lab.

07-14-2021, 01:15 PM	#8
othar Site Supporter Join Date: May 2014 Location: Linz Photos: Albums Posts: 3,098	Wow, it seems to be a real science picking the right film for the job. As I usually take my time filling all frames (1 to up to 12 months for a single roll of film ) I have to admit I am already happy when I remember the ISO value of the film and if it is a color or b&w film

07-14-2021, 01:17 PM - 1 Like	#9
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,987	Originally posted by gofour3 All slide film can have a bluish tint, depending on your shooting conditions. That's why a Skylight filter was a must, something you just left on you lens all the time. Kodachrome has the best archival storage time of any slide film, if that's what you mean by stable? Phil. Kodachrome has (I guess had at this point) archival dark storage, but also was the absolutely worst film for dye fading when being projected. Processed Kodachrome and light don't get along well.

07-14-2021, 05:33 PM	#10
DWS1 Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Arkansas, USA Posts: 1,169	I may be the oddball here, but I loved Ektachrome.

07-15-2021, 03:34 AM	#11
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,697	If you are planning to use a current slide film Ektachrome E100 looks pretty neutral to me. Modern Ektachrome image permanence is claimed to exceed that of Kodachrome. Chris

07-15-2021, 04:57 AM	#12
fs999 Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Luxembourg Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,646	For me Kodachrome was orange, Ektachrome blue, Fujichrome green and Agfachrome red.

07-23-2021, 07:31 AM	#13
tibbitts Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Oklahoma USA Posts: 2,196	My contrarian comment is that the "tint" varied a lot more from roll to roll than from one film to another, at least in the case of Kodachrome in the 25/64 K14-process era. I went through hundreds of rolls of "pro" versions and used Kodak processing, and the results you got, basically green vs. magenta, were all over the map, even from the same emulsion batch. There was less variation in Ektachrome and Fujichrome, again processed by their respective manufacturers, and my recollection of KII was that there was less variation in that (although there was no "pro" version that I was aware of.) Today when people talk about CMOS vs. CCD or whatever I just don't get it, since to me those results are so similar that I can't tell them apart (except for other aspects of the sensor like noise or dynamic range.) On the other hand, if I'm using automatic white balance now, and maybe move the camera by just a fraction of an inch, that will often be even more dramatic than going from exposure #37 on one roll of Kodachrome to #1 on the next - completely different result.

07-24-2021, 03:25 PM - 1 Like	#14
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,891	My recollection is that Kodachrome was always warm and any daylight balanced E6 process, regardless of who’s, was cool