Suggestions for Color Film

[David Roossien]

Well, Brian asked for a general purpose slide and print film and Astia or E100G fits the request for G.P. Provia’s contrast is about the same as Velvia 100F, so it can’t really be called a G.P. film.

There were some great responses. As Leigh pointed out it's important to consider the scene you are shooting when selecting the film to use. Fortunately LF lets you pick each sheet. I try to match the color of the subject and the lighting to the film choice. For greens, browns, and reds I like Provia a lot. It is slightly less saturated than Velvia 100F and a lot less saturated than Velvia 50. If I were shooting scenes with lots of green foliage, then Provia would be in my camera.

On the beach is a different story. Provia doesn't handle yellow or blue very well. It tends to block up yellow. So, scenes with golden light are better shot with something else--Astia, Velvia, E100G.

[David Luttmann]

GPS,

According to Fuji, the RMS for Provia 100F is 8, while Astia 100F is 7.....making Astia the finest grain as yet for their chrome lineup.

[Mark_3632]

Astia for a more natural response, Provia 100F for a more saturated but not as much as Velvia. I prefer provia. It fits me.

I like NPS and NPH, as well as 160 and 400 NC. Not a big fan of VC

It is a real personal choice. One 10 sheet box and some testing will give you enough to know if you like the look of a particular film. No need to go the 20 shot or 50 shot box.

I would rather shoot with readyloads or quickloads. Don't know why but I can load and unload a film holder with BW with not a scratch. Put color film in and I scratch the hell out of it. The quick load and ready load gets rid of this problem for me.

[Eric Leppanen]

Since you won't be making large prints, I don't think you'll see much difference between many of the emulsions mentioned above, so you have quite a bit of leeway here.

Since you're not a super-saturated kind of guy, I would suggest shooting color neg film. I've been using Portra 160VC (a bit more color saturation than NPS), but I am very curious about the new Fuji 160S (I have a box on order). Ctein in the latest issue of Photo Techniques magazine rates 160S as the best color print film available. Calumet has it in stock (both in standard sheets and Quickloads).

Transparency film limits you to shooting either early or late in the day, or in shade. If you were gung-ho on color saturation and contrast, then putting up with this limitation might be worth it, but since you prefer more muted, natural colors, I don't see the point. Color neg film is also more tolerant of warm/cool light temperatures when shooting in shade or reflected light. The most color neutral transparency film I've worked with is Astia 100F.

[GPS]

Dave, thanks for the update.

[Nathaniel Paust]

I'd put my vote in for Astia. Since it's slide film, you don't have to worry about color casts introduced in printing (of course, you do stil have to worry about color casts just from the color of the light.)

More importantly to me though, using slide film lets me see a more or less finished product on the light box. You can't just look at a neg and tell that much about the picture.

I also love Astia's color palette, good colors but not over saturated. Nice fine grain. Great skin tones. And, for low light photography, no need to worry about reciprocity failure out to about 2 minutes. Of course, other people care about this factor less...

Really, I don't know that you'd go wrong with any of the color films available in 4x5. It's not like Seattle Filmworks is selling 4x5 film.

[Bruce Watson]

Something else to think about - consider limiting your choices to those available in readyload or quickload formats. Why? If you are shooting B&W from film holders, this cuts down on the confusion. At least it does for me. Otherwise you've got all kinds of things in film holders and you have to go through a lot of pain and effort to keep everything separated and your meter set to the right EI.

So... I'd consider 160PortraVC for your negative film. It comes in readyloads, and it's works quite well for landscape work I think. For a slide film, I'd try Kodak E100G in readyloads, which has had a number of favorable reviews.

Now, I've never used a large format slide film. I want the extra dynamic range I can get from negative films. Since I'm scanning, I've found that I can treat the color film pretty much as I treat B&W film. That is, expose for the shadows and let the highlights fall where they may. For both Tri-X and 160PortraVC, I put the shadows I want to carry detail on zone III, and go.

Actual EI rating will depend at least in part on the lab that processes it. For example, I find that an EI of 160 for the Portra works just fine with my lab. Others find that it needs to be downrated a bit. I can't advise you on an EI for E100G.

[Mike Lewis]

I agree with Henry's recommendation of Fuji NPS for negative and Provia for transparency. Some folks complain that Provia has a blueish cast in shadows and I have noticed this from time to time. But to me that seems to be its only drawback. Additionally, it is advertised as having no reciprocity failure and this appears to be the case.

I tried one box of Astia and was disappointed. I found it to lack contrast and to me the colors seemed "washed out". In April I photographed a Mormon temple in the small town of Paris, Idaho. It was built from pink sandstone that was quarried locally, and the color of the building was simply stunning. The resulting Astia transparency looked like ... a red brick church. Very disappointing.

And as for Velvia -- the world is not a cartoon.

[Brian C. Miller]

"And as for Velvia -- the world is not a cartoon."

Yes, it is. And its a really good one with that Frog Skin brand film, paper, and (oh yes!) chemicals!

The Kodak E100G or E100GX film is good stuff. The colors seemed fine, nothing abby normal about it. The E100VS is saturated, though.

Do you own a 35mm camera? If so, just buy some different rolls of film, set up a still life or something, and shoot the rolls. The best comparison is based on what you see for yourself.

[Eric Fredine]

I'm perfectly happy with the combination of Astia 100F and NPS. I shoot Astia when the contrast range allows and NPS otherwise. I use both in Quickloads.