Ektachrome 100 Disappointment

Slide film is considered to be the best film for astrophotography because it renders the best color-balance for the night sky. I decided to try the highly touted Ektachrome 200 (exposed at ISO 320) for astrophotography. No, I wasn’t trying to photograph some far-off galaxy or supernova–just some star points in the night sky. Unfortunately, Kodak discontinued its production so I decided to try Ektachrome 100, exposed at ISO 320 (another excellent film for general photography). As you can see in the above photograph (f/1.8 @ ~15 seconds), there are no stars. Push-processing didn’t work so well for image quality, either. Most of my 36 images tended to be flat looking and underexposed (even with careful light metering).

If you have found a good alternative for astrophotography I would be glad to hear from you. In fact, I would be happy to post one of your photos with your watermark and I would add a “Courtesy of” statement, below.

You will find some of the better photos from this roll at the first five photographs in Portland Streets, and Maplefest Fair.

Author: Stephen Fielding Images

I'm a retired medical sociologist from the University of Rochester. Climate change is one of the two great challenges facing humanity (the other is nuclear weapons). In writing about the impact of climate change I read reputable books and articles on the topic. So when I make statements about climate change you will see a link taking you to the scientific source(s) of the information I provide. As for my independently published photobooks, each has gone through several layers of editing and peer review for both readability and accuracy. This is not to say that everything I say is accurate. Even the New York Times makes mistakes. So, if you find something that is factually incorrect, let me know. I hope you find reading my blog a positive experience. If you do, please encourage your family and friends to have a look. You can find photos from my other photo work by clicking on the My SmugMug Gallery tab, above. Best wishes, -Steve View all posts by Stephen Fielding Images