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What's the mostly recommended 120 film for daily use?

hoomuzzz

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Feb 15, 2024
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33
Location
China Mainland
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Multi Format
I heard the Portra 400 / Provia 400X are good choices. Sadly 400X is no longer in production line.
 
You might want to qualify whether B&W or color: obviously you seem to think color.
Daily use? hmmm

Putting aside my snarky response, yes, Portra 400 is widely appreciated for its color rendition and really wide latitude. You can easily shoot it 2 EVs on either side of meter reading and get good results. Not cheap, which is why "daily use" might not be the same for everyone. But it's what I almost alway shoot for 120 color negatives. If you're staying with Portra, Portra 160 gives slightly different rendering, as does Portra 800. Fun to experiment.
 
hoomuzzz said:
I heard the Portra 400 / Provia 400X are good choices.
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Well, they're totally different animals. Provia is a slide film. Portra is color negative. So this brings the question what you're looking for in a film? Color, evidently. I assume you scan and then post process? Does it need to be 400 or is slower also OK?

bags27 said:
If you're staying with Portra, Portra 160 gives slightly different rendering, as does Portra 800.
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Certainly, but the differences are more relevant if you print/enlarge optically and much less so when scanning. Digital post processing, after all, is so flexible that you could get whatever look you want from any of these three films. The most important difference will be speed. Having said that, I was printing some Portra 800 negatives recently and I have to say it's a lovely film. Quite likely my favorite from the three Portras. Expensive, though.
 

B&W is a good choice that colored noise can be controlled. By saying daily use I mean shoot in various scenarios, where light conditions might differ. I'm looking for those can be used without much struggle. Currently I'm considering ASA/ISO as a prior factor, like 400. Portra 400 is really a good benefit between fine grains and low light performance.
 

I've used Portra 800 once and it's brilliant at night and just as stable at day. The grains are fine and has slight difference from 400. The only thing stops me from shooting is the price, at about $20 per roll.
 
Lomography CN 800 is a (very) good alternative to Portra 800. Particularly in 120 format since it's significantly cheaper than Portra 800.

The rest of 120 Lomography Color Negative films (100, 400) are also competitively priced, but might not be everybody's cup of tea if Portra 160 and 400 are your benchmark. Lomo CN 800 is stunning even before you consider the money saved, though.
 
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It has been Portra 400 and Tri-X 400 for years, but now I am using my stach of Kodak UltraColor 400 and adding Ektar.
 
How long is a piece of string?

For me, I like the Lomography 100 and 400 for colour and Fomapan 400 for B&W though I am considering switching to Kentmere with the competitive pricing. Kodak Gold 200 is another very good choice.

But I shoot 99% negative film and for fun, often in vintage cameras. If I were shooting in something relatively modern and trying to sell it, I might well go with Ektachrome.
 
Depends what you mean by "daily use". If you want a 120 color film that is most economical, I would say Kodak Gold would be the solution.
If you want a film that can be used for a wide selection of subjects with good tolerance against under- and overexposure and a balanced color profile, the Kodak Portra range may fit you well.
 
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