press:
Test Fuji 8573 500 Eterna

In preparation for the shoot of the film Días Azules directed by Miguel Santesmases and produced by Milou Films/Tornasol/Continental Producciones we did some tests with the new Fuji 8573 500 Eterna emulsion. The film takes place in two different eras 10 years apart in the protagonists lifelong holiday spot: Ferrol. Miguel Santesmases wanted to evoke through the photography the colourful and luminous memory that our favourite holiday spot forms in our minds. To achieve this effect the image had to have a pictoric and surreal texture; the picture didn’t have to be extra-crisp, and that the intense colours did not have to be a representation of the real. Bearing in mind these premises we prepared tests to measure certain parameters; our aim was to achieve more contrast and saturate the colours as much as possible. The idea was to study the emulsions response to normal developing, specially when overexposing, and then see how it responded to pushing the stops during processing.

A 500 emulsion has enough grain to obtain the texture we were after, but we needed to study its contrast and colour to see if we could obtain the bright images we needed, and see if, pushing the negative we could give these effects (colour and contrast) more presence without losing picture quality. This first article shows the results of the tests we did and the second one shows how we applied these results to the film’s photography.



The test

The test involved creating step wedges of the material both when normally processed and when pushed 1 and 2 F-stops. Secondly we undertook the usual tests for over and underexposing using colour cards, greys, whites, blacks and white skin tones.

The curves shown here are step wedges made by Fotofilm/Deluxe with the Fuji 8573 500 Eterna negative. These wedges were printed on Fuji positive. In the gamma comparison graph, the curves have been aligned using the wedge’ average value (value 11). We have used tungsten equipment conveniently set at 3200ºK using the Minolta Color Meter IIIF. The exposure values were adjusted with a properly adjusted Sekonic L-558/Cine. We made two prints of the negative emulsion, the first one using a single light adjusting the value of an 18% median grey. For the second one we colour graded the over and underexposure, correcting as much as possible to the value of median grey. Here we reproduce the colour graded print to a single light with the usual deficiencies of the transfer to CMYK for printing, but they are a close enough representation



In this image we can see the values of reflected light in reference to normal value (18% median grey ).
24fps/ 172,8º / T 5.6



Characteristic curves - normal developing

In the first graph we can see the information offered by the manufacturer, in the next one we can see the step wedge developed by the lab. We can see the similarities between both in the contrast, the balance of colour and the sensitivity.

Characteristic curve of the negative emulsion



The corresponding positive



Step wedge of the negative and its respective positive.



To see the properties of this new emulsion we compared the curves with those of the earlier emulsion, F8572 500T






-Contrast/Latitude:
The emulsion presents an average gamma of 0,52, somewhat inferior than the 8572 emulsion (0,55) which elevates the latitude around 1 stop, meaning the film offers a latitude of around 9 F-stops taking into account the straight part of the curve. This does not take into account the fact that the toe of the emulsion still stretches 2 more F-stops and that in high lights it can capture another extra stop. As we can see the slope of the curves of the new emulsion is less steep than its predecessor’s, which makes its contrast lower, with a smoother image than the 8572.

-Colour:
The emulsion offers good colour reproduction in normal developing, with intense colours which are still a little bit paler than its predecessor. Both when overexposing and underexposing it maintains a good colour balance specially in the skins that have a natural look, although with excessive overexposures they take on a red dominance when colour grading. One should notice the reduction of the density in the blue layer that forms yellow, which favours image sharpness, as well as the colour balance in the digital aspects of post-production.

-Blacks:
The blacks are smoother than with its predecessor, with less density but maintaining a good colour balance in overexposure, but more importantly when underexposed. The colour dominances appear explicitly when pushed in developing; pushed 1 stop we can see a clear cyan/green dominance in the blacks which is corrected in colour grading. When pushed 2 stops however colour overlapping occurs and the correction is barely possible.

-Grain:
A considerable decrease in grain comparable to that of the 250D emulsion. The grain increases when pushed 1 stop remaining acceptable, but when it is pushed another stop up to 2 stops, the grain becomes excessive.

-Sharpness/ definition:
In both sharpness and definition there is an apparent improvement with regards to the earlier emulsion, also increasing considerably the detail for an emulsion of high sensitivity.


Characteristic curves. Developping Pushed 1 Stop

The process of overdevelopping increases the density of the negative, specially in the high lights and it affects the whole set of densities of the emulsion favouring a general increase in contrast, elevating the fog and the grain.



Characteristic curve of the emulsion negative pushed 1 stop, increasing the ptime of processing



Its corresponding negative


We can see a slight increase in contrast, compare the values of 1, 2 and 3 with the wedge of the normal process, and notice also the increase in density in the values 12 and 13 of the normally developed curve.




We can also see the colour deviations, more noticeable in the shadows.



Comparing the curves of the normal developing with the curve pushed 1 stop we can see an increase in density, in the fog as well as a slight increase in contrast. There are also slight colour deviations specially in the shadows, that can be corrected during colour-grading.



In the comparison between the three normally developed and pushed we can see a slight increase in contrast and an increase in density, specially in the highlighhts.


Characteristic curves. Pushed 2 Stops during processing







We can see by looking at the curves, the considerable increase in fog and contrast, as well as in the colour overlapping, that as we can see in the print poses problems when it comes to correcting the shadows, the mid-tones or the high lights.

In the wedge we can see the increase in contrast and the quick loss of detail under high lights. Compare the values of 1, 2 and 3 with the wedge with the normal processing, and notice also the increase in density of the values in the shadows in comparison to the normally developed one.

We can also observe a noticeable colour deviation in the shadows and highlights which is very hard to correct during colour grading specially if the image strays from the normal (either under or overexposed).



In this graph we can see the comparison between the normally developed curves and the ones pushed 2 stops. Notice the increase in fog as well as of the general density.




Here we can see the comparison between the normally developed curves and the ones pushed 2 stops. We can clearly see the increase in density and contrast, specially in the high lights.