Portra 800 versus Portra 400

MultiFormat Shooter · May 29, 2018

I will be shooting outdoors, later this summer, but in an area of shade, provided by a canopy of trees. I wondering how Portra 400 compares to Portra 800 in situation like this. Obviously, it is a stop slower...I guess what I am wondering is, is the difference in grain worth the loss of a stop of speed?

I'll be using Nikon F5 with a 70-200 mm F/2.8 VRII lens, in case anyone is wondering.

Sirius Glass · May 29, 2018

Portra 400 in less contrasty than 800in daylight and truer colors. I only use 800 when the light level so low that the 400 exposure times are too long to hold.

WilmarcoImaging · May 30, 2018

I prefer Portra 400 pushed one stop (expose at EI 800, develop for 3 minutes 45 seconds), compared to Portra 800. To my eye the Portra 400 pushed one stop has a nicer palette and less grain than Portra 800. I don't have examples of lighting conditions you mention, but here are images I can point to:

Portra 800

Portra 400 pushed one stop
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MultiFormat Shooter · May 31, 2018

Thanks, guys, it sounds like I should stick with Portra 400, and push it, if needed. I love picture of the pine trees in the snow.

Ste_S · May 31, 2018

I've experimented with a roll of 120 Porta 400 at 1600ISO with the lab pushing two stops in dev and quite liked the results. Will give it another go at some point

halfaman · May 31, 2018

My experience is that Portra 400 at 800 is more contrasty and saturated than Portra 800. Color palet is more neutral in pushed Porta 400 than Portra 800.

I would not use Portra 800 in daylight becuase of some funky colors, but contrast of pushed Portra 400 can be excessive with harsh lightning conditions.

jonasfj · May 31, 2018

You will not notice the difference. Use the ISO that gets you the proper exposure.

Overexposing Portra gives you more saturation and underexposure less. You can easily overexpose Portra up to 3 stops, but I would try to underexpose less than 1 stop.

Remember, photography is all about the gesture and story, not so much about tiny differences between different film stock.

MattKing · May 31, 2018

If it is shadow detail you value most, Portra 800.
If it is mid-tone and highlight detail and gradation you value most, Portra 400.
If you are looking for punchy contrast - Portra 400 @ an EI of 800, but the shadows will miss a little bit of detail.

benjiboy · May 31, 2018

One of the basic tenets of photography ( both film and digital ) to get the best results is to always use the lowest I.S.O speed that will do the job. and I think in the conditions you describe Portra 400 should be ideal.

halfaman · Jun 1, 2018

halfaman said:
My experience is that Portra 400 at 800 is more contrasty and saturated than Portra 800. Color palet is more neutral in pushed Porta 400 than Portra 800.

I would not use Portra 800 in daylight becuase of some funky colors, but contrast of pushed Portra 400 can be excessive with harsh lightning conditions.

When I mentioned "pushed" it means also during development, not only during exposure. Portra 400 exposed to 800 and developed normally will give the same colors and saturation with some lost shadow detail. Pushed during development will increase notably contrast and saturation.

Rudeofus · Jun 1, 2018

Kodak markets Portra 800 as "very pushable" film and posts characteristic curves up to EI 3200. At the same time Portra 400 appears to be a much more modern film, which was updated a few years ago together with Portra 160. Therefore it makes sense to use Portra 400 for EI up to 800-1000, and to use Portra 800 only for higher EI.

macfred · Jun 1, 2018

MattKing said:
If it is shadow detail you value most, Portra 800.
If it is mid-tone and highlight detail and gradation you value most, Portra 400.
If you are looking for punchy contrast - Portra 400 @ an EI of 800, but the shadows will miss a little bit of detail.

I agree !

--
Needing an extra stop I'm o.k. with Portra 800 - I usually rate it @Iso640 - nice colours, relatively few grain.

This is @ISO800

MultiFormat Shooter · Jun 1, 2018

Thank you, everyone, for your input and example mages! I will "digest" all of the information carefully, before buying film for this session.

Thanks again, all!

Portra 800 versus Portra 400

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