Vacation with Slide Film: Need Tips

Nice thing about backlighting with slides is that if something gets blown out it at least probably won't be your subject. And I tend to not mind flare.

Lux 50 + Velvia:

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Excellent pointers keep coming! I'm also digging the posted photos. I feel like the results from my slide shooting excursion will come out much better. Thanks everyone.

I especially like the comment about how slides will make other color films seem inadequate. The only color film that I have even used lately has been Ektar 100, which I find visually appealing.
 
I've never found slide film problematic at all, in my experience it isn't any harder than print film to use.

Thinking back to my first experiences, the only thing which takes a bit of getting used to is that the slide will much more accurately reflect the colour temperature than print film, as per

And be careful taking any slide film into mixed light temperature scenes. You can be a hero one minute and a goat the next if you walk from sunlight to incandescent mixed light hoping to get acceptable color in the mixed scene. Of course, they all convert fine to BW in post if it comes down to it.

Though personally I don't mind not having neutral colour under artificial lighting. I can definitely second Provia 400X as a fast film choice, it pushes really well too. Though hopefully the beach is too sunny to need it ;)
 
Plenty of good advice at hand above. I love slide film and use it more than anything else under harsh Aussie skies. Until you learn how to use it especially on beaches and the like take the incident meter route as recommended. Velvia 50 and 100, Provia, Astia, try the lot. Have a great holiday.
 
I agree Alan, good advice throughout this thread. I will look into an incident meter as I don't currently have one.

Thoughts on Sensia 100, 200, and 400? I currently have Ektachrome E100G, Provia 100F, and Provia 400x in my online shopping cart and wanted to get some last minute opinions on my selection of film.
 
FE instead of M6! Take a toy insted of a workhorse to somewhere where one may only visit once in a lifetime!.....and regret afterwards that your slides could be better had you taken the workhorse!

Slides are great. I use a lot of 120 slides. I will second Provia 400. Velvia 50 is also very good (rated at 75). But most of my lenses are older German ones such as Solinar, Apotar, Color-Skopar, Tessar, Planar and Xenotar. And I'd never leave home without my little Sekonic 308 for its incident light readings.
 
Im a Kodachrome and Ektachrome shooter and I rate my film 64/200 or 400 as rated on the box and do not compensate exposure. Shot that way for 30 yrs without a problem. I can see where the incident meter would be more accurate (pretty obvious).

Since were coming to the end of Kodachrome Id say shoot K64 until you drop. You can pick up Velvia on other vacations.
 
35mmdelux, my wife has the same sentiment as you when it comes to Kodachrome. She told me to order more and shoot it exclusively. So many decisions. :)
 
35mmdelux, my wife has the same sentiment as you when it comes to Kodachrome. She told me to order more and shoot it exclusively. So many decisions. :)

You have a good wife!

In leiu of an incident meter, I brought a $10 gray card with me on vacation last week and I found it useful. Often, the spot meter on my Bessa was completely fooled by reflections or whatnot.

Sometimes, it was bright sunshine and I metered off a middle gray, but the meter was telling me two stops off sunny 16. I put the gray card up and it confirmed sunny 16. Other times, the meter indicated one stop off sunny 16 in heavy overcast. Again, the gray card came in handy.

Having some common sense and feeling for the amount of light came in handy too. In full sunshine I expected the meter to indicate 1/250 & f/8 with KR64. In late afternoon sunshine, I expected to lose a stop.

Using this linked chart is very helpful to get a basic feel of how the light should be. Basically, start with sunny 16 (EV 15) and count stops.

http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm#Light Intensity Chart
 
Raid doesn't seem too hesitant to shoot on the beach: I believe he lives in Pensacola. Not many places I wouldn't go with my M6 and cron 35/2.
 
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