I've seen this term all over the forum but I don't know what it is. Is it another term for negative in the LF world? Thanks in advance for any light shed on it. (pun intended)
Debbie, it is the same as slide film & is used interchangeably, no matter what format it is. The term transparency must come from a very basic idea of being able to see it in a positive mode & not negative mode like film is.
There are basically two types of film used in photography - 1) negative film and 2) positive film.
Negative film (which you seem to be familiar with) captures an inverse image of the photographed scene, i.e. black on the original scene will be recorded as white on the film. Positive film, on the other hand, captures the photographed image as is, i.e. black on the original scene will be recorded as black on the film. Positive film is also known as "slide film" or "transparency".
Both negative filme and positive film come in various sizes for all popular film camera formats.
Hope the above helps. Google and/or Wikipedia will provide you with more information if you are interested.
Debbie, the two film types Anil has outlined are used in the cameras the same way. One is typically known as a "Print" film and the other is typically known as a "Slide" film or "Transparency". The "Print" film makes a negative image and is again typically used for prints. "Slide" film originally was used for viewing with a slide projector. However, it became very popular with many photographers for light table viewing and it too can be used to make prints. So, slide film is a bit more widely used these days, except for folks shooting B&W. They will normally use B&W print film, although Agfa did make a B&W slide film too a while back. You might Google, or just go to Kodak or Fuji sites and look around, they may be of help too. Good luck.
GOT IT! Thanks so much Anil & Paul, appreciate the help.
Posted by Curtis Knight on April 16, 2007 at 9:33 PM
Actually, positive film is bit of a misnomer, as it also captures a negative image. The difference is that the image is reversed by chemistry during processing, to create the positive and transparent image. The chemical/step is in fact commonly referred to as "the reversal step". I used to process my own slide film in the kitchen sink. it was fun, but not very reliable. I trashed my share of batches.
Yeah, let's confuse her even more by saying that our eyes actually capture images upside down
and our brain turns them right side up
Debbie, besides that there is also a BIG difference in the amount of light that negative film will capture
and the transparency fil is ALOT less forgiving and you only have about 1.5 stops of light to "Get it",
thus it is VERY contrasty compared to negative film. When I use to make my own Cibachromes prints
it was thus even MORE contrasty. So negative film was easiest for the "amateur" to use because
it gave them the largest amount of light leeway of what the film would capture. Thus those of us that use LF or even 35 and transparency film and then make prints from it are needing to be VERY exact with our exposures, unless we want to get into HDR's after scanning, etc. I am talking one sheet of film= 1 image.
Hope that made sense.....
Discussion
8 replies-PB
There are basically two types of film used in photography - 1) negative film and 2) positive film.
Negative film (which you seem to be familiar with) captures an inverse image of the photographed scene, i.e. black on the original scene will be recorded as white on the film. Positive film, on the other hand, captures the photographed image as is, i.e. black on the original scene will be recorded as black on the film. Positive film is also known as "slide film" or "transparency".
Both negative filme and positive film come in various sizes for all popular film camera formats.
Hope the above helps. Google and/or Wikipedia will provide you with more information if you are interested.
and our brain turns them right side up
Debbie, besides that there is also a BIG difference in the amount of light that negative film will capture
and the transparency fil is ALOT less forgiving and you only have about 1.5 stops of light to "Get it",
thus it is VERY contrasty compared to negative film. When I use to make my own Cibachromes prints
it was thus even MORE contrasty. So negative film was easiest for the "amateur" to use because
it gave them the largest amount of light leeway of what the film would capture. Thus those of us that use LF or even 35 and transparency film and then make prints from it are needing to be VERY exact with our exposures, unless we want to get into HDR's after scanning, etc. I am talking one sheet of film= 1 image.
Hope that made sense.....
In gratitude,
Nelcha