Comparison of 14 Fuji and Kodak Unhypered E-6 Color Slide Films

The Top 5 Unhypered Fuji & Kodak E-6 Color Slide Films
(Tested With a Two Minute Exposure)
FILM FILM CODEISO2 MIN F/STOP LOSSP FACTOR COLOR SHIFT2 MINUTE ISOCOMMENTS
Elite Chrome 200 ED2001/60.97 Slight yellow1831st best slide film
Elite Chrome 400 EL4002/30.90 None2662nd best slide film
Sensia II 400 RH40010.86 Slight green2003rd best slide film
Ektachrome P1600 EPH160020.71 Slight green4004th best slide film
Elite II 100 EB1001/30.96 Slight yellow835th best slide film

The 2 MIN F/STOP LOSS refers to how much sensitivity in F/stops the film lost in a comparison of a normally illuminated 1/8th sec exposure compared to a 128 second exposure at the same illumination level taken through a 1000X (10 F/stop ND 3.0) neutral density filter. (These two exposures are theoretically equal.)

The P FACTOR is the film's Swartzchild exponent used for measuring reciprocity law failure with the formula P=1-(s/7) where "s" is the speed loss in F/stops over a given exposure length.

The 2 MIN ISO is the film's AVERAGE ISO speed over a two minute exposure, accounting for reciprocity law failure, and rounding to the nearest 1/3 F/stop.

Elite Chrome 200 was chosen as the best E-6 color slide film for several reasons.

1) Elite Chrome 200 film has superior contrast and good development pushability.

2) Although Elite Chrome 200 is more than two times slower after a two minute exposure, its superior reciprocity characteristics allows it to out-expose suposedly faster films like Ektachrome P1600 and Provia 1600 once 8 to 10 minute exposure times are reached.

3) Elite Chrome 200 film is widely available all grocery and drug stores while the 1600 speed films are only found at camera specialty shops.

NOTE:These film preference recomendations are simply MY OWN opinion based on the limited and somewhat unscientific comparison described here. They are listed only as a suggestion of which films may be worth further star testing with an individual's particular astrophotographic setup.

*** To see these images at their best, adjust your monitor to distinctly show all the gray steps in this step wedge. ***
Step wedge courtesy of Chuck Vaughn

Blue, Green, and Red response For Fuji and Kodak E-6 Slide Films

Blue = 470 nanometers, Green = generic LED, Red = 660 nanometers

14 Color Slide Films

These images were taken in a light-proof box which allowed me to expose a white test target illuminated by blue, green, and red LEDs. Each color's target was partitioned from the adjacent color and ruled at one-inch intervals. The LEDs illuminated the target from the left side and the degree of film sensitivity in each color can be compared by reading the faintest scale visible. All exposures were two minutes at f/2.8 taken with a Nikon F and a 50 mm f/1.4 Nikor lens. All films were developed in the same developer according to manufacturer's specifications. The images were scanned with an HP PhotoSmart scanner. This scanner works well for most applications, but it really hates large black areas on color slides, so the background on some images way be mushy.

NOTE: These images can only be used for comparing one film against another. The LED brightness is not calibrated and the target scale divisions do not represent hard numerical data about any specific film.

Comparison of All 14 Unhypered Fuji & Kodak E-6 Color Slide Films
(Tested With a Two Minute Exposure)
FILM FILM CODEISO2 MIN F/STOP LOSSP FACTOR COLOR SHIFT2 MINUTE ISOCOMMENTS
Velvia RVP5010.86 Strong yellow25Not recomended
Ektachrome E100+ EPP10010.86 Slight yellow50Acceptable
Ektachrome E100SW SW10001.0 Slight yellow100Acceptable
Ektachrome Elite II 100 EB1001/30.95 Slight yellow83Recomended
Elite Chrome 100 EB10001.0 Slight tan100Acceptable
Sensia 100 RD1002/30.90 Slight yellow67Acceptable
Ektachrome Elite II 200 ED2001 1/30.81 Strong green83Acceptable
Elite Chrome 200 ED2001/60.97 Slight tan183Recomended
Sensia II 200 RM2002/30.90 Slight green133Acceptable
Ektachrome Elite II 400 EL4001 1/20.79 Green150Acceptable
Elite Chrome 400 EL4002/30.90 None266Recomended
Sensia II 400 RH40010.86 Slight green200Recomended
Ektachrome P1600 EPH160020.71 Slight green400Recomended
Provia 1600 RSP160020.71 Very green400Acceptable

Unhypered Fuji & Kodak E-6 Color Slide Films Compared by Characteristic
(Best at the Top, Ranked in Descending Order)
RANKINITIAL ISO 2 MIN ISO2 MIN F/STOP LOSSRED SENSITIVITY GREEN SENSITIVITYBLUE SENSITIVITY
1Ektachrome P1600 Ektachrome P1600Ektachrome E100SWElite Chrome 200Ektachrome E100SW Ektachrome E100SW
2Provia 1600 Provia 1600Elite Chrome 100Ektachrome P1600 Provia 1600Ektachrome P1600
3Ektachrome Elite II 400 Elite Chrome 400Elite Chrome 200Elite Chrome 100Elite Chrome 200 Elite Chrome 200
4Elite Chrome 400 Sensia II 400Ektachrome Elite II 100Elite Chrome 400 Ektachrome E100+Ektachrome E100+
5Sensia II 400 Elite Chrome 200Elite Chrome 400Provia 1600Sensia II 400 Sensia II 400
6Ektachrome Elite II 200 Ektachrome Elite II 400Sensia II 200Sensia II 400Elite Chrome 100 Ektachrome P1600
7Elite Chrome 200 Sensia II 200Sensia 100Ektachrome Elite II 100Elite Chrome 400 Ektachrome Elite 100
8Sensia II 200 Elite Chrome 100Sensia II 400Ektachrome Elite II 400Ektachrome P1600 Sensia II 200
9Ektachrome Elite II 100 Ektachrome E100SWEktachrome E100+Ektachrome Elite II 200Ektachrome Elite II 100 Ektachrome Elite II 400
10Elite Chrome 100 Ektachrome Elite II 100VelviaSensia II 200Sensia II 200 Sensia 100
11Ektachrome E100SW Ektachrome Elite II 200Ektachrome Elite II 200Sensia 100Ektachrome Elite II 400 Elite Chrome 100
12Ektachrome E100+ Sensia 100Ektachrome Elite II 400Ektachrome E100SWSensia 100 Elite Chrome 400
13Sensia 100 Ektachrome E100+Ektachrome P 1600Ektachrome E100+Ektachrome Elite II 200 Ektachrome Elite II 200
14Velvia VelviaProvia 1600VelviaVelvia Velvia

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