3D slides & high contrast, slide duplication

[P3D Dr. George A. Themelis <DrT-3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Don Chaps writes:

>I think the reason that color slide film is used widely 
>professionally even with its disadvantages of higher contrast and 
>limited exposure range is because the color balance is fixed and 
>not subject to interpretation by an unknown third party.

This sounds as if the slide film has an *inherent* disadvantage of 
high contrast and limited exposure range, compared to print film.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that the reason that
negative film has low contrast is that it will be printed in 
a piece of paper and this will add contrast.  The reason that
the slide has high contrast is that this is the final image and
the contrast must be there.

Isn't the limitted exposure range tied to the high contrast?

Isn't it technologically possible to produce slide film with
low contrast?  Isn't that commercially undesirable?  (i.e people
want to see contrast in their slides?)  Isn't the slide dupicating
film a low-contrast slide film?

John B. said once that his wishes that they made a low contrast
slide film.  I do too.  I am getting sick and tired of high
contrast in bright sunny days.  Why don't they make such a film
so we don't all have to be in a constant look for "soft light"?
(High contrast stereo slides can be tolerated in a viewer but are
a total disaster in projection.)  What will happen if one uses 
slide duplication film as a regular slide film?  (never found 
the time to try this...)

Also, regarding slide duplication, even though one can match
the original slide very well and even improve it, the duplicate
slide lacks some of the snap of the original.  I claim that
if someone shows me an original *stereo* slide in *my red button 
viewer* and the best duplicate they can get, I can always tell 
which one is the original and which one is the duplicate.

George Themelis


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