Kodak Ultramax 400

Oranges

A
Oranges

  • 3
  • 0
  • 67
Charging Station

A
Charging Station

  • 0
  • 0
  • 62
Paintin' growth

D
Paintin' growth

  • 3
  • 0
  • 57
Spain

A
Spain

  • 5
  • 0
  • 62

Forum statistics

Threads
198,114
Messages
2,769,810
Members
99,563
Latest member
WalSto
Recent bookmarks
0
Joined
Oct 2, 2020
Messages
198
Location
USA
Format
Medium Format
If you shoot a lot of this film, can you please comment on its contrast? I am asking because I am on my 3rd roll and, despite switching the scanning method (from Plustek 120 Pro scanner to DLSR scanning) I am battling excessive contrast here.

A couple of samples:

no-stopping.jpg


bug-race.jpg

It's tempting to suggest the exposure error, and I'll accept the blame, but it's hard for me to ignore the pattern of three rolls of high-contrast images, especially when comparing to its slower cousin: Gold 200. In fact, the images above were developed in the same tank as a roll of Gold 200, which didn't turn out this contrasty.

Moreover, the images above are OK, but they are better than average, any scene with sun-lit parts & shadows looks like this:
trattoria-bar.jpg


If you're shooting a lot of Ultramax, are you seeing something similar? Is this an inherently high-contrast film? Should I rate it at ISO 320? I think I'm leaning towards using Superia but I still have quite a few rolls of Ultramax left.

Another possibility is maybe my development temperature is too high? Can't be higher than 101F though, as I'm pouring out of 102F bottle (it drops by 2F during transfer, as I've tested numerous times) perhaps I'm agitating too much... But again, I'm not seeing this contrast on Kodak Gold.
 
Last edited:

Donald Qualls

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
12,222
Location
North Carolina
Format
Multi Format
Maybe I have low standards, but i don't see anything to complain about in the above images. The bottom one seems like a faithful rendition of harsh lighting -- nothing worse. Looks like six or seven stops of brightness ratio between areas like the motorcycle wheel hub and brake rotor, and the face of the man just inside the Trattoria doorway (with the dark ball cap). There's still good detail in the mask on the bare-shouldered woman, and in the deepest shadow on the street side of the temporary enclosure...
 

Ariston

Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Messages
1,658
Location
Atlanta
Format
Multi Format
If they were all exposed the same, try more exposure for the shadows and see what your scanner gives you. It takes a lot to lose the highlights. That being said, the photos look acceptable to me, too.
 

MattKing

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2005
Messages
52,401
Location
Delta, BC Canada
Format
Medium Format
The contrast in that top example is moderately low. The subject luminance range is quite wide, so the exposure choice - favouring the foreground - results in the highlights being a bit blown out, but that is normal given the lighting conditions.
With those conditions, if you had full detail in both the foreground and the background, the contrast would be truly insipid.
 
OP
OP
Вormental_old
Joined
Oct 2, 2020
Messages
198
Location
USA
Format
Medium Format
Hmm... maybe three rolls just isn't enough, and I simply haven't gotten any variety of light on this film, most of the frames were exposed between 3pm-6pm, while some Gold 200 rolls have seen more favorable light. Thanks guys.
 

Donald Qualls

Subscriber
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
12,222
Location
North Carolina
Format
Multi Format
Late in the day you'll also get some change in the color of the light -- even when the sun is an hour or more above the horizon, the light is a good bit redder than midday (not accounting, of course, for heavy wildfire smoke, which reddens the light for everything). If your scanning is correcting that out, it'll probably have some effect on the contrast as well.
 

guangong

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Messages
3,589
Format
Medium Format
The eyes use the brain to convert colors of scene to perceived “natural” colors; film has no brain as sees scene as it is.
 
Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.
To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here.

PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:



Ilford ADOX Freestyle Photographic Stearman Press Weldon Color Lab Blue Moon Camera & Machine
Top Bottom