livemoa said:
OK, I have a project in mind that means I might just sucumb to the garish charms of colour..... This is after saying I would never shot colour again....
I want to do this on 10x8, will do some experiments in 5x4 first but any suggestions for a rich but not to over the top colour film (neg or tranny)?
How do you plan on making the final prints? This will have a great affect on which film will be most successful.
I shoot a lot of 4x5 Provia because it comes in ready loads. I also shoot a lot of Portra. Transparency films are hardly neutral in color. They ALL have a color bias of some type. The trick is finding the one that has a color bias YOU like.
Negative films are far better for true color rendition. The Portra films are some of the best films going. Although really meant for portrait work with flash, I do shoot them outdoors with great success. For a mix of daylight & strobe Portra 160 would be hard to beat.
Provia accentuates blues & greens in any scene. Not garish like Velvia but hardly neutral or accurate. This would be especially true with sky light coming through a window as fill. I shoot Provia with an 81A filter to tame the blue/green bias. If you try Provia, I would suggest testing it with an 81A filter.
Also, Provia is a bit like shooting Kodachrome. You have to be right on the money with the exposure. Shadows will block quickly on under exposure and highlights blow out with just a bit of over exposure. A rather difficult film to shoot. Look at the characteristic curve and you will see a very sharp toe & shoulder. That's why the grey scale compresses suddenly.
Kodak E100G is a very nice film. Much longer scale than Provia and with a warmer rendering. I'd certainly consider that as a real contender for transparency film. I like it. I have 120 pro-packs in my camera case right now. Compare the characteristic curve of this film to Provia and you will see a huge difference in the toe & shoulder. Long, very gradual roll off so the grey scale compresses gradually.
Kodak EPN Ektachrome 100 Professional colors seem muted and mushy to me -some people say "soft" and "delicate."
Kodak EPR 64 is one of the all time "classic" transparency films - it just has that slight Ektachrome blue "tinge" (I can see it - other people don't). Not one of my favorites but about 1 zillion catalog photos and architectural photos have been take with it. Pretty forgiving on exposure.
I'd test the contenders in roll film first for color rendition before even buying 4x5.