E6?

[Rhoyle]

I put the question mark in the title because I'm wondering about the near term future of E6. Kodak has killed it off completely. Fuji has said nothing, so I'm hoping they'll continue. I'm really bothered by this for two reasons.

1) The best color and contrast that I've gotten on any photograph has been with E100G on my 60 year-old Rolleiflex.

2) I'm hoping to buy a Zeiss ZM Planar 50mm in the very near future.


In reference to #1 above, it's not in any way a statement against any other film, it's just that E100G was by far my favorite. I'll try some Fuji Provia 100F and see how that works. Although Velvia is an outstanding film, I find it just a little bit "edgy" in the saturation department. Also, I've tried some new Portra 160 in 35mm. I first thought it looked a little dull, until I looked a little closer. It really grew on me and I can punch it up quite successfully if need be on the computer.

In reference to #2, should I really spend over $800 for a lens that I might not be able to use for more than just a couple of years out? I've wanted this lens for the beautiful color/contrast rendition and I see it as a lifetime investment. I've been wanting one of these for some time now and I've now got the opportunity to buy, plus they've just become available again after many months of being backordered.

A Leica digital M is out of the question. It doesn't look like anyone else is jumping in line to produce an affordable DRF. So what now?

From everywhere I've heard, B+W seems fairly safe. I enjoy the do it yourself process of Plus-X (GONE!) and D76. Plus Ilford seems to have both feet on the ground with B+W. But color very well may end up being on the EVIL DSLR. It'll be a great loss and I'm afraid that it's coming sooner than I expected.