Those of You that Shoot LF Colour

[Richard K.]

What *colour neg film (8x10) would you suggest for Death Valley and Joshua Tree and why? :)
I want to make a couple of largish prints (24x30 or so); I don't like unnatural, exagerrated vividness...

*US color

[memorris]

I prefer Kodak Ektar 100 for color negative film. I love the feel of this film although it is a bit saturated. It scans very well.

The new Portra 400 also scans very well. It is not as saturated as the Ektar and does a very good job with landscapes.

[Drew Wiley]

I did a fair amount of testing of Portra 160VC in Death Valley and was somewhat
disappointed with its ability to render some of the rare mineral colors present there.
So far my tests with Ektar 100 in similar situations seem more promising. Ektar tends
to do slight unnatural things with blue, but otherwise does well with earth colors.
The wider latitude conventional neg films are more likely to push warm neutrals into
the flesh-tone range, if you like that low-key Misrach desert look, for example.

[Richard K.]

|||||||||||||||||||||if you like that low-key Misrach desert look, for example.|||||||||||||

Which I do! Thanks...

[Ben Syverson]

In 8x10, especially at only 20x30, you don't need to be concerned with grain at all, so I would suggest Portra 400 NC. It gives you roughly one stop more speed than the 160, which winds up being very helpful in all light conditions.

If you want to have the most flexibility, overexpose it by at least one stop, or as much as 2-4 stops. "Overexposure" will fill in the shadows and give you more flexibility when you're creating contrast, whether it's by printing or scanning.

I often load up holders with 160 NC and 400 NC and expose them exactly the same. There's really not much difference in the negatives—the 400 just has a bit more shadow detail.

[Noah A]

I like the look of soft color neg film too. As Ben said, your 8x10 negs won't break a sweat going to 24x30, so grain is a non-issue.

I'd try Portra 400NC or, if you can find it, the new Portra 400 pro looks promising from what I've seen, though I'm still waiting to find it in 4x5.

The 400NC I've been using is great if you overexpose by a stop or two...but when I do need the speed for some reason I don't hesitate to shoot it at box speed.