Higher speed color negative film in 4X5

[Henry Ambrose]

I'd really like to see a 400 speed color negative film with normal contrast and saturation in 4X5. Maybe even an 800 speed film like NPZ or Portra 800. The only 400 speed 4X5 color neg film in the US is 400NC, a nice film but suited more fo r brides than anything else. Does anyone else wish for a fast, slightly punchy c olor negative film?

[Glenn Kroeger]

Henry: For years I wished for a 400 speed, normal to high contrast color neg film... but it's never going to be. No high speed reversal films either, best you can do there is ProviaF pushed 2 stops. The problem now is hanging on to the few emulsions that exist in sheet film sizes.

[Scott Walton]

We use the 400NC and I like it. Try printing on a higher contrast paper. Kodak makes 3 grades of color paper. Boost it up a notch or print on Fuji...

[Lyle Aldridge]

Like Scott Walton, I use 400NC a lot, and think it's great for a lot of things, including landscapes without brides. Pumping up contrast or saturation at the negative just needlessly undercuts the primary advantage of using negative film in the first place. If I need more "punch," it's available at the print stage via paper, as Scott suggests, and where it belongs. Mostly, though, the "NC" looks like "normal contrast" to my eye.