Best colour neg film recommendation?

[rashumon]

Hi, I'm super familiar with E6 films and their various merits and weaknesses and most of my pro life has been spent shooting Velvia and Provia100 for magazine work (Travel and Doco reportage) but recently have been thinking about looking at some C41 stock as it would offer me higher latitude, is cheaper to develop here in London and is easier to scan with my Nikon 5000ED. I'm looking for something with very high sharpness, low grain, High saturation and yet good latitude ISO100 if possible - any ideas??
Also, whats the best high ISO (say 800) Neg colour film in your wise opinions?

Any advice will be very welcome!
THANKS

 

[rbiemer]

For a very long time, I shot almost nothing but 400 speed color film. Then the new Ektar was released. And it is fast becoming my color film of choice. There is some threads about it here at RFF( and a bunch of examples).
Don't know any of the 800 speed films well enough to have a valid opinion.
Rob

 

[Matus]

If you look for smooth grain and strong saturation - than have a look at Kodak Ektar 100 (lots of examples on Flickr as well as some of my New Zealand shots - you can find the link in my signature). I have not yet compared it side by side to other C41 films I have used so far (mostly Fuji Pro160C) - it maybe that the Fuji has more latitude. I really like the (arguably a bit weird) colors the Ektar 100 delivers. What concerns the grain the Ektar seems to be the No. 1. It may not apply to sharpness though (google on this issue)

 

[sojournerphoto]

Ektar 100 is good. Highish saturation, sacns well and low grain. Also cheap from Silverprint at the moment. The colours are quite 'clean' to my eye.

I also like Portra 160NC and VC. They feel a bit warmer in tone than Ektar and the VC is high sturation - particuarly in sunlight! Curently costs more than ektar

Mike

 

[wombatjuice]

I'm pretty sold on the fuji's range. Love the colors on the reala 100.

 

[mh2000]

at 400 I'm pretty impressed with kodak HD.

 

[GoneSavage]

Fuji Pro 160S is an amazing film for scanning—I believe it was designed for people that want to shoot film digitally. It has a wide latitude (-1 to +3, if I remember correctly) and some of the finest grain I've seen in C41. The extra speed really helps indoors.

 

[bolohead]

I like Kodak Ektar 100 and Portra 400VC. I really like how both scan, especially Ektar. I haven't really shot color faster than 400 so I can't chime in on the 800 speed film. If you haven't checked out the Film Database group on Flickr, have a look. Scroll down to see the links to the different film types.

 

[Sisyphus]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these suggestions, and film choice is very subjective. I like the Kodak Portra 160 NC film; NC is a lower contrast compared to its counterpart the VC films.

As mentioned previously, all of these recommendations are excellent, and if you have the time and interest, I would pick up a few different rolls, photogrpah the same subject matter, and see which one suits you.

Please post some results if you decide to this.

:s:

 

[mw_uio]

First, welcome to RFF!

There is a review of Ektar 100 on Shutterbug.com.
Here is the link http://www.shutterbug.com/equipmentreviews/film_darkroom_gear/0909rollfilm/

Other reviews:
http://www.stockholmviews.com/kodak-ektar-100-review/

http://www.ppmag.com/web-exclusives/2009/03/review-ektar-100-professional.html

I think that in the film world, all of us are looking for the holy grail of film 😀, the best for scanning and the best for printing. Ektar seems to be that film that reaches both of these qualities.

Cheers

Mark
Quito, EC

 

[hans voralberg]

Kodak print film I find scan much easier than Fuji, with the exception of Fuji 800Z, which is the best 800 film really. So my recommendation is Ektar and 800Z

 

[arseniii]

Kodak print film I find scan much easier than Fuji, with the exception of Fuji 800Z, which is the best 800 film really. So my recommendation is Ektar and 800Z

Highly recommend FUJI NPZ 800 or 800Z as Hans quotes. It's color saturation is magnificent (something like Velvia 50) due to a 4th color layer. Also, super fine grain!!!


Here are some NPZ 800:

 

[mw_uio]

Another review!

Another review!

This review is quite detailed and should wet your appetite! 😀
Comparing Ektar 100, Portra 160VC, and Velvia 100.

http://www.boeringa.demon.nl/menu_technic_ektar100.htm

Cheers

Mark
Quito, EC

 

[amateriat]

It depends: from your description, it sounds like you're doing a good bit of landscape/scenic work. In this case, Ektar is pretty much up your alley. I like its rendering, as well as its ease of scanning. I've yet to do my Big Print test on this, but that's coming relatively soon. Damaso has done a lot of shooting with this film, and can say a lot about it with some authority; knowing him, he'll spot this thread and chime in shortly. 🙂


- Barrett

 

[ricc]

It's Fujicolor Reala 100 that I love...

 

[sleepyhead]

Another vote for Fuji Reala 100. The colours are more "normal" than Ektars - I shot Ektar 100 and was disappointed. The grain seems abut the same as Fuji 100 ASA fims, and the colours we strangely biased to my eyes/scanning setup.

Ektar seemed very strong in the cyan and yellow/red/brown rendition (quite bad for portraits of caucasians), whereas REala has more even rendition, with nice skin tones, and really lovely greens as in trees and foliage.

For high speed film, I'm become a big fan of Fuji Superia 1600 (Natura), shot at 1200 in daylight and 800 in tungsten. I have one Leica loaded with this all the time and carry a 3-stop ND filter (8X), for when conditions are bright. This film gives good results even in bright conditions and can be overexposed a few stops with no great harm. Combined with an ND filter this film has effectively changed me from carrying two bodies to carrying one. The grain, believe it or not, is really quite acceptable as well in my opinion (but I don't mind grain so much).

Heres a Superia 1600 example (heavy overcast, colours muted in postprocess):

A portrait with Reala 100:

 

[sleepyhead]

Here is Ektar 100 shot with a Widelux F8 camera:

 

[nome_alice]

my favourite colour negative film is kodak portra 160nc. i love the wide latitude, soft colour palette, great skin tones, and it's ability to look great from vivid sunlight to long exposure night scenes.

i've been shooting some ektar 100 recently and its great but somehow doesn't have excite me the portra 160nc does.

the ektar has a good punch without getting garish the way portra 160vc and fuji 160c can

Ektar 100

 

[BTMarcais]

Ektar definitely seems like a good bet for you.
I'm a big fan of the Fuji lineup though, Pro 160S has been a favorite of mine for years, since way back when it was called NPS. Never had any issues with scanning it at all.

These are all pretty much good films that have been mentioned. I think you should really try a few and see what works best for you.

Although then what would we talk about here? 🙂

-Brian

 

[TheHub]

Although it's ISO 400, I've always been impressed by Kodak Super Gold.