160PortraVC vs. Fuji NPS

[Bruce Watson]

I'm interested in finding out what the group thinks are the strengths and weaknesses of these two negative films. I'll be using them in their readyload and quickload forms only. The subject is high contrast landscape. Exposures of several seconds might not be unusual for sunrise and/or sunset work. I will be drum scanning the film.

Please, limit the discussion to just these two films. Please tell me how well you think they do for color accuracy, the relationships between colors (color casts), reciprocity (color shifting, etc.), saturation, sharpness... basically anything you think I should know that I'm unlikely to find out without burning through hundreds of sheets of film. TIA.

[Mark Sampson]

I've never used the Fuji film. I do use Portra 160VC. I like it a lot, (perhaps because my 4x5 color experience goes back to Vericolor II type Lwith an 85B filter in daylight). The only thing I don't like about 160VC is that the contrast is a bit high. That's only an issue on bright sunny days. Since I like a longer scale I might go to 160NC when I next buy film.

[Sal Santamaura]

Can't give you much comparative info on NPS vs. 160VC (I've only done a side-by-side vs. 160NC), but it will soon be moot anyway. NPS is being replaced by Pro 160S.

[Wilbur Wong]

I have not used these two side by side. I have used 4 x 5 Portra 160VC since it was introduced and I am very happy with the results. Maybe my photographic vision and eye needs improving but that is a personal issue not technical.

I have processed these myself using a jobo at times with fp chemistry, more recently with tetanal as well as having a commercial lab do these. My printing in the past has been in my darkroom with a beseler universal 45 head. Recently, I have started scanning on an epson 4870 and printing to an older photo 2000P. I think that some differences of color is responsible from my varying film processing methods. I am currently trying to keep my film processing at a single lab for consistency.

Some time ago I compared the two film's specifications from their makers, one thing I noted was that reciprocity starts at very modest length exposures on the Fuji film. There are no such issues with the Portra at the speeds I tend to shoot at which are typically between 2 seconds up to 1/125.

The VC designation BTW means vivid color versus NC normal color (note not vivid contrast). I don't particularly discern anything jumping out at me colorwise in my photographs which are landscape. In my current frame of mind as I move toward digital printing and out of my chemical darkroom - I am guessing that I could always desaturate in Photoshop as being preferable to trying to boost color that wasn't there to begin with.

[Eric Rose]

I've used them both and for your situation would probably go with the NPS. Porta 160 NC is a nice one too.

[Henry Ambrose]

They are both really good films and both scan well. Neither is color accurate in the strict sense of the word - not like EPP or such. You will be interpreting color with any color negative film. Match the scan to the scene you saw and its accurate! ; >)

NPS is a bit lower in contrast and a bit "greener", 160VC is "redder" and more contrasty. I found either to work about as well at longer exposures. But I think when I tested them side by side I only shot up to about 30 seconds. I've shot NPS up to several minutes with and without multiple flash pops to fill and gotten excellent scans. Fuji says NPS is not for suited long exposures but I have found otherwise.

I use NPS but you really should buy a small box of each to test if for no other reason than to see which color palette you prefer.

[Henry Ambrose]

Last sentence of my second paragraph should read:

"Fuji says NPS is not suited to long exposures but I have found otherwise."

[Sal Santamaura]

Fuji apparently introduced Pro 160S in the UK last week, and posted the data sheet here:

Pro 160S

It indicates improved reciprocity performance compared to NPS; no correction necessary between 1/4000 and 2 seconds, +1/3 stop at "4 seconds or more." That literally means a simple 1/3 stop aperture increase would suffice at, say, 2 hours, but I suspect there is some real limit and a need for better japanese-english translation. Inclusion of "Flame Number" legends with the 135 edge markings drawing on page 6 supports the miscommunication hypothesis.

[Oren Grad]

Sal, in the Japanese data sheet for a Fuji film labeled "Pro 160NS" the introduction to the section on reciprocity literally says only that for exposures longer than one second you have to use the correction information in the table. It does not say what to do if the metered exposure is more than 4 seconds, for which the table provides no information. I think the "4 seconds or more" in the English version is probably just a sloppy translation.

[Bruce Watson]

Well, interesting.

Any idea when we'll get this new Fuji Pro 160S film in the USA?

I had heard rumors that they would optimize this new film for scanning. The spec. sheet doesn't really read that way, but that's not necessarily informative. IOW, I'll bet that it still has the orange mask... ;-)

Henry, thanks for the info. on color bias. That's just the kind of information I'm looking for.