Originally Posted by Ian Grant
Just about, i'd say.
First efforts were orthochromatic, only blue (and a bit of green) sensitive.
Panchromatic emulsions began to appear, and became common, in the 1910s, certainly 1920s. Verichrome was introduced in 1931, as one of the new generation of panchromatic (!) monochrome films.
The "chrome" in Autochrome however is not about spectral sensitivity, but about the image produced being in colour, and not monochromatic, and dates from the period that people were trying to figure out how to produce images in colour (1870s - 1890s).
The spectral sensitivity of the plates used however is another matter.
The use of the term "chrome" to denote slide films is due to the choice made by the manufacturers to give their slide films the "chrome" suffix, their colour negative films the "color" suffix.
Not a hard and fast rule, but still the origin of "chrome = slide".
That misses out the bulk of films made between the early 1900's and WWII, many were made right up to the 50's. These were also usually the company's highest selling films.
Originally Posted by Q.G.
Verichrome was never a Panchromatic film, neither version, Mees was involved with both the Wratten & later Kodak version, it was only replaced by Verichrome Pan in 1956. Kodak's equivalent speed (roughly) Pan film in the 30's was Panatomic.
In between true Orthochromatic (Blue/green sensitive) and Panchromatic are the sub class of films with extended (high) sensitivities to Green , Yellow and often bordering on reds, it's these that the big manufacturers called "chrome"
Some B&W Chrome films.
Wrattern & Wainwright - Verichrome, Allochrome
Kodak - Verichrome
Agfa - Isochrom
Ilford - Selochrome
Bauchet - Hyperchromw
Voigthlander - Bessachrom (made by Gevaert)
and there would be others.
What he said plus a marketing exec or two along the way.
Originally Posted by Thomas Moraitis
Still: "The use of the term "chrome" to denote slide films is due to the choice made by the manufacturers to give their slide films the "chrome" suffix, their colour negative films the "color" suffix.
Not a hard and fast rule, but still the origin of "chrome = slide"."
IT'S BECAUSE IT'S SHINY!!! GAWD!!!
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Last edited by David Brown; 10-05-2009 at 08:56 AM. Click to view previous post history.
Reason: never mind ...
I don't think it's ever going to catch on, myself.
when the autochrome came out
did they refer to them as chromes?
or did they refer to them as diapositives (coined in 1893 ) ...
Thomas wrote: "I'd suggest the greek word for colour (χρώμα - chroma)." That suggestion isn't gaining much acceptance here.
It is generally accepted, as far as i can see.
Originally Posted by Larry.Manuel
But it is the answer to the wrong question: the question is not what "chrome" is a derivation of, but why slides are called chromes.
And that is not because "chroma" is greek for colour.