C41 or E6? 120 film for my travels.

[Ti29er]

That is the question.

I'm travelling in S America in the new year and can carry some film and have others sent onto me.
But which one is going to give me the better results with some latitude?

I'll need to scan either film stock once I get back, so need to consider which film will be most cost effective too in the long run.
So the E6 dev' is simple enough where as the C41 can give me at least a low res' scan on a CD from the local lab'.

I'm still unsure which camera; probably the Mamiya 7ii, which I yet to buy. This has a built in meter. Or do I take my 'Blad kit? Taking the Mamiya and 2x lenses means selling the 'Blad and 2x lenses anyhow.

I appreciate this is a LF forum, but the feedback I had on my initial post was very balanced, informed and educated, so I thought I'd return with this dilemma!

Tim
ps - I will have a Nikon D700 set up with me too.

[Robert Ley]

What kind of film do you prefer now? Why should you change for this trip if you are going to process the film when you get home?

These are the questions that you should be asking yourself.

Whatever camera you take, make sure that you are very familiar with how it works so you won't have too many surprises. Rule one should be never take a new piece of equipment on a trip.

[Ti29er]

I don't shoot film.
All I shoot is 35mm at present.
It's been years since I shot a roll, it's all been digital since 2005.
I'm not going to process the film, it'll be done a lab either intown or local to me; it seems not many process E6 now-a-days.
Getting the hang of a new bit o' kit won't take long.
Tim

[sergiob]

mamiya 6 or 7 is a perfect traveling outfit. I wish I had one.

[Robert Ley]

Tim,
If you are just starting to shoot film again then by all means shoot color negative. The extra exposure latitude that you will get would be worth it and negative film scans very well.

I can not emphasize enough that you should thoroughly shake down your new kit and shoot more than several rolls of film so you will have a very good idea how your equipment will respond to the film.

On your trip, back up your film shots with your digital unless you really feel comfortable with the film.

If you use negative film, you may be able to get some of your film processed in S. America as C-41 is processed most anywhere in the world.

Good luck on your trip,
Robert

[Drew Wiley]

Neg films are all over the map in terms of contrast, latitude, and saturation - i.e., a
lot more dissimilar from each other than E-6 positive films. I've recently been testing
the new Ektar 100 film from Kodak in a variety of sizes, from 35mm to 8x10. It has a
cleaner palette than older negative films, so is more realistic for certain natural colors
than traditional neg films, but higher contrast, not so nice for portraiture, and has a
funny way of saturating blues (a distinct cyan bias which can work either for or against you, depending on what kind of blue you are trying to reproduce). Generally I
prefer to carry both neg and positive color film, because one encounters different
lighting and hue situations where no one kind of film is ideal. That is where a view camera is more practical than MF with a fixed back (which means more than one camera body, especially if you add black-and-white shooting too).

[Heroique]

...I’m travelling in S America in the new year...

Are you planning to visit the rain forests? Like the Brazilian Amazon?

The rainy season down there is generally from November through April. And then the sun breaks through the tree cover. Welcome to a land of difficult contrast. That’s my principal adversary in the Olympic Rain Forest (Washington state) when the sun finally breaks through the clouds. So I usually bring more C-41 than E-6. Just better for me when lighting is so diverse and dramatic.

Your choices, of course, will depend on the nature of your shooting destinations and photographic aims, which I hope we can hear more about. Sounds like quite an adventure.

[rguinter]

Neg films are all over the map in terms of contrast, latitude, and saturation - i.e., a
lot more dissimilar from each other than E-6 positive films. I've recently been testing
the new Ektar 100 film from Kodak in a variety of sizes, from 35mm to 8x10. It has a
cleaner palette than older negative films, so is more realistic for certain natural colors
than traditional neg films, but higher contrast, not so nice for portraiture, and has a
funny way of saturating blues (a distinct cyan bias which can work either for or against you, depending on what kind of blue you are trying to reproduce). Generally I
prefer to carry both neg and positive color film, because one encounters different
lighting and hue situations where no one kind of film is ideal. That is where a view camera is more practical than MF with a fixed back (which means more than one camera body, especially if you add black-and-white shooting too).

I sure do agree with Drew about the blues on Ektar 100. But I love blue so to me it looks great. If I could carry only one film the Ektar would be my choice. An example of the saturated blue in contrast with other colors attached so you can see what it does.

Parameters: f32 @ 1/15 w 3-stop graduated neutral density to darken the sky. Tachihara 4x5, 150 mm Schneider Super Angulon. Epson 4990 scanner.

Best of luck with your trip and shoot lots of film. Cheers. Bob G.

[Drew Wiley]

I'm getting itchy to print some of that Ektar (have only made some contact sheets
so far). Won't happen this winter - I still need to put up another small bldg to clear
space for the 40-inch processor. I could make some 30x40's in my current drum
processor, but by late spring I should have a really good selection of 8x10 negs to
choose from. Anxious to see how they compare to Portra VC shots. Damn, I love
shooting and printing 8x10!

[mrladewig]

If it were my trip and I hadn't shot film in a long time, I'd take two films with me. Ektar100 and either Portra 160VC or the new Portra400 if handheld speed were an issue. Ektar will give you dynamic range like you are used to with your digital SLR. Portra will give greater dynamic range, but less saturation and contrast.

[Frank Petronio]

The new Ektar 100 seems designed to appeal to all those frustrated Velvia shooters.

And the Portra would be for the photographers ;-)

[Ti29er]

Thanks.
Hope to start way down south in Tierra Del Fuego in January and then work my way north.
I have 3 weddings back here in the UK Aug / Sept so will pop back for 6-8 weeks.

I like my trekking and want to eeek out some travel articles and any other sort of article I can manage (mtn biking being one topic I can sell) - thus the Nikon will be used more than the Mamiya (?) as that's for my own personal projects.

As you say, C41 will be able to be processed along to way so running a test roll every now and again is a way of making sure it's working okay.

I am looking at the 50 and 150mm lenses for the M and a 28-70, 70-200 (both f2.8)and a couple of SB800 flash units, Pocket Wizards x2 and that should make up the main-stay of the gear.

In terms of sharpness how much of a difference with the Portra 160 and say Provia 100these day. I confess to not having considered the Ektar. I should shoot some and then decide. Likewise I wonder if the blues way down south may make the Ektar a wee bit too much?!

Cheers
Tim

[Ben Syverson]

For travel, you really can't beat negative film. I've traveled with Astia before, and I love those 6x7 slides, but honestly I wish they were all negatives instead. When you're traveling, you can't control the light temperatures you'll encounter, and you often are in extremely contrasty situations. Both are the kiss of death for E6. I have a lot of slides that are too orange, too green, too dark, or way too contrasty. And that's Astia, a low contrast film.

I'm a Portra NC fanatic (160 and 400), but for an upcoming trip to the Netherlands, I'm planning on taking digital and loading the point and shoot with Ektar 100. Ektar's higher resolution and lower grain means I can get cleaner shots than I can with the DSLR—and they're HDR with one shot. Pretty crazy when a thrift store camera can beat a $2500 digital.