Suggested replacement for Kodak E6 kit

[brucemuir]

Sean,
do you mean no one has confirmed the presence of a formalin type bug/funji killer?

The arista kit has a Final Rinse but I think this is mostly a photoflo type step.
I got great results with the Arista E6 kit and you can stretch the capacities more than what is indicated in the product description.

Maybe I'll email marv at Freestyle because he has always been very helpful in the past.

[Wolfeye]

A few years ago I bought a 5L Kodak kit and some 5L jugs. It's sat in a basement closet ever since. I bought it for "Doomsday" which may or may not come - when E-6 is no longer made - and when it does, I only hope the film and chemicals are still in good enough shape to work. I have used the Tetenal kit and sleeved, unmounted slides from 5+ years ago still look great. This is Provia 100:

[Sean Molin]

Sean,
do you mean no one has confirmed the presence of a formalin type bug/funji killer?

From everything I've ready, I haven't seen any confirmation on a formalin-esque stabilizer... but I've seen others ask.

If you've got someone you've dealt with, definitely ask them!

[Lamar]

I'm on my last Kodak 5L E6 Kit now and have not been able to find another one anywhere in the US, either online or at retail stores in Georgia. I also looked for the Tetenal kit online but all I saw were "Discontinued" or "No Longer In Stock" notices so I just purchased an Arista kit from Freestyle. When it gets here I'll let you know what it has in it.

So... what are recommendations for E-6 chemistry for home-use? I'm in the United States. I can't find anyone selling Tetenal kits online. The only ones I've found are the Arista kits, but no one can confirm if it has a stabilizer.

Damn you, Kodak. I'm *just* starting E-6 and I will never know the joys of your 5L kit.

[Sean Molin]

I haven't heard *anything* bad about the Arista kits, and you can get them in 1 pint, 1 quart, or 1 gallon (which is 3.7L, so not too far off from the popular kits) sizes... I just am curious as to if I need to buy formalin as an extra.

I wonder if not having any 5L kits has to do with shipping regulations in the US.

[wildbill]

It has been stated here (apug) multiple times why 3 bath kits aren't ideal for archival processing. There's a reason why it's called e-6 damn it. I've used the arista kit too but i'd much rather use separate bleach and fix if it's better in he long run. You haven't heard anything wrong with arista processed film but has anyone tested the film to see if it meets e-6 standards over long term storage? While it'll work, 3 bath kits aren't a replacement for 6 bath kits.

[Wolfeye]

It really doesn't matter what's best any more. We're left with what's available. Archival died with Kodachrome. Great E6 film left the building when Astia bit the dust. While nobody claims the 3-bath kits will produce slides that last a centurty, does it really matter since the capture, the image, can be scanned and saved, or printed archivally? Shoot some film, develop it, enjoy the day.

[Roger Cole]

I just yesterday dug out some E-6 slides I shot in the 80s and processed in three bath Unicolor chemistry. They still look great. Of course I don't have the originals to compare and they could fade a fair amount and still look great but I think three bath E6 is quite good enough.

[Sean Molin]

This still doesn't answer if the Arista kits have a stabilizer. And yes, I scan everything immediately so okay with them not lasting a century... but 10 years would be nice.

[Diapositivo]

IIRC the problem with blix is not long-term slide preservation, which is fine. The problem is that a blix slightly lessens contrast and saturation, and slightly enhances grain. If developing results are satisfying with a blix kit, it can be used without problems. The problem is that results are supposed to be, up to a certain extent, "suboptimal".

This according to what I remember reading on APUG (PE mainly).

I can easily find a 6-bath kit but if I weren't able to find one I would use a "blix" kit without reservations.

Fabrizio

EDIT: I just found just this warning in the Jobo website:
Both Kodak and Fuji do not recommend processing Lumiere, Elite, Velvia, Sensia, Provia and other tabular grain-type films in any three-step E-6 type chemicals. For these films, or any critical work, JOBO recommends using the six-step E-6 process (see above). For some amateurs and small volume professional photo processors, the three-step chemical may produce acceptable results. However, the color balance may not be optimal, and the complete clearing of residual silver in the film may take longer in the bleach-fix step than the recommended times.