Film for indoor night reception

[philipus]

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After shooting a few rolls of Portra 400 pushed to 1600 (color, and not converted to b&w), there was way too much grain for my tastes (even in the outdoor shoots). I made sure not to underexpose the shots too, but I don't think pushing is a technique I want to use. It really brings out the grain.

 

Now I'm looking for the 800 films in color and b&w with the least amount of grain. If I can match the limited low light performance of my M9 with my MP, I'll be happy.

 

I've pushed Portra 800 to 1600 with good results (for my, non-digitally-affected taste).

 

Another thing to try is pushing a slide film, like Provia 400X, one or two stops and convert to b/w. You'll have to be a bit careful with exposure (as one generally has to be with slide film) but it ought to be less grainy than Portra 400 pushed similarly. Unfortunately I don't have an example from my archive available here, but there are of course lots of examples online.

 

Cheers

Philip

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[63strat]

Another thing to try is pushing a slide film, like Provia 400X, one or two stops and convert to b/w. You'll have to be a bit careful with exposure (as one generally has to be with slide film) but it ought to be less grainy than Portra 400 pushed similarly. Unfortunately I don't have an example from my archive available here, but there are of course lots of examples online.

 

Philip

 

You might be on to something. My first experiment with pushing was accidental. I loaded Provia 100, but had the camera incorrectly set to 400, so I had the lab push it 2 stops. It was very dynamic, and somewhat grainy, but worth a trying again, this time pushing Provia only 1 stop. I have roll of 400 I could try, thx.

[kdriceman]

If you want to shoot B&W with minimal grain/noise and want the absolute best low-light performance then you should get the M Monochrom.

[63strat]

Yes, thanks, I agree the M Monochrome is unbeatable for b&w, however, this event is one of the few I'd be doing in that format, 95% of the rest I'd be working with color.