Which c41 film for nepal

faris

faris

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Hi Folks,

shall be visiting nepal this november. would appreciate any help you all
could give me as to the choice of c41 film to take with me. for bw i intend
to stick with xp2 super. for color, i await your advice.

Any other pointers are highly appreciated.

Regards and best wishes.
 
Fuji Reala. A delightful 100 speed film that is my favorite all-purpose color film. If you haven't used it, try a roll or two and see if you'd like to take it with you.

Enoy! That should be a beautiful (if chilly) place to visit.

William
 
Take whatever color film you like & are experienced with. Take a film you know how to handle, nothing you have not used before. It does not really matter and long as you know the film, you know what it will look like and how it will perform.
 
I would settle on Portra 160 NC. Handles color well and is not to slow for low light cond. Have a great trip. Paul
 
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My choice would be Portra 160NC and 400NC and I would use a Skylight 1B or similar filter ...
 
I would recommend using color slide film, Fuji 100F. I mostly photograph in bw, however, on a recent trip, I photographed in color as well. I used Kodak 160NC, and Fuji 100F. I now wished I had photographed everything with the Fuji film. I had beautiful results with the 160NC, so it really is not a real disappointment, but in comparison, the 100F proved to be a an incredible film; sharp and rich in color, yet not too saturated. I overexposed in 1/3 and 2/3 stops, except in darker places, then one full stop. I usually request snip tests, but I couldn't afford it, and just went with it. The film, overall, was exposed perfectly, all except one roll, which I can probably fix in photoshop.

Have a great trip--

Sisyphus
 
Thanks a lot folks for your advice.

I have learnt that it is highly advisable to use skylight 1a and/or polarizing
filters...would you recommend this? what is your experience with either
b&w and heliopan polarizers?

Gratefully acknowledged.

p.s anyone recommend any c41 developing and cd scan labs in Nepal?
 
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I went to Nepal for a month in the early nineties ... I was advised by a friend to use slide film which I did. I took ten rolls of Kodachrome 64 with me and an AE-1 Canon and shot it all on program AE. I scanned those slides a year or so ago and every time I look at the scans they blow me away.

Depending on what you intend doing with the images transparancies seem to scan a lot better than negatives!
 
faris said:
p.s anyone recommend any c41 developing and cd scan labs in Nepal?
Click to expand...

Dont bother, you should save the film for when you return home and have it done at a trusted lab. Believe me its not worth the risk.

As for film I highly suggest....avoiding all the kodak c41 film, from my experience it doesnt get along well with some of the colors you will expect to see in Nepal. I highly suggest Fuji Reala if you can live with 100 speed film.

XP2 is fantastic, and usually I use Fuji Superia 200 or 400 and get really good results, but in situations like if I were going somewhere like Nepal I would only take slide film.
 
Fuji Reala would be your best bet or Fuji 160S. If you are going trekking at high altitudes, a skylight filter makes a smart choice. I would not bother to take a polarizer. However, I mainly used slidefilm while trekking (fuji provia and velvia 100f). The higher you get, the less you need a polarizer since the blue sky gets a lot darker. Using a polarizer at those altitudes would render the sky almost black.

You might have a look at some of my mountainphotos (lots from Nepal) at my flickr page:
www.flickr.com/photos/asialover and go to the "for the love of mountains"set

Enjoy Nepal, it's lovely
 
Frank, those are lovely pics. superb in every way.

Regards.

Frank1969 said:
Fuji Reala would be your best bet or Fuji 160S. If you are going trekking at high altitudes, a skylight filter makes a smart choice. I would not bother to take a polarizer. However, I mainly used slidefilm while trekking (fuji provia and velvia 100f). The higher you get, the less you need a polarizer since the blue sky gets a lot darker. Using a polarizer at those altitudes would render the sky almost black.

You might have a look at some of my mountainphotos (lots from Nepal) at my flickr page:
www.flickr.com/photos/asialover and go to the "for the love of mountains"set

Enjoy Nepal, it's lovely
Click to expand...
 
Frank1969 said:
Fuji Reala would be your best bet or Fuji 160S.
Click to expand...

I second this. Reala has a bit more pop, especially exposed at 80; 160S obviously has more speed. Both are good with skin tones.

You might want to consider 800Z exposed at 640 if you're doing a bit of low-light work.

Have a great trip.
 
When I went to Nepal and India a few years back I shot exclusively with Provia 100 slide film. Everything looks fantastic and I think scanned slides make better prints than neg film.
I was shooting with a Nikon F100 at the time and it's excellent metering system gave me perfect exposures. I'm gearing up for a trip to Ecuador and Peru soon and I'm a little worried because I'm taking my M6 instead and I'll have to use my brain a little more!
 
I just got back from Ecuador-the Provia 100F was the best.

Reala sometimes gives a magenta hue in my workflow-but it is easy to fix.

Fuji 400H has the best skin tones in a Fuji C41, if fair-skinned people are in the scene.

But really, most anything you're used to will be great.
 
I am really grateful for the time all of you have taken to pass on
your suggestions and expertise on this matter.

Best regards.
 
faris said:
Thanks a lot folks for your advice.

I have learnt that it is highly advisable to use skylight 1a and/or polarizing
filters...would you recommend this? what is your experience with either
b&w and heliopan polarizers?

Gratefully acknowledged.

p.s anyone recommend any c41 developing and cd scan labs in Nepal?
Click to expand...

skylight filter changes the color of film ever so slightly. I prefer a UV filter. I would process back at home for better quality-control conditions.
 
My first choice is Kodak E100VS, a fantastic film, never disappointed. Distant second runner up would be Fuji RVP100 (not F), by a mile.

Don't bother with C41, it won't save you too much. Comparing the cost and effort of making once a life time journey, 1/6 to 1/4 of airline ticket will take you very far.
 
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