Fuji color negative grain (Reala 100)

Zuikopath · Apr 10, 2010

I found this old thread and thought I would comment.

I have just scanned a roll of OOD Reala 100 which was developed at a local Boots branch and I'm pretty unhappy with it. It is marked 'process before Oct 2007'.

A few days ago I scanned some Kodachrome slides from the early Seventies and they look superb in comparison even though they were shot on a very cheap P&S camera. The Reala was shot on my Olympus 35RC which is renowned for its' sharp lens but the results are very poor.

My scanner is a Nikon Coolscan IV ED and it has always performed well - I scan with all settings off, just selecting the correct setting dependant on film type.

Maybe this is a warning on buying old film...?

perkeleellinen · Apr 10, 2010

What don't you like about it?

I bought one of those 20 pro pack of OOD Reala in 2008 from 7DayShop, back then they were being sold for £7. I shot all the film within six months and my prints (10X8) show no grain and have punchy colours in the sun. I noticed a guy on ebay is now selling those pro packs for £20 even though they're now two years older. Interesting that they seem to have deteriorated, maybe they were stored poorly.

Zuikopath · Apr 10, 2010

Hi perk

I'm going to do some more extensive scanner testing before deciding what went wrong. I'm not sure if it's the old film or me with my scanner...:rolleyes:

I was scanning the negs via the Nikon Scan software - I'm going to try scanning straight into CS4 and try lots of different settings.

perkeleellinen · Apr 11, 2010

Although scanning is off topic here, I will say that Reala only started to shine for me once I started doing colour printing.

clayne · Apr 11, 2010

wogster said:
First the film, if your going from a 35mm negative, a 40x50cm (16x20) is considered just about the limit for a 35mm negative, and that's only with very fine grained and slow film, so a 120x180cm enlargement is well beyond what analog enlargements can expect from the film. For an enlargement that size a 10x12cm negative would be best.

Limit of enlargement is directly tied to viewing distance, not film grain. Nobody sticks their nose in a 16x20 or 20x24.

I agree with others here that this looks like something inherited during the A->D conversion (scanner).

benjiboy · Apr 11, 2010

clayne said:
Limit of enlargement is directly tied to viewing distance, not film grain. Nobody sticks their nose in a 16x20 or 20x24.

I agree with others here that this looks like something inherited during the A->D conversion (scanner).

"Nobody ever sticks their nose into 20"x16" or 16X24", you can't have seen photograpic competition judges.

benjiboy · Apr 12, 2010

This discussion will be academic soon because Fuji have discontinued Reala, a film I love, I've had stunning 15" x12" conventional optical prints from the pro lab I use from 35mm, and even better "20X16" from 120 Reala, I'm so analogue I don't own a scanner so I can't say what how it scans, but I can say that if it's used in the conventional way it isn't grainy at all.

perkeleellinen · Apr 12, 2010

120 is discontinued too? In another thread lilserenity got a reply from Fuji UK and they claim Reala 120 is a big seller and remains on sale:

Reala 120 is a big seller and will continue to be imported into the UK

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

benjiboy · Apr 12, 2010

perkeleellinen said:
120 is discontinued too? In another thread lilserenity got a reply from Fuji UK and they claim Reala 120 is a big seller and remains on sale:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

I thought they were discussing 35mm Steve, Reala 120 as you write as far as I know will continue, but the story seems to be different in different country s,and who is asking them.

Zuikopath · Apr 12, 2010

135 Reala is continuing too but only in 36 exposure rolls.

Don't go spreading rumours...!

perkeleellinen · Apr 12, 2010

Zuikopath said:
135 Reala is continuing too but only in 36 exposure rolls.

Don't go spreading rumours...!

It is continuing to be made, yes. But the 35mm is not going to be imported into the UK. Hopefully it'll still be imported into the Continent and maybe we can buy it from Maco or Fotoimpex.

benjiboy · Apr 13, 2010

Zuikopath said:
135 Reala is continuing too but only in 36 exposure rolls.

Don't go spreading rumours...!

Reala is continuing in 120 only, in the U.K Fuji say they are not selling enough in the format to justify importing it (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

snaggs · Nov 6, 2012

Im resurrecting this thread, as its got one of the best comparisons of films done to date. Google has got very forgetful in the last 12 months!

Any update on the REALA test?

Daniel.

RattyMouse · Nov 6, 2012

Reala 120 is very easy to find here in China.

pentaxuser · Nov 6, 2012

perkeleellinen said:
Hopefully it'll still be imported into the Continent and maybe we can buy it from Maco or Fotoimpex.

Yes from what was said by the APUGer reporting on Photokina, it may be that Germany remains the bright spot in the analogue market

pentaxuser

Fuji color negative grain (Reala 100)

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency