4x5 Kodachromes

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4x5 Kodachromes

curious80
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p.2 #1 · 4x5 Kodachromes

rscheffler wrote:
Also of interest, all/most of the images at that site, shorpy, etc. culled from the LOC collection, have been retouched and colour enhanced, therefore you're not really seeing how the film *really* looks now, after 70 years.

See the original http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179855516/

This image is copyrighted by the owner

and compare it against the blog linked by the OP:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Or this one:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

vs.

Not the exact same shot, but same shoot...

That makes sense - the first reaction that I had when looking at the samples was "how digital they look". The originals look much more like film. And I am not saying that to mean that looking digital is good or bad, its just that the samples didn't match what film shots typically look like.

Its great that today you can get quality which is at least as good as these 4x5's, if not better, in a much smaller 35mm format - technology has made a lot of progress.

Dec 28, 2012 at 08:50 PM

Zaitz
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p.2 #2 · 4x5 Kodachromes

curious80 wrote:
Its great that today you can get quality which is at least as good as these 4x5's, if not better, in a much smaller 35mm format - technology has made a lot of progress.
O_o Where? I'd like to know so I can get that setup.

Dec 28, 2012 at 08:59 PM

curious80
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p.2 #3 · 4x5 Kodachromes

Zaitz wrote:
curious80 wrote:
Its great that today you can get quality which is at least as good as these 4x5's, if not better, in a much smaller 35mm format - technology has made a lot of progress.
O_o Where? I'd like to know so I can get that setup.

To be clear I just meant these particular 4x5 shots as displayed, not 4x5 in general. There is nothing in these shots at the sizes that they have been displayed which cannot be captured by any recent FF DSLR. It may be the case that the resolution on offer is higher but we don't have the full-size shots so we don't know. In terms of the rendition of the scene, it is certainly within the realm of today's DSLRs.

Dec 28, 2012 at 10:01 PM

edwardkaraa
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p.2 #4 · 4x5 Kodachromes

To be fair, the "originals" look to my eyes as original unprocessed scans. I doubt the original kodachromes had such flat look, rather the opposite. Scanning has always been the weak point in digitizing film, it rarely reproduces the richness and pop of the "originals" as seen through a light box or projected.

Dec 28, 2012 at 11:07 PM

rattymouse
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p.2 #5 · 4x5 Kodachromes

luminosity wrote:
Kodak is not out of business. That is misinformation that needs to stop being perpetuated. A great many current companies have been through bankruptcy, some of them more than once. The best case for all of us is that Kodak ends up like Ilford, which of course was bought out and allowed to continue as it was.

No chance of that happening. Kodak has stated in their press releases that film is NOT part of their core business anymore and will be sold off. Kodak has no interest in remaining a film producer. They are putting ALL their eggs into the commercial printing business.

Ilford has fanatical commitment to film. Kodak does not have ANY commitment.

Dec 31, 2012 at 12:22 AM

luminosity
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p.2 #6 · 4x5 Kodachromes

What happens depends on who buys it. Film was just about the only thing making money for Kodak and there remains a market for it.

For now, though, they are still making film.

Dec 31, 2012 at 02:37 AM

rscheffler
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p.2 #7 · 4x5 Kodachromes

edwardkaraa wrote:
To be fair, the "originals" look to my eyes as original unprocessed scans. I doubt the original kodachromes had such flat look, rather the opposite. Scanning has always been the weak point in digitizing film, it rarely reproduces the richness and pop of the "originals" as seen through a light box or projected.

I think the 'originals' are actually dupes of the originals... you'll notice an orange digital-looking three digit number along the border of many of these images, implying relatively modern duplication.

Some of these, such as the landscapes, do look like Kodachrome to me. It was never a super high 'pop' film like Velvia, though it was high in contrast. Personally, I believe all of these images would have been 'better' rendered with a quality digital camera, when it comes to colour quality, as opposed to sheer resolution. The Kodachrome appeal for some, might be that they've seen the look in filters applied by Instagram and Hipstamatic, lending familiarity to the truly vintage images. Not saying it's the case for those posting here, but for the general public...

Dec 31, 2012 at 03:39 AM

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