Recommended Colour 120 film

jd callow · Jan 10, 2006

oops my message seems to have become the first in the thread!? I have re inserted Markbb's original post here...

markbb said:
I intend to shoot some street scenes on a MF 6x9cm camera, and would appreciate peoples recommendations for film (colour). A nearby steet is full of butchers, fishmongers & green-grocers serving the local N. African communities. I will be shooting, from across the street, shop interiors lit with a mixture of incandescent and fluorescent lighting in twilight. I doubt that transparency film will give enough range so will be using colour reversal film. As these will hand held at around F8 or F11 I need something reasonably fast, but that I can enlarge to at least 12" x 18" prints. Any ideas?

jd callow · Jan 10, 2006

I second Helen's recommendations. If you scope out the areas prior to shooting and can get some meter readings you may find that you can go with a slower film.

When shooting street sometimes its nice to be able to 'see' the different colour temps on the final print. Such as green fluorescents and or orange incandescent lights. The mix is what makes the street so interesting.

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avandesande · Jan 10, 2006

markbb said:
Thanks Helen - looks like good advice. I rarely shoot colour negative film, so appreciate all the help I can get!

I am no color guy myself but with kodak portra films (developed in kodak process) and on Kodak paper, i get excellent results, especially of people. I have had several 'looks like MF' comments on my 35mm prints(probably the zeiss lenses don't hurt either).

Kodak negative material/prints look pretty bad if you take it to a fuji lab.

nworth · Jan 10, 2006

Street photography isn't my thing, but I have been impressed by Kodak 400UC. It has excellent color, and it seems to be tolerant of quite varied light and light sources. It also has the flexability you desire. Another possibility is the Kodak High definition films. These are made for the amateur and are very versatile. They are also very good, and they are widely available.

markbb · Jan 10, 2006

I intend to shoot some street scenes on a MF 6x9cm camera, and would appreciate peoples recommendations for film (colour). A nearby steet is full of butchers, fishmongers & green-grocers serving the local N. African communities. I will be shooting, from across the street, shop interiors lit with a mixture of incandescent and fluorescent lighting in twilight. I doubt that transparency film will give enough range so will be using colour reversal film. As these will hand held at around F8 or F11 I need something reasonably fast, but that I can enlarge to at least 12" x 18" prints. Any ideas?

eumenius · Jan 10, 2006

If you mean that you'll be using a colour negative film, take Fuji - NPH400 or even NPZ800 for extremely low light. Both are excellent films for special and everyday photography.

Ole · Jan 10, 2006

Or Kodak - NC400 or VC400.

markbb · Jan 10, 2006

Thanks, Eumenius. How will the NPH or NPZ hold up against the artificial lighting conditions? There will be people, veg/fruit meat etc in shot.

Helen B · Jan 10, 2006

Mark,

If 12" x 18" or even 16" x 24" is a far as you want to go from 6x9 then you should be able to use one of the 800 speed films with no worries at all. I think that the current version of Portra 800 has a slight edge over NPZ (now called Pro 800Z: same film, higher price) but it is a very close call, and in mixed lighting you might prefer NPZ, but again, it's a close call.

'Overexposure' is your friend in artificial light with daylight-balanced neg film, so set your meter to 400 or probably even lower. This is a good reason, in my opinion at least, to use 800 film instead of 400. Colour neg film has huge overexposure latitude and doesn't get grainy with overexposure. By 'overexposing' you give yourself room to adjust the colour balance, and to keep plenty of detail in dark skin. If you do want to use a 400 speed film, Kodak Ultra 400 is worth considering because of its great latitude and low graininess.

Best,
Helen

roteague · Jan 10, 2006

Both mrcallow and Helen have excellent suggestions. In the situation as you describe it, color negative may be the better choice. However, you should take a roll or two of color transparency film, I recommend Fuji Provia F400. There are times when the higher contrast is desired.

markbb · Jan 10, 2006

Thanks Helen - looks like good advice. I rarely shoot colour negative film, so appreciate all the help I can get!

Thomas Bertilsson · Jan 10, 2006

I'll second the Kodak Ultra recommendation from Helen. It is my film of choice in both MF and 35mm as far as fast color film goes. I love the extra saturation in the colors it provides. Even a 35mm neg with this film can stand up to quite a degree of enlargement.

- Thom

roteague · Jan 10, 2006

mrcallow said:
oops my message seems to have become the first in the thread!?...

Yes, I thought it would be quite fishy that you, of all people, would be looking for suggestions on what MF color film to use. I think you settled that issue a long time ago.

waynecrider · Jan 10, 2006

A couple of weeks back I had gone thru my photo drawer coming across some old NPZ shots that I was experimenting with. I believe it was printed on Agfa, but everything looked real good and I'm sure I overexposed it by 2/3rd's. Try a roll of the Portra and the new Fuji 800 offering and see how they differ. Try also to keep a diary or a recording on changing the overexposure from a 1/3rd thru a full stop and compare differences shooting one scene. Btw, I think that b&w would do the subject good as well.

markbb · Jan 11, 2006

I went round the usual shops today (London), and there doesn't seem to be any Kodak 120 film about faster than 160. So I've got a pack of NPZ800. I'll see how that goes.

gchpaco · Jan 15, 2006

I must say that when I shot a lot of color negative film, I really liked Portra 400NC. But I like subtle colors. It'll certainly be capable of imaging that kind of brightness range if you're careful. I also shot a bunch of 160VC, which didn't particularly impress me; it was nice, and all, but the speed/grain tradeoff wasn't dramatically different from 400NC's, so I went relatively quickly to Reala. NPH is the Fuji equivalent, which was fairly similar for my purposes; note that NPH changed formulation twice (now to Pro400 or something?) since then and I don't know what it's like now.

I have no experience with high speed color films, I'm afraid.

Robert Budding · Jan 15, 2006

I've had excellent results with NPZ @EI 800. No muddiness at all.

Petzi · Jan 17, 2006

markbb said:
Thanks, Eumenius. How will the NPH or NPZ hold up against the artificial lighting conditions? There will be people, veg/fruit meat etc in shot.

NPH / Pro 400H is optimal for that because of the fourth color layer. I think NPZ / Pro 800Z has that also.

Recommended Colour 120 film

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Recommended Colour 120 film

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