Film stock equivilents

[J. Bernard Vallon]

I have a question. I want to do some exposure tests with 35mm, but I'd like to use a still camera to test with nikon lenses.

To make things simple, does anyone know if fuji or kodak releases the same chemistry for motion picture 35mm and still 35mm? If I want to test with...say...kodak 5245, could I walk into a pro photography lab and buy a roll of 50 iso daylight portrait film and be sure its the same stock? Does anyone have a table or guide for this?

[David Mullen ASC]

No, still color negative uses the C-41 process and motion picture color negative uses the ECN-2 process, which has a remjet anti-halation backing removal step first.

If you try processing it at a photolab, you will contaminate the bath with dissolving carbon from the remjet backing.

A&I Labs in Hollywood is a still photo lab that offers to process ECN-2 motion picture stock. Kodak and Fuji will give you free rolls of movie film on still cassettes to test.

[J. Bernard Vallon]

Kodak and Fuji will give you free rolls of movie film on still cassettes to test.

Really...thats even better. I could just take those to my motion picture lab and have them process them. Thanks!

[Brook Willard]

Generally a motion picture lab won't want to put a few feet of film through the developing process. It's just not worth it for how short the still rolls are. I've taken my still rolls of 52__ film to A&I in the past as David suggested.

[Finner]

Brook I have done this with my local lab before and if you find out what day they are running a bath with the same stock for a movie they will just tag your rolls on to the back of that run. You just have to be willing to wait a few days sometimes.

My lab is so great to me that they run my still tests for free.

[Brook Willard]

Touché... I guess not all companies work the same way. I process my film at FotoKem... they scoff at anything below 10,000 feet. ;) :)

[I kid... I kid... they're great there]