Cross processing is (usually) processing E6 slide films in a C-41 color
negative process.
This results in some spectacular effects, for one thing, this produces an unmasked
negative (unmasked: no orange mask). This results in some very strong colors,
compared to regular developing.
Cross processing can be done by just dropping the slide films in the C41 machine
(this will damage the chemicals for the C41 process, so make sure you do cross
processing as the last batch before changing to fresh chemistry)
Some tips if you want to try cross-processing, and really make
the pictures stand out.. This is one of the best ways to do the cross processing
technique "by hand"
- Process the transparency film in a monochrome developer, and push-process
it
- Bleach this in a Ferricyanide bleach
- Process through standard C41 chemicals.
Films that are not ideal for cross processing:
(These are not ideal because they give a very strong color cast which is quite
hard to filter out)
Films that are good for cross processing:
Most other E6 films, especially the older formulas, such as EPP (Ektachrome),
RDP, Ektachrome 200 and Provia 400
Reversed Cross Processing (i.e putting C-41 film through E6 chemicals)
This is a bit more difficult, but can give some interesting results. You will
probably have to do some color filtering on the camera to get a satisfactory
result. There is usually a speed loss of between three and four stops but part
of this can usually be made up for by push processing.
Other processes:
- E6 - Slide film process
- C-41 - Negative film process
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