Re: A question of grain.

[P3D Gregory J. Wageman <gjw@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dr. Mike asks about grain in stereo slides:

> have other stereo photographers gone to slower
> film because of it, and through the viewer, is there a great difference
> (compared to say Velvia).

And Paul Talbot replied:

>when I got a T'd RB I was quite astonished to find the grain of
>even Velvia quite noticeable in blue sky.  I still consider
>myself rather low on the grain sensitivity scale, but I have
>not particularly noticed the grain in Provia (ISO 100) being
>any more noticeable than in the Velvia (ISO 50).  Then again,
>I haven't done a side-by-side comparison.  I have no experience
>with Kodak E-6 films for stereo, so can't comment specifically
>regarding the Elite II.  I might note however, that some on the
>list assert that the grain of K25 is not detectable at all, so
>that's an option to consider if you your grain sensitivity
>continues to grow.

I personally think that Velvia beats even Kodachrome 25 for lack
of apparent grain, though some here have disputed that.  I don't
have experience with any other Fuji emulsions for stereo.

I find EB100 acceptable; I recently had to shoot ED200 on an
unexpectedly gloomy summer evening here in the Bay Area, and was
pleasantly surprised by its not being noticeably worse than EB100
in the grain department, but then again I was not shooting cloudless
blue skies, either, a notorious grain-revealer.

Since you can't truly eliminate it, I think it's best not to let
one's self become too sensitive to film grain.  Otherwise you stop seeing
the pretty pictures for all those little dots.

	-Greg W.


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