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Portra has been reformulated to scan better?


Guest gamincurieux

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Guest gamincurieux

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I read somewhere the other day that Portra was at some point over the last couple or so years reformulated to scan better (ie. prob since I last used it a looong time ago!). Unfortunately there were no more details to go with the statement. Has anybody heard about this??

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Guest gamincurieux
Yes, that is what kodak claims. There is a promotional "I love film" video out there in which this is covered

 

Do you know where that is? Tried to find it...

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Guest gamincurieux
It was when they switched from having the option of Portra NC (Natural Color) or VC (Vivid or Vibrant Color) to the "New" branded Portra.

 

Ah-ha. Well, I'll just have to try it ;)

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Guest gamincurieux
I agree, but I love portra 400

 

I can see that, just looked though yours on Flickr. Impressive. "I Can't Breathe" protest, girl in centre with megaphone & nose pierced - is that the 'new' Portra? I see you scan with the Nikon 9000, I recently got one too - do you use Silverfast? Would be interested to know...

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I can see that, just looked though yours on Flickr. Impressive. "I Can't Breathe" protest, girl in centre with megaphone & nose pierced - is that the 'new' Portra? I see you scan with the Nikon 9000, I recently got one too - do you use Silverfast? Would be interested to know...

 

I've only shot the new portra. I would have thought that all of the old portra is expired by now. Not to say that it can't be used and enjoyed. But I currently don't seek it out like I do with expired chrome.

 

I use vuescan with the coolscan, which I find to be a very powerful scanner even with its basic auto settings.

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Portra is derivative of Kodak's cine films, and whenever the cine film is improved (every couple of years), a new version of Portra follows. That was the case pre-bankruptcy, anyway. It's now on about its third iteration (the edge markings should tell you), and I seem to recall a claim for better scanning ability when the newest version was introduced about four-five years ago, when Kodak eliminated the NC/VC versions of 160 and 400, and just went with one formulation for each.

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The key point is that relatively few labs still use optical printing direct to paper via a lens. Almost all labs scan the film (via Noritsu or Fuji machines) and print from the digital files, even if going to chemical color paper as the end product.

 

And as a follow to Chuck Albertson's point - motion picture production these days also usually scans the original movie footage for digital editing, color timing, etc., rather than doing the old physical cut-and-paste edits. (Then the digital "final cut" is printed back to film for the release prints.)

 

(I'm sure there are exceptions - which is why I said "almost" and "usually." Of course there are still directors and editors who "just love the smell of film cement in the morning..." ;) )

 

Anyway - the orange background mask in color neg films was originally a requirement for matching color transmission of the negatives' dyes to the response curves of chemical color printing papers or films when using optical printing.

 

As the need to match the mask to physical paper requirements goes away, it makes sense to retune that mask so as to make scanning easier - without cyan highlights or the other headaches it sometimes produces from films "oriented" towards a fully chemical image chain.

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The key point is that relatively few labs still use optical printing direct to paper via a lens. Almost all labs scan the film (via Noritsu or Fuji machines) and print from the digital files, even if going to chemical color paper as the end product.

 

...and the few labs that still make analog prints charge an arm and a leg. I just ordered a 5x7 analog print from a portra 400 negative from my lab in NYC, customized to match an edited scan that I provided, and it will cost me $30. :eek:

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Sydney has been depleted of Portra 400 for the holiday period. I managed to find the last 6 rolls in the CBD today. Looking forwards to using it as I haven't shot this film before. So should I use it at ISO 400 or 320?

 

That's amazing, Mark. If the weather is nice (which I'm sure it is), it should be no problem going through those rolls quickly. As for the EI, as with everything else with you, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it (or regain the hang of it) in no time. As I offered someone else, I am happy to make a film run for you to B*H or Adorama if you know someone who is coming into town and could take it off my hands.

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it is in this video. sorry i can't be more precise; but it is an interesting (although very promotional) watch in any case

 

The first thing I thought when I clicked the link was, 'there had better not be some tattooed tryhard with a beard and thick rimmed glasses espousing the wonders of film'. Oh well, the only solace is that he wasn't wearing thick rimmed glasses. Where's the facepalm icon when you need one?

 

But at least film is still being promoted and used. As long as that happens, we can continue to enjoy it. I still have some expired Portra 400 VC from 2006 in the fridge, although it comes up pretty spotty if shot at box speed. It cleans up at bit if shot at 200, though.

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That's amazing, Mark. If the weather is nice (which I'm sure it is), it should be no problem going through those rolls quickly. As for the EI, as with everything else with you, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it (or regain the hang of it) in no time. As I offered someone else, I am happy to make a film run for you to B*H or Adorama if you know someone who is coming into town and could take it off my hands.

 

Thanks for the offer Adam but I can get more in the 2nd week of January when one of the shops is expecting the next delivery.

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