Anyone like any of the new film types?

A

AlexBG

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My film fridge is nearly empty so looking at stocking it back up, have seen a few new films coming onto the market so wondering if anyone has found any they like?

I shoot 35mm, colour or B+W, any iso with a preference of low grain.
 
Kodak Ektar 100 and Portra 400. Haven't tried Portra 160, but it is purportedly also very balanced, though slightly different from Portra 400. I rate Portra 400 at 200.

Ektar is pretty saturated with a slight red bias. Rate at 100 only.

Stock up on all 3 and enjoy!

:)
 
Ektar 100 for landscapes, Portra 160 for people works for me. The Portra 160 seems especially easy to work with. Medium contrast and saturation - it's very easy to add those in post. (Much harder to deal with too much color and contrast.)
 
Sorry, when I meant newer films I meant in the last year or two. Everything that you have said I've used a lot (portra and ektar) or tried (delta, HP5+ etc)

Was looking at the cinestill, JCH and the like for new film.
 
AlexBG said:
Sorry, when I meant newer films I meant in the last year or two. Everything that you have said I've used a lot (portra and ektar) or tried (delta, HP5+ etc)

Was looking at the cinestill, JCH and the like for new film.
Click to expand...

JCH Street Pan is not a new film! Just the opposite: It's very old film stock (coated in 2008), just sold in a new packaging and completely overpriced. A film for stupid hipsters who believe in marketing fairy tales.
I've tested that film intensively. Here is my review:
https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2689545&postcount=17

You can get the same look for less than half the price by using Rollei Infrared / Rollei Superpan 200 / Rollei Retro 400S (which is fresh film, by the way).

As for Cinestill and your preference for fine grain:
Try CineStill 50D. Nice film.
But you should be aware of three disadvantages all CineStill films have:
1. Developed in C41, colour dye long term stability is not as good as when processed in the original, dedicated ECN-2 process.
2. With light sources in your picture you get halos around them, because these films have the anti-halation remjet-backing removed.
3. Because of the removal of remjet the films show sometimes scratches caused by this process.
 
My personal experience with the Cinestill (800 only) was not all that rewarding, but others have enjoyed it. A little too niche for me in terms of the results, but if it's a look you like, weird unpredictable colors too dependent upon variations in lighting, lots of halation, and the ugliest grain I have ever managed to achieve with a film, it might be the perfect go to formulation. I threw my last unexposed roll away. It's unique though, there's that. YMMV.

Personally, love the new Ferrania P30, as I have achieved excellent results with that (When people say something is an excellent film, what they actually mean is that it gives them a look they like, as if their personal biases were the arbiters of excellence, so that's all I am claiming here.) Low grain, and I personally like the tonality and the contrast level. If your idea of an excellent film is Pan F 50+ in Perceptol, (which I also like for completely different reasons) you might not like the P30.
Haven't tried the JCH, as the results I've seen online were not that compelling--for me.
 
I had a good supplier on the Shandhai GP# in 120 format and liked it a lot when developed full strength in Mic-X. Not sure if this in a new film though.
 
I've enjoyed playing with Cinestill, both daylight and indoor types, and the Kodak Hawkeye and Svema color negative films.
 
Absolutely love Ektar 100. Good for landscapes and portraits. It has a learning curve though. If you don't care then Portra 400 is foolproof. Never really liked portra 160. It's just meh .. compared to the other two
 
I understand that JCH StreetPan 400 film is a discontinued 35mm black-and-white surveillance film originally manufactured by AGFA that has been brought back. It is not leftover film stock nor re-spooled old stock... it's freshly made... available in 135 and now in 120 format.

I have shot a couple of rolls at 35mm and look forward to trying the 120.
 
Plus one on Larry's choice of Ferrania P30.

I've been playing with Bergger Panchro 400. This film is dual emulsion and favors a pre-soak. Recommended longer fixing times. I have been experimenting using Diafine. Seems to be clean and fine grained. I extend the soaking in Part "A" instead of presoaking. 6+4 was my best so far, but I still come up short on film speed (200-250 ISO). Looks great at 200-250 ISO though. Next tank 7+4 for perhaps 320-400 ISO.

Cal
 
Ferrania P30 is the only new film and it is anyone's guess when you might be able to buy it again, if ever. Everything else has been out there for years. If I were stocking up, I'd just layaway Ilford Pan F and FP4, or if you are partial to tabular grain (I am) Delta 100 and even 400. Tri-X has gotten expensive, and yet another price increase has been announced. On the color side, I find Fuji too saturated and, as previously suggested, would stock up on Ektar and Portra, depending on which look you prefer. If you shoot slides, Ektachrome is supposed to be reintroduced sometime in 2018, but for now Velvia and Provia are your only choices.
 
I have used JCH, which I really enjoy, and Cinestill 800t, which I only used at 3200. It is ok, not all it is hyped up to be. I bought some 50d to try, still, have not. Maybe it will be good.

I'll stick to my provia, thank you very much.
 
Given the state of the technology, I do not expect anything special from Silbera, though I am sure some are going to hype it, like they do JCH, Cinestill, Ferrania, Shanghai, etc., just to be different for the sake of being different.
 
Ferrania P30
Rollei RPX 25

These are the new films I have tried recently and liked a lot. ISO 80 and ISO 25 though, so depending on where you live and what/how you shoot, maybe the wrong time of year. For the next few months I am back onto HP5+, and occasional Rollei RPX 400, because our daylight hours will be short and not so light.

Cheers,
Rob
 
I'm lucky enough to have free access to the lab scanners at work ! Portra 160 in 35mm is king in my opinion ! Superia 200 is really nice as a cheaper option.
 
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