For the love of Portra 800 (incl. 4 secs exposure (counted in my head)

sperera

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
607
Location
Gibraltar
Format
Multi Format
So I read about Portra 800 and adjusting exposure for reciprocity failure etc....attached is a photograph of St Michael's Cave in Gibraltar which will appear in one of our postage stamps.
I did some spot metre readings and ambient metre and deduced an exposure of 4 seconds would be good. So I set my 50mm Distagon f2.8 on bulb setting and I think it was f11 and counted out 4 seconds in my head and took the shot on my Hasselblad 2000FCM.
Sure, the lighting is as it was.....so bravo Kodak Portra 800.....I have always rated Portra at EI 800 with great results and use it for ALL my professional work no matter what it is...from portraits to daytime shots to things like this
 

Attachments

  • stmichael'scave_72dpi.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 253
OP
OP

sperera

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
607
Location
Gibraltar
Format
Multi Format
halfaman said:
Tones and saturation of Portra 800 are super interesting in medium format, it is what many people look for in Ektar but much better except for the grain (but not an issue in MF). I would use more if it were not so expensive.
Click to expand...

Grain is beautiful to my eyes in Portra 800.....and yes the cost....but I factor it into my bill for whatever job I use it in and that's that.....I have shot Ektar but am neutral to it.....doesn't excite me.....I have also shot 16mm motion picture and Portra 800 is as beautiful as Vision3 500T which is sublime
 

Alan9940

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
2,463
Location
Arizona
Format
Multi Format
I've never shot Portra 800, but I LOVE Portra 400 for desert scenes. The color palette of that film seems to harmonize perfectly with the tones of the desert here in the southwest IMO.
 
OP
OP

sperera

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
607
Location
Gibraltar
Format
Multi Format
Alan9940 said:
I've never shot Portra 800, but I LOVE Portra 400 for desert scenes. The color palette of that film seems to harmonize perfectly with the tones of the desert here in the southwest IMO.
Click to expand...

I would agree that for pastels Portra 400 - for punch Portra 800.....by pastels i mean for what you say you love it and for high key stuff like weddings etc in a 'mano a mano' with the Fuji film favoured by these professionals
 

Alan9940

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
2,463
Location
Arizona
Format
Multi Format
sperera said:
I would agree that for pastels Portra 400 - for punch Portra 800.....by pastels i mean for what you say you love it and for high key stuff like weddings etc in a 'mano a mano' with the Fuji film favoured by these professionals
Click to expand...

Yeah, I didn't realize Portra 800 revealed that much punch until I saw the examples you posted. Might have to try it soon.
 

Sirius Glass

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
50,623
Location
Southern California
Format
Multi Format
I have found that at times Portra 800 can come through when other films could not.
 
OP
OP

sperera

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
607
Location
Gibraltar
Format
Multi Format
Alan9940 said:
Yeah, I didn't realize Portra 800 revealed that much punch until I saw the examples you posted. Might have to try it soon.
Click to expand...

well that's the thing....people just talk and talk and talk but we dont see enough examples in my view.....we need to post images to discuss things properly....adjectives are great but our eyes are better
 
OP
OP

sperera

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
607
Location
Gibraltar
Format
Multi Format
More Portra 800.....and this is where it shines.....
 

Attachments

  • apug_crystal2.jpg
    604.5 KB · Views: 98
  • apug_crystal1.jpg
    765.1 KB · Views: 108
  • apug_crystal4.jpg
    749.7 KB · Views: 100
  • apug_crystal3.jpg
    657.1 KB · Views: 104

Alan9940

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
2,463
Location
Arizona
Format
Multi Format
Nice images! Particularly like "cyrstal4" above, even though it's not saturated like the others.
 
OP
OP

sperera

Subscriber
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
607
Location
Gibraltar
Format
Multi Format
Alan9940 said:
Nice images! Particularly like "cyrstal4" above, even though it's not saturated like the others.
Click to expand...

thanks yes....the film can do it all!

I created this thread in case people think Portra 800 asa film is too grainy and 'specific'......I use it for everything....literally.........
 

Huss

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
9,058
Location
Hermosa Beach, CA
Format
Multi Format
sperera said:
well that's the thing....people just talk and talk and talk but we dont see enough examples in my view.....we need to post images to discuss things properly....adjectives are great but our eyes are better
Click to expand...

Agreed. Many people talk the talk but never post pictures to walk the walk.


Great shots! The cave one is spectacular!

I've used Portra 800 but honestly find Lomo 800 to be just as acceptable. Not sure if it is the same film!
Here in a Zeiss Ikonta:

 

Huss

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
9,058
Location
Hermosa Beach, CA
Format
Multi Format
halfaman said:
Lomo 800 is not the same film by no means and I find it quite inferior to Portra 800 in all aspects. It seems to be the same film Kodak used to put in disposable cameras.
Click to expand...

I find it to be near identical in all aspects. Portra 800 is not made with the same gen technology as 400 or 160.
Who do you think makes Lomo 800?

Lomo 800 vs. Portra 800 — just disguised Portra?

I tested Lomo 800 and Portra 800 side by side, expecting to see a pretty massive difference. But what I found is that these two films are nearly identical. Here's my test.
www.learnfilm.photography
 

halfaman

Subscriber
Joined
Sep 22, 2012
Messages
1,480
Location
Bilbao
Format
Multi Format



I have used both, Lomo 800 just 4 months ago. Grain is clearly visible in Lomo 800 even in 6x7 format when Portra 800 is nearly invisible at 6x6 or bigger. Lomo color pallet has a tendency to yellow/orange tones where Portra is fairly neutral (but saturated) with a touch of coolness sometimes.

I really don't like Lomo 800 and I like Portra 800 a lot.
 
Last edited:

koraks

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Messages
25,256
Location
Europe
Format
Multi Format

This goes to show how utterly worthless comparison pages like those are. Here's the very first example they post:

vs.

And the caption: "Can you tell a difference?"
Uhhh...yes, I can. Problem is, I can't tell if it's due to a digital mishap, a processing error, or because the film stocks are different.
The other examples are less extremely different with more subtle differences, that may also due to changes in lighting; natural light was used for the comparison and apparently it was all shot at dusk or at night.

What a mess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…