In order to get the best from View-Master's tiny pictures, the images on the film need to be very sharp and free from grain. In the past, Kodachrome (II, then 25) was always the choice of film for View-Master photography. Occasionally someone would try something other than Kodachrome, and enter the pictures in the V-M Circuit. Sometimes the colours looked better, but the pictures were always 'grainy'.
I initially used Kodachrome 25, but some years ago came to the conclusion that when using the MKII (Color) Camera in typical British lighting conditions, Kodachrome 64's larger grain was more than offset by the improved definition resulting from smaller lens apertures, so I have mostly used K64 and tolerated the slight graininess. Now Kodachrome 25 has been discontinued, there is no alternative - or is there?
I did some research, and was quite surprised by what I found. The table below shows the fine grain (RMS 10 or less) slide films currently available (December 2004), with Kodachrome 25 for comparison.
| Manufacturer | Film | Speed (ISO) | Granularity 1 | Resolution 2 | Sharpness 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kodak | Kodachrome 25 | 25 | 9 | 63 / 100 4 | 40 |
| Kodachrome 64 | 64 | 10 | 63 / 100 4 | 38 | |
| Elite Chrome 100 5 | 100 | 8 | - | 30-45 | |
| Ektachrome E100G 6 | 100 | 8 | - | 30-45 | |
| Fujifilm | Fujichrome Sensia | 100 | 10 | 55 / 135 | 35 |
| Fujichrome Velvia | 50 | 9 | 80 / 160 | 47 | |
| Fujichrome Velvia 100F | 100 | 8 | 80 / 160 | 45 | |
| Fujichrome Provia 100F | 100 | 8 | 60 / 140 | 40 | |
| Fujichrome Astia 100F | 100 | 7 | 60 / 140 | 38 | |
| Agfa | CTprecisa 100 | 100 | 10 | 50 / 130 | 28 |
| Agfachrome RSX II 50 | 50 | 10 | 55 / 135 | 29 | |
| Agfachrome RSX II 100 | 100 | 10 | 50 / 130 | 32 |
Professional grade films are highlighted in white
Sharpness and resolving power, while not exactly equivalent, can be roughly compared with a digital camera's resolution, e.g. 50 (cycles or line pairs)/mm in V-M's 11.75 x 10.7 mm frame gives similar resolution to a digital camera having 1175 x 1070 pixels.
Kodak's Ektachrome E100G and Elite Chrome 100 appear to be essentially the same film for different markets, similarly Agfa's RSX II 100 and CTprecisa 100. The two 50 ASA films seem to offer little if any advantage over their 100 ASA equivalents. This still leaves six films which are no more grainy than K64: Kodak Elite Chrome 100; Fujichrome Sensia/Velvia/Provia/Astia 100; and Agfa CTprecisa 100.
No film is perfect, and each has its own characteristics. Personal preference will be determined according to our own style of photography, choice of subject and colour preferences. Another factor is the longevity of the processed film, with Kodak's dye stability acknowledged as the best. Eddie Bowers View-Master Resource has some opinions on film types, also see Photographic Magazine's Favorite Color Slide Films and J. Ramón Palacios' Slide Film List. I can't offer any recommendations from personal experience, but on the basis of grain and speed, there are at least four different films which should be better for View-Master than the film I have been content to use for years.
David Robinson
References (from Kodak, Fujifilm and Agfa websites as at December 2004):
"Kodachrome 25, 64 and 200 Films", Kodak Technical Data E-88, March 2002
"Kodak Professional Ektachrome Films E100G and E100GX", Kodak Technical Data E-4024, May 2004
"Kodak Elite Chrome 100 Film", Kodak Technical Data E-7014, May 2004
"Fujichrome Sensia 100 [RA]", Fujifilm Data Sheet AF3-091E
"Fujichrome Velvia for Professionals [RVP]", Fujifilm Data Sheet AF3-960E
"Fujichrome Velvia 100F Professional [RVP100F]", Fujifilm Product Information Bulletin AF3-148E
"Fujichrome Provia 100F Professional [RDPIII]", Fujifilm Data Sheet AF3-036E
"Fujichrome Astia 100F Professional [RAP100F]", Fujifilm Product Information Bulletin AF3-149E
"Range of Agfa Standard Films", Agfa Technical Data Sheet F-AF-E6, 6th edition 05/2003
"Range of Agfa Professional Films", Agfa Technical Data Sheet F-PF-E4, 4th edition 07/2003