Which color film for fall color landscapes.

johnny9fingers · Sep 13, 2009

I haven't shot with film (except Polaroid) for a while and am asking for advice on a good film to shoot fall color landscapes. I will be using my Hexar AF. Right now was thinking of using Fuji Portrait as they are slower films, and would work good with the Hexars limited shutter speeds outdoors. Are there other choices that might be better???
Thanks,
John

keithwms · Sep 13, 2009

Yeah, the hexar has a relatively slow top shutter speed so you probably want something around 100 speed for daytime work, e.g. Astia 100F or Velvia 100 or 100F. I prefer the first two- those are the two I've used most in colour autumn photography. You (probably) want strong but not unrealistic yellow and red primaries, so slide is the way to go. Other possibilities would be fuji reala or pro s or pro c or the comparable kodaks, but I'd stick to slide, as the 160 films don't render primaries as strongly IMHO, even if you rate the film slower than box speed. If you do go with print film then I'd say try reala 100.

I have some autumn slides that are really enjoyable when projected!

N.b. velvia 50 is yet another velvia choice that some may advocate; my results with velvia 100 have been more satisfying to me, but you might give 50 a try.

Slixtiesix · Sep 13, 2009

Another vote for the velvia 50 or 100 here. I´m new to slide photography and had no time to use it so far, but concerning the pictures I have seen from others it is very suitable for your intended purpose. If you want to use color negative then the new Kodak Ektar 100 might be worth a try.

keithwms · Sep 13, 2009

Not to start a brand war here but Ektar does not render skies correctly IMHO. I got cyan... not the strong deep blue typical of a fall sky, the strong blue that you need to set off the red and yellow leaf colours. One could of course filter to correct the cyan issue, but then what happens to the reds and yellows... Maybe somebody else has solved this (without photoshop) but I could not.

Darkroom317 · Sep 13, 2009

How does Kodachrome handle fall colors? Better than Velvia?

rawhead · Sep 13, 2009

I, too, was not impressed with the Ektar 100 under strong daylight. Go for Velvia 50 if you want some Holy Cow saturated pictures. I'm going to be shooting exclusively Velvia 50 and Provia 100f this fall (Provia when I want to ease down on the saturation a little).

nickrapak · Sep 13, 2009

Darkroom317 said:
How does Kodachrome handle fall colors? Better than Velvia?

Kodachrome is excellent with fall colors, as it's strength is in reds and yellows. However, it's difficult to find, and expensive when you do find it.

Darkroom317 · Sep 13, 2009

I've got a some rolls to use. So fall would probably be the best time to use it.

nickandre · Sep 13, 2009

It depends what kind of image you want. If you find a really colorful scene, some nice relatively unsaturated films like provia or kodachrome will bring out very subtle tones. Velvia would take that same scene and make it look ridiculously colorful. Either way the important thing is finding the scene and composing. Film choice is not going to make or break a photograph.

jeffreyg · Sep 13, 2009

I rarely use color film and we rarely have an Autumn down here but I do recall that using a warming filter and polarizing filter is supposed to give some very nice results.

Sirius Glass · Sep 13, 2009

keithwms said:
Not to start a brand war here but Ektar does not render skies correctly IMHO. I got cyan... not the strong deep blue typical of a fall sky, the strong blue that you need to set off the red and yellow leaf colours. One could of course filter to correct the cyan issue, but then what happens to the reds and yellows... Maybe somebody else has solved this (without photoshop) but I could not.

Use optical printing only and then the problem does not occur.

Steve

Sirius Glass · Sep 13, 2009

Color films for Fall colors are Kodak Ultracolor 160 [35mm], Ultracolor 400 [35mm], Portra Vivid Color 160, Portra Vivid Color 400, Ektar 100.

Steve

Ektagraphic · Sep 13, 2009

If you could get your hands on some Kodachrome I would go for it. If not, I would pick up some Elite Chrome.

Anon Ymous · Sep 13, 2009

Sirius Glass said:
Use optical printing only and then the problem does not occur.

Steve

I've seen the cyan skies associated with Ektar 100 at the web, but the only time I used it, the prints looked good. No cyan skies whatsoever. I don't know what gear the lab used, I can only say that the back of the prints had "NNNN" and the frame number printed at the back. So, I assume that they only corrected for the orange mask, not even for brightness.

Ektagraphic · Sep 13, 2009

I have had pretty bad lab prints made with Ektar 100. I have also had had great results. The cyan color is a problem though. When I get into color it will be a true test of film.

Sirius Glass · Sep 13, 2009

I have only gotten cyan skies when I scanned a perfectly healthy negative. Period.

YMMV

Steve

johnny9fingers · Sep 13, 2009

If I was to use Provia, is it a true 100 speed film? I've seen posts where people talk about the true speed of films, such as Delta 3200 being closer to 1250. Is the only way to determine the true speed experimentation or is there a chart somewhere?

L Gebhardt · Sep 13, 2009

johnny9fingers said:
If I was to use Provia, is it a true 100 speed film? I've seen posts where people talk about the true speed of films, such as Delta 3200 being closer to 1250. Is the only way to determine the true speed experimentation or is there a chart somewhere?

It will depend on your equipment and metering technique. However Provia is a true 100 speed film for me, as are all 100 speed slide films I have tried.

I would choose my film based on how I was going to get prints. Using slide film you will almost certainly be getting digital prints, or just scanned images. You could also spring for Ilfochrome, but it's hard to find and now inexpensive.

If you go for a negative film you will have a lot more printing choices, and they will be less costly. Also, keep in mind that slide film has a limited latitude. Negative film will be more forgiving. If you must shoot during the day when the contrast is high, I would skip the slide film. I am finding I am shooting less and less slide, and more negatives. The fact that my results have improved is the driving force for this.

Galah · Sep 13, 2009

johnny9fingers said:
I haven't shot with film (except Polaroid) for a while and am asking for advice on a good film to shoot fall color landscapes. I will be using my Hexar AF. Right now was thinking of using Fuji Portrait as they are slower films, and would work good with the Hexars limited shutter speeds outdoors. Are there other choices that might be better???
Thanks,
John

Look, I'm only a "happy snapper", but I have been more than happy with Fujicolor Superia Extra 400 ISO and with Kodak Ultramax ISO 400.

For extra "punch" I have used a Didymium "enhancing" (red) filter, but the straight film properly exposed is practically as good.

JBrunner · Sep 13, 2009

johnny9fingers said:
If I was to use Provia, is it a true 100 speed film? I've seen posts where people talk about the true speed of films, such as Delta 3200 being closer to 1250. Is the only way to determine the true speed experimentation or is there a chart somewhere?

Most will find E-6 films true to box speed, as they are not willing victims to so many exposure and processing variables as a b&W stock. Some people like to slightly under expose chrome, but it is a fine line, having little margin for error. For fall colors I find the old Velvia 50 hard to beat. You can always lower the saturation in the print to where you like it. Adding saturation to a print that isn't coming from Velvia doesn't seem to work as well for me as the reverse.

Judging the palate of chrome films is very subjective however, and shooting a variety for yourself to see what you like is my very best recommendation.

CuS · Sep 13, 2009

kodachrome - seriously - you cannot imagine . . .

EASmithV · Sep 13, 2009

If you want the colors to pick you up and kick you in the balls, use Velvia 50.

Kodachrome is also one of the more beautiful options.

Dave in Kansas · Sep 13, 2009

No one has mentioned E100VS. Is that not a good choice? I've just begun using it since Kodachrome is going away and really like it, but I did recently shoot some flowers in bright sunlight that were over saturated to the point that detail seemed to be lost. It seems to be a pretty high contrast film.

Dave

phenix · Sep 14, 2009

If you could find some still fresh (because discontinued), and if you avoid Fuji labs (Kodak are OK), I would strongly suggest you to try the Konica VX-200 or the Konica Centuria 400 print films. For slides, the Velvia.

brian steinberger · Sep 14, 2009

Velvia, definitely.

Which color film for fall color landscapes.

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