60’s Ektachrome

Last year I was given a roll of Kodak Ektachrome-X that expired in 1967. It was sat in my drawer for a while so I decided to shoot it. I borrowed my friend’s Mamiya 645 super and loaded it with the roll. Since the film is 64 ASA I was worried it had lost all its sensitivity, so I decided to meter at 25 ISO but bracket my photos by taking one at the metered speed and another at 2 stops brighter. I also decided to push the development by a stop.

I wanted to try redeem some colour from the film but because I don’t have E-6 chemicals or can afford the expensive cost of getting it processed at a lab I decided to use my C-41 kit. What I had failed to do was research about the film before developing it. The roll came out of the reel completely pink and the emulsion was all slimy and I was able to rub it off.

Whilst it was drying I found a post on Reddit from 6 months ago where someone had the exact same film. In the comments someone had mentioned that the film used an old process called E-4 which was similar to E-6 but used colder chemicals. He then mentioned that if C-41 or E-6 is used the emulsion would be melted off the base…

Once the film was dry, it had gone completely clear. If I ever get my hands on a roll of this again I want to try developing it in C-41 but at colder temperatures and adjust the times. I feel this might get me some form of colour negative. Either this or develop it in B&W.

For now, I have some very cool backing paper!