superia 400 school me folks

[emraphoto]

salutations

i am shooting 2 projects right now. commissions. one, i am considering a switch to colour film. i have not shot colour anything in many years.

fuji superia 200 and 400 are still fairly easy to acquire, with most drug store branded film being almost certainly the same stuff. i am also on this 'spend money at locally owned camera stores' delusion so all seems good. i will let the shops handle my scanning for proofing process and i have a top flight scanner that i have no problems pumping A3 prints out of. i am also faculty at a local college that has even more top flight scanners collecting dust.

so, i am humbly asking to see results from both films shot indoors. i am particularly interested in onboard flash combinations. if you don't mind fleshing your post out with scanner/lab/c41 kit etc. i would be grateful. the project in mind is commissioned so i am doing my best imitation of prudence

 

[emraphoto]

tips and other related conversation welcomed!

 

[hamradio]

If you're going to go through the hassle of developing or getting c41 color developed, I think you can do a lot better than Superia 400. I've always thought of it as just a cheap grocery store film...that's not to say I haven't shot a bit of it, however. I seem to always get a few rolls with random gear I buy or acquire, so I've had a steady supply for the past several years. I think it's just OK.

I haven't been terribly impressed with it, nor have I really been let down. If I was actually paying money for the stuff (and not getting it dev'd for $1/roll at a grocery store), I'd probably shoot Portra 400.

 

[nongfuspring]

If you're going to go through the hassle of developing or getting c41 color developed, I think you can do a lot better than Superia 400.

I think so too. I second Porta 400.

 

[emraphoto]

superia is the same emulsion as fujipress, which is a pretty stellar film in my opinion. i believe the only difference is that the fujipress film is kept in a controlled environment from manufacture to sales point.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I miss this film in Walmart, just Kodak Gold only now...

I took family pictures with this film in Canon Rebel and 50L on it with TTL flash on camera. It has this "fuji colors" as I call it. One of my favorite family pictures.
I think, I used 400 film, it is grainy.

 

[Sparrow]

If you're going to go through the hassle of developing or getting c41 color developed, I think you can do a lot better than Superia 400. I've always thought of it as just a cheap grocery store film...that's not to say I haven't shot a bit of it, however. I seem to always get a few rolls with random gear I buy or acquire, so I've had a steady supply for the past several years. I think it's just OK.

I haven't been terribly impressed with it, nor have I really been let down. If I was actually paying money for the stuff (and not getting it dev'd for $1/roll at a grocery store), I'd probably shoot Portra 400.

... really? ... I think superia 400 is the best of the bunch by quite a margin ... there's a thread full of examples somewhere on here that pretty much confirms my view

 

[Darshan]

I love superia 400, I think it is the best of the "cheap" drug store films, much better than kodak gold. The colors are accurate, not too warm/cold.

I have shot >12 rolls of superia 400 over the last few months, mostly of my kids. I will try and scan some photos and post here in the next few days.

 

[Sparrow]

 

[emraphoto]

thanx folks!

Ko.Fe - i do remember it being unforgiving in the grain department. you really need to nail your exposures.

thanx for the photos Stewart.

 

[GarageBoy]

Stewart, how did you scan and color correct?

 

[David_Manning]

John, Sounds like an interesting project. Using a compact, or a pro body?

Hope all is well,

David.

 

[02Pilot]

More than other film stock, I've found the colors in the Superia emulsions to be really sensitive to the lens they are shot through (to be fair, I've shot far more of the 200 than the 400, but my experiences were similar). Modern lenses seem to produce considerably more accurate and vibrant colors, while older lenses (uncoated or 1950s-era coated) seem to go toward a noticeably pastel palette.

 

[emraphoto]

David! My friend, I am sorry I have not been in touch... One of my least favorite character traits. I am well and busy as always. I hope the family is well.

The project is indeed very interesting. I am focused on the underground railway with plans to walk stretches of some routes north into Canada.

I will be packing an M and 35mm lens as well as an R8, a pair of lenses and flash units. The rest of the bag is full of audio recording gear, film and moleskins. Waiting for the warmer weather and I suspect I might visit some RFF folks along the way.

John, Sounds like an interesting project. Using a compact, or a pro body?

Hope all is well,

David.

 

[Sparrow]

Stewart, how did you scan and color correct?

Minolta 5400 mkI as a tiff ... then correct the colour in photoshop, or sometimes I get the lab to do draft scans on their fuji frontier

 

[emraphoto]

thanx again for the input Stewart!

 

[bonatto]

On the road now, so limited input, but took 60 or so rolls of superia 400 to Myanmar a few yeas back, very happy with it. I was seldom shooting indoors or in super low light, and no flash, but its a good quality film. Well exposed (I shot 1/3-1 ev overexposed), and well scanned, I've gone up to 30+ inch prints on the long edge with excellent results. Photos on my site under 'this is Burma'.

 

[Sparrow]

Oh, and don't be frightened of overexposing it, it will easily take two or three stops over its rating without losing the highlights

 

[Landberg]

Matt Stuart uses superia, looks good to me!

 

[jbielikowski]

X-Tra 400 is a quite fancy film, with 4th yellow layer for better color reproduction. I always use expired cause its cheap and properly exposed its easier to scan than Pro400H.