What Color Negative film comes the closest to slide film such as Velvia, etc?

jbf

jbf

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Hi all,

I'm going on a trip to SF, Cali at the end of next week and I was planning on shooting some color film for the first time in a looong time.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for color film that had a really really vivid color rendition such as Velvia, etc. I would try some slide film but unfortunately I'll probably be shooting at mid day and other times, and i hear that slide film is not good at all for strong contrasty lighting.

Anyway I know there are a ton of threads about slide vs color negative but none really answered the questions i had.

If anyone had any ideas as to a really nice color film with vivid color, etc. I dont mind if skin tones dont look natural. I just want to be able to use color film in the way of really showing color. In other words i want vivid colors. :D

Thanks so much guys,

Jonathan
 
I guess my choice would be Kodak 400UC (Ultra Color). For a 400 speed film, it has very fine grain and very vivid color.
 
What would be the next step below UC?

I hear reala is good? But how does it fair in comparison to Kodak Portra VC?
 
jbf said:
What would be the next step below UC?

I hear reala is good? But how does it fair in comparison to Kodak Portra VC?
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Reala's nice, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's "vivid" in the sense of Velvia. "Vibrant" is more the word to describe it. It's also a little tough to scan, in my experience. I just can't get the colours right on it.
 
jbf said:
Hm.

What do you think about Kodak Portra VC?
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While I think there may be other choices - if scannability is important - the new Portas are optimized for that so it's a good choice.
 
Yeah I was definately going to be scanning my negatives...

Thats mainly how I will be making my prints.
 
160 VC is very nice. I rate it at 125 and shoot away. It scans beautifully. Colors are vivid, but pretty accurate - not nearly as surreal as velvia.

400VC is also good, but I've found I have to rate it at 250 or so to get consistent results. So most of the time I just stick with the 160.
 
Hey! I'm going to CA next weekend too, AND I'm taking film! Portra is my favorite color film, I love the grain of 400 VC. NC is good too, but it's best for skin color. I might be rethinking my earlier decision to take only Delta 400. Thanks!
 
Haha your very much welcome Chris. :)

I was only going to be taken Ilford HP5+ but i decided i wanted to shoot some color. :)
 
I think of the Kodak UC 400 as a very Fuji-ish film in look and feel. (It's getting hard to find it around here.) I also think of the plain off the shelf Fuji 100 and 200 as having somewhat punchy color. Not exaggerated, but still vivid.
 
If you're going to San Francisco, do you really want something with a Velvia look for the city? If so, the 400UC might be the choice. However, I'd be more likely to use Portra either 160 or 400 VC. The colors, while nice and vivid, aren't quite as hot as the UC, therefore, making it useful in more situations. Velvia is fabulous film in the right environment, but can be pretty aweful in the wrong place. I'm a right tool for the right job kind of person, so if I don't know exactly what situation i'll be in, I go for the film that will be the most versatile. For me the Portra VC films do that. Also, if you like Fuji films, Reala can also be beautiful. For chromes, I very often turn to E100G, or GX. Same reason. They are very usable in a great number of situations. I lean toward the Kodak films because with my equiipment, they seem to be easier to scan. However, I have no prejudice against Fuji products.

BH
 
Since you are scanning and printing digitally, use one of the standard Fuji films or any other color film that is known to scan well. Then punch up the color saturation as much as you like in Photoshop.
 
Check ebay for some Agfa Ultra- there is usually some around coming from China- I've been using this and it is identical, just a Chinese box.
 
jbf said:
I would try some slide film but unfortunately I'll probably be shooting at mid day and other times, and i hear that slide film is not good at all for strong contrasty lighting.
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what?

slide film is great for bright light! just get some velvia, you will get beautiful saturated colors when most negative films would look dull.
 
alan davus said:
Best colour negative film Fuji 160 Pro C. Period!!!!!
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heh... good to find this out now. I'm throwing out about 300 rolls of Kodak and superfluous Fuji as soon as I post this.. ;- )
 
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