FPP Retrochrome 35mm Slide Film Colour ISO 400
Description
We're thrilled to offer this film. High speed slide film is exceptionally rare and this expired Eastman Ectachrome 35mm stock has been kept in incredible shape thanks to 'deep-freeze' storage. Photographers will enjoy being able to take it into lighting situations that today's slide films couldn't handle - as well as the vintage reddish tint that will give your photographs an enviably unique finish.
Specification
| Format: | 35mm |
| Colour: | Colour |
| Type: | Slide |
| ISO: | 400 |
| Exposures: | 36 |
| Pack size: | 1 |
To understand more about the details above you can check out our film guide or if you want some inspiration then head over to our page on choosing your next film. And if you want the full details about the film, including technical information, read about FPP Retrochrome over on EMULSIVE.
FPP is short-hand for the Film Photography Project: a US-based collection of projects headed up by the charismatic Mike Raso. They are most famous within the global film community for their podcast (entering it's 10th year in existence) as well as the associated School Camera Donation Program whereby donations are sought and sorted to bring analogue photography back into high schools and colleges all over the country. Not only that but Mike also runs the FPP store which sells a multitude of analogue film products all over the US and hand-rolls a fantastic selection of unique films. We are honoured to bring some of those films to the European market and hope you enjoy shooting them as much as Mike has making them!
Where we ship
When you buy your camera film from us we can ship it across the UK, Europe, USA, New Zealand, Australia and Canada (more countries planned soon!) So buy your FPP Retrochrome 35mm Slide Film Colour ISO 400 today and dive back into the fun of 35mm film photography!
Before I even begin my review, I have one piece of VERY important advice:
!!READ THE HISTORY OF THE FILM ON THE FPP WEBSITE!!
If you go into this expecting really crisp, clear results that are comparable to Ektachrome with a warm up filter then think again! This film was SHIPPED in 2004, as per the labels you can see on the box, it's a high speed slide film used for military research and is past its expiration date by a fare old whack.
The good news: it yields really great images when you have the above facts in mind. Yeah, it's grainy, yeah, its exposure latitude is slim, yeah, it has imperfections, and that's what you are paying for! I'm not a lover of grain, or Lomography style expired film and plastic lenses. But for this roll, I actually wanted some weirdness! I shot it in Milan's China Town district and central tourist district and it was GREAT. The only downside (and this is NOT the fault of FPP or anyone in particular). My Contax G2 is an electric winding camera, unlike my M6 or FE2, where you have a tactile experience when winding, the G2 got to the last exposure and ripped it off the core, meaning it hadn't rewound but just sat there in the chamber. I then opened the camera to remove the roll and discovered that it wasn't in the canister. I then began the arduous task or pulling the film out of the Contax and stuffing it into a black film canister inside my coat. I only lost one frame and had light-leaks on 3-4 frames. Luckily.
If this hadn't have happened it would be a 5 star rating. The film itself is great, was developed as standard in E6 chemistry. I will be buying more of it. At £13.50 a roll, it's a lot if you're looking for something perfect. It's more than reasonable if you know what to expect and are actively looking for something different and a little less than perfect.
4/5 stars, would take on a second date but would likely split the bill at the end.
This emulsion that has huge potential in the right hands (not mine this time, haha!) You’ll notice that all the photos in this post are under exposed in mixed light, so I am not posting a ton of them. I plan to get a second roll and do it right.
You can see that this expired stock does have a tendency to favor reds and blues, which my samples also show. You can see the heavy blues and the heavy reds in my sample shots. Almost has a cross-process feel about it.
It really doesn’t like underexposure much, and it really disliked overexposure. I have a sample of WAY over – but no idea how many stops over I went (I accidentally forced a shot in bright sun at f/2 – not worth sharing as it’ll burn your retinas).
Even under, I like how it gives a feel of an old postcard or something out of a 60’s or 70’s magazine. The image below was one of my favorites from the roll – deep moody reds and blues on a vintage car. It kind of works here and am half curious about printing that one out. We’ll see how the next round with this stock goes.
I have a slightly more lengthy review on my blog (raylarose.com) if you want to see more.
I shot one roll only of fpp retrochrome and developed it in C-41 (so cross-processing). I love the colors and the grains, it is great for shooting close subjects, so flowers, portraits and so on. I recommend shooting with large apertures.
I shoot this at 400 box speed, it has lovely tones, and I mount them for projection, it’s a good film, ok it’s not modern Ektachrome, but I love the feeling this film gives
I bought this as I do now and again on a whim. I have my favourite films but now and again I'll shoot an obscure roll out of interest. Retrochrome E400 fitted the bill this time.
It's got a vintage look about it and has a very obvious grain after developement, it wasn't to my tastes but I'm sure it will work for those who want to shoot that vintage look.
Colours are kind of funky and desaturated. I shot in sunny conditions and on a rainy over cast day in Haworth during a steam punk event and it handles both situations well personal taste will dictate under which conditions you prefer to shoot this film.
