AshigrainColour reversal · Vintage
Anscochrome D/500
Fast 1960s colour reversal for marginal light.
What D/500 was made for: aerial views in the marginal light of early morning or late day, on a fast daylight reversal film viewed directly. Original vs Ashigrain.
At a glance
- Exposure index
- 500
- Daylight
- Introduced
- by 1967
- Process
- AR-1
- Prints on
- Reversal, viewed directly
About the film
Engineers of General Aniline and Film Corp. in Binghamton, New York, presented Anscochrome D/500 at the technical conference of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in Chicago on 21 September 1967, and their paper was printed in October 1968.
They described a high-speed daylight colour reversal film with an exposure index of 500, or 1000 with forced processing, available on acetate or on Gafstar polyester base. Its intended uses were information photography in poor light: the space programme, oceanography and industry, aerial photography early and late in the day, and instrumentation and high-speed cameras. The authors also saw a consumer market for it as a reversal film in low available light, and press and aerial uses that needed both prints and transparencies. It shared the spectral sensitivity of Anscochrome D/50, T/100 and D/200 and the dyes of all Anscochrome camera films, so it could be intercut with them; its emulsion technology was different, but its processing tolerances were no tighter. It ran in Ansco's AR-1 process or the shorter AR-2, and could also be developed as a colour negative at exposure indexes from 125 to 1000. Compared with D/200 it was slightly coarser in grain, with similar colour saturation and reproduction. The Timeline of Historical Film Colors lists a 500 ASA daylight Anscochrome reversal film of 1967 to 1969 as type 5550, citing only this paper, so that code is not confirmed for D/500.
Sources for this history
- Characteristics and Applications of a New High-Speed Color Film — Anscochrome D/500 (Journal of the SMPTE 77(10), October 1968, pp. 1150–1152), Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
- Anscochrome, type 5550, Timeline of Historical Film Colors, University of Zurich
The look
Anscochrome D/500 is a high-speed daylight colour reversal film of the late 1960s, rated exposure index 500 and viewed directly with no print. It was made for low-light information work, from space and ocean research to aerial photography at dawn and dusk, and is slightly grainier than Anscochrome D/200.
Best for
- Aerial views at dawn and dusk
- Dim interiors in available light
- Grainy late-1960s colour
Compare camera films
FilmSpeedGrain, RMS σD · lower means finer grainYears made
Ansco Color Negative 843Ansco Color Negative 843−5 stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 16−5 stops.0041951
Gevacolor Negative T 6.51Gevacolor Negative T 6.51−5 stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 16−5 stops.0071951
Technicolor Process IITechnicolor Process II−5 stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 16−5 stops.0191922
Trucolor (two-colour)Trucolor (two-colour)−5 stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 16−5 stops.0191945
Kodak Kodachrome 25Kodak Kodachrome 25−4⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 25−4⅓ stops.0141974
Kodak Aerochrome III 1443Kodak Aerochrome III 1443−3⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 40−3⅔ stops.0292001
Kodak Vision3 50DKodak Vision3 50DMade since 2011, in production · −3⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 50−3⅓ stops.0042011–
Fujifilm Velvia 50Fujifilm Velvia 50Made since 2007, in production · −3⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 50−3⅓ stops.0112007–
Agfa Agfacolor Ultra 50Agfa Agfacolor Ultra 50−3⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 50−3⅓ stops.0041995
Agfa Agfachrome RSX II 50Agfa Agfachrome RSX II 50−3⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 50−3⅓ stops.0111998
Konica Impresa 50Konica Impresa 50−3⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 50−3⅓ stops.0051998
Fujifilm Fujichrome 64T Type IIFujifilm Fujichrome 64T Type II−3 stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 64−3 stops.0132002
Kodak Kodachrome 64Kodak Kodachrome 64Made 1974–2009 · −3 stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 64−3 stops.0161974–2009
Polaroid Type 669Polaroid Type 669−2⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 80−2⅔ stops.0231981
Ilford Ortho PlusIlford Ortho PlusMade since 1997, in production · −2⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 80−2⅔ stops.0131997–
Kodak Ektar 100Kodak Ektar 100Made since 2008, in production · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0052008–
Kodak Ektachrome 100DKodak Ektachrome 100DMade since 2018, in production · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0132018–
Lucky Super GBR 100Lucky Super GBR 100−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0052001
Ferrania Solaris FG Plus 100Ferrania Solaris FG Plus 100−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0052002
Fujifilm Astia 100FFujifilm Astia 100FMade 2003–2012 · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0112003–12
Fujifilm Velvia 100Fujifilm Velvia 100Made since 2003, in production · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0112003–
Kodak Ektachrome E100SKodak Ektachrome E100S−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0151996
Agfa Agfacolor Optima II 100Agfa Agfacolor Optima II 100−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0051998
Agfa Agfachrome RSX II 100Agfa Agfachrome RSX II 100−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0111998
Kodak Ektachrome E100VSKodak Ektachrome E100VS−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0171998
Fujifilm Provia 100FFujifilm Provia 100FMade since 2000, in production · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0102000–
Kodak Ektachrome 100 Plus (EPP)Kodak Ektachrome 100 Plus (EPP)−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0181988
Fujifilm FP-100CFujifilm FP-100CMade 1992–2016 · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0221992–2016
Lomography Redscale XR 50-200Lomography Redscale XR 50-200−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0052025
Fomapan R 100Fomapan R 100Made since 1980, in production · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0211980–
Kodak T-Max 100Kodak T-Max 100Made since 1986, in production · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0081986–
Ilford Delta 100Ilford Delta 100Made since 1992, in production · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0071992–
Agfa Agfapan APX 100Agfa Agfapan APX 100−2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0071998
Fomapan 100 ClassicFomapan 100 ClassicMade since 2016, in production · −2⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 100−2⅓ stops.0122016–
Eastman Color Negative 5247Eastman Color Negative 5247−2 stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 125−2 stops.0051983
Kodak Technical PanKodak Technical Pan−2 stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 125−2 stops.0081977
Kodak Portra 160Kodak Portra 160Made since 2011, in production · −1⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 160−1⅔ stops.0062011–
Agfa Agfacolor Portrait XPS 160Agfa Agfacolor Portrait XPS 160−1⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 160−1⅔ stops.0061995
Kodak Vision3 200TKodak Vision3 200TMade since 2010, in production · −1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0062010–
Kodak Verita 200DKodak Verita 200DMade since 2026, in production · −1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0062026–
Kodak Gold 200Kodak Gold 200Made since 2007, in production · −1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0082007–
Lucky Super GBR 200Lucky Super GBR 200−1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0072001
Ferrania Solaris FG Plus 200Ferrania Solaris FG Plus 200−1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0052002
Kodak Ektachrome E200Kodak Ektachrome E200−1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0181997
Agfa Agfachrome RSX II 200Agfa Agfachrome RSX II 200−1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0141998
Kodak Kodachrome 200Kodak Kodachrome 200−1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0271986
Harman Phoenix 200Harman Phoenix 200−1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0072023
Kodak Tri-X Reversal 7266Kodak Tri-X Reversal 7266Made since 2003, in production · −1⅓ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 200−1⅓ stops.0242003–
Kodak Vision3 250DKodak Vision3 250DMade since 2009, in production · −1 stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 250−1 stop.0062009–
Fujifilm Eterna 250Fujifilm Eterna 250−1 stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 250−1 stop.0052006
Fujifilm Eterna 250DFujifilm Eterna 250DMade 2005–2013 · −1 stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 250−1 stop.0052005–13
Kodak Vision 250DKodak Vision 250DMade 1997–2005 · −1 stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 250−1 stop.0071997–2005
Kodak Aerocolor IV 2460Kodak Aerocolor IV 2460Made since 2009, in production · −1 stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 250−1 stop.0132009–
Eastman Double-X 5222Eastman Double-X 5222Made since 1960, in production · −1 stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 250−1 stop.0131960–
Kodak Portra 400Kodak Portra 400Made since 2010, in production · −⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0072010–
Fujifilm Provia 400FFujifilm Provia 400F−⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0172000
Ferrania Solaris FG Plus 400Ferrania Solaris FG Plus 400−⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0062004
Fujifilm Pro 400HFujifilm Pro 400HMade 2004–2021 · −⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0052004–21
Kodak Ektachrome 400XKodak Ektachrome 400X−⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0371992
Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400−⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0052006
LomoChrome Color '92 Sun-kissedLomoChrome Color '92 Sun-kissed−⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0052024
Kodak Tri-X 400Kodak Tri-X 400Made since 1954, in production · −⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0171954–
Kodak T-Max 400Kodak T-Max 400Made since 2007, in production · −⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0102007–
Ilford HP5 PlusIlford HP5 PlusMade since 1989, in production · −⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0161989–
Ilford Delta 400Ilford Delta 400Made since 2002, in production · −⅓ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 400−⅓ stop.0102002–
Kodak Vision3 500TKodak Vision3 500TMade since 2007, in production · same speed vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 500same speed.0072007–
Fujifilm Eterna Vivid 500Fujifilm Eterna Vivid 500Made 2009–2013 · same speed vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 500same speed.0052009–13
Kodak Vision2 500TKodak Vision2 500Tsame speed vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 500same speed.0092009
Fujicolor Reala 500DFujicolor Reala 500Dsame speed vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 500same speed.0052001
Kodak Vision2 Expression 500TKodak Vision2 Expression 500Tsame speed vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 500same speed.0092003
Fujifilm Eterna 500Fujifilm Eterna 500Made 2004–2013 · same speed vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 500same speed.0052004–13
Eastman EXR 500TEastman EXR 500TMade 1989–1995 · same speed vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 500same speed.0081989–95
Kodak Portra 800Kodak Portra 800Made since 2000, in production · +⅔ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 800+⅔ stop.0092000–
Ferrania Solaris FG Plus 800Ferrania Solaris FG Plus 800+⅔ stop vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 800+⅔ stop.0072004
Konica Centuria Super 1600Konica Centuria Super 1600+1⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 1600+1⅔ stops.0072002
Kodak Ektachrome P1600Kodak Ektachrome P1600+1⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain coarserEI 1600+1⅔ stops.0501999
Kodak T-Max P3200Kodak T-Max P3200Made since 1988, in production · +2⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 3200+2⅔ stops.0181988–
Ilford Delta 3200Ilford Delta 3200Made since 1998, in production · +2⅔ stops vs Anscochrome D/500 · grain finerEI 3200+2⅔ stops.0191998–
Science & sources
A daylight colour reversal film rated at EI 500, shown directly without a print stage. Its curves, spectral sensitivity and dyes are traced from the 1968 SMPTE paper, with normal exposure placed on its relative log-exposure axis by an ISO 2240 speed-point approximation. Its grain is borrowed from Kodak Ektachrome P1600 and its MTF from Kodak Ektachrome 100D, because the paper gives only an RMS granularity, resolving power and acutance.
Response curves and the evidence behind the model
Compare manufacturer data with Ashigrain’s response on the same axes. These curves show how the model is calibrated to its sources; they do not establish a match to photographed film.
Characteristic response
RMS granularity
Density variation (σD). Where the datasheet gives a single grain value, the response away from that point is an approximation.
| Channel | Density | Datasheet-based σD | Model σD |
|---|---|---|---|
| R | 0.3 | 0.016887 | 0.016599 |
| G | 0.3 | 0.012047 | 0.011798 |
| B | 0.3 | 0.017837 | 0.017601 |
| R | 0.6 | 0.033799 | 0.033223 |
| G | 0.6 | 0.024309 | 0.023805 |
| B | 0.6 | 0.043404 | 0.042831 |
| R | 1 | 0.052542 | 0.051647 |
| G | 1 | 0.038835 | 0.038031 |
| B | 1 | 0.075021 | 0.074031 |
| R | 1.5 | 0.076254 | 0.074955 |
| G | 1.5 | 0.062613 | 0.061316 |
| B | 1.5 | 0.108264 | 0.106836 |
| R | 2 | 0.090417 | 0.088877 |
| G | 2 | 0.084951 | 0.083191 |
| B | 2 | 0.166485 | 0.164288 |
Model limits
These images show the film model in use. Spectral response, lighting and viewing conditions include approximations. Halation, bloom, grain size, weave and flicker are not fully measured for each film. The look of real film also depends on development and print timing.
- Custom lighting spectra, camera metering and the spectral reflectance inferred from fixed-white-balance footage are assumptions used by the model, not measurements of this film.
- The paper's curves are integral densities for blue, green and red filtration, not Status M densities. Reading them on the model's Status M scale is an approximation.
- The curves are printed on a relative log-exposure axis without a normal-exposure point. The model places normal exposure at the ISO 2240 speed point of the traced curves, taken as EI 500; this anchor is an approximation.
- The paper gives RMS granularity 0.048, resolving power and acutance, but no MTF. MTF is proxied from Kodak Ektachrome 100D (5294) and grain from Kodak Ektachrome P1600, so the granularity values shown are P1600's.
- The antihalation layer is not described. An undercoat is assumed; halation strength, radius, layer weights and bloom are not measured.
- Forced processing to EI 1000, processing as a colour negative and reciprocity are described in the paper but not modelled.
- Push and pull have no published curves for this film and use a generic model.
- Characteristic response outside the published exposure range is an extrapolation, not measured film data.
- The available sources do not measure veiling flare during projection. The model approximates its contribution to lifted blacks on screen, so the result is not a measured projection contrast.
Reciprocity: not modelled. Exposure time has no effect on this film.
Film guide: assumptions and practical choices
Sources
- Characteristic curves: Characteristics and Applications of a New High-Speed Color Film — Anscochrome D/500, J. SMPTE 77(10), Oct. 1968, pp. 1150-1152; DOI 10.5594/J13658, p. 1
- Exposure index: Characteristics and Applications of a New High-Speed Color Film — Anscochrome D/500, J. SMPTE 77(10), Oct. 1968, pp. 1150-1152; DOI 10.5594/J13658, p. 1
- Diffuse RMS granularity: Characteristics and Applications of a New High-Speed Color Film — Anscochrome D/500, J. SMPTE 77(10), Oct. 1968, pp. 1150-1152; DOI 10.5594/J13658, p. 3
- Process: Characteristics and Applications of a New High-Speed Color Film — Anscochrome D/500, J. SMPTE 77(10), Oct. 1968, pp. 1150-1152; DOI 10.5594/J13658, p. 3