Csacwp Posted February 16, 2018 Share #1 Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) I just got back some scans from my first roll of Portra 400, shot on my M4 with a 35mm Summicron ASPH and a 90mm Apo-Summicron ASPH. The first thing that struck me was the blue hue that all the photos have. It was an overcast day, so maybe that made things more blue? The skin tones are divine, and the greens and reds are beautiful pastels. The rendering of the film is so gentle, even with the modern aspherical lenses. It's very flattering. The grain is beautiful. Try as I might, I cannot replicate the look- even when using the latest RNI Portra presets in Capture One. Digital looks so flat and harsh in comparison. Hopefully Kodak never stops making this stuff. Edited February 16, 2018 by Csacwp 8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 16, 2018 Posted February 16, 2018 Hi Csacwp, Take a look here Just shot Portra for the first time.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Adrian Lord Posted February 16, 2018 Share #2 Posted February 16, 2018 I agree with all of that. Film is poised for a strong resurgence. The digital aesthetic is not sought after, hackneyed, and looks horrid. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted February 16, 2018 Share #3 Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) Hello Csacwp, Have you looked at the "I like film" sub-section in the "Other" section of the "Photo Forum" section on this Forum?Best Regards, Michael Edited February 16, 2018 by Michael Geschlecht 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelwj Posted February 16, 2018 Share #4 Posted February 16, 2018 Portra is the perfect match for the modern asph lenses, my favourite 400 colour film. I love the 160 too, truly beautiful. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted February 16, 2018 Share #5 Posted February 16, 2018 Portra is the perfect match for the modern asph lenses, my favourite 400 colour film. I love the 160 too, truly beautiful. It looks great with the modern lenses, with the pre-asph lenses, with old lenses that have been knocking around at a thrift store, with super-sharp medium-format Mamiya lenses or soft and dreamy Petval lenses... 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mute-on Posted February 16, 2018 Share #6 Posted February 16, 2018 Next, try Ektar. Rate at 100 and use in good light. My two favourite films are this and Portra 400, rated at 200. Welcome to the film paradigm 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Activatedfx Posted February 16, 2018 Share #7 Posted February 16, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Portra is a beautiful film - those soft tones and pastel colors - but I did not like the overall bluish/purplish color cast, so I started looking into other film stocks. I love Ektar on very bright days, but the scanning and "reversal" process for color negative films is frustratingly hit or miss. I recently tried some "chrome" slide films (Velvia and Provia), and have fallen hard for Provia. Rich, deep, natural colors... not over-hyped like Velvia, which tends to have a greenish cast. Provia also has a very fine grain (looks "sharper" than Velvia) and an amazing ability to hold highlights and keep shadows open. I chalk some of that up to shooting Aperture Priority on an M7, which seems to meter scenes perfectly, but Provia is definitely my go to film from here on out. Bonus is that slide film is SO much easier to scan and post process because there are no "reversal" issues. Saves hours in the digital darkroom. FWIW, my second favorite film is CineStill 50, which is a color negative film, but seems to scan and reverse more easily, and has a unique "look" that is hard to generate digitally. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrewer Posted February 17, 2018 Share #8 Posted February 17, 2018 I always found Portra, true to its name, gave great skin tones and was the best film for portraits As someone above pointed out, you should give Ektar 100 a try next and use it on a sunny day. The colors are a little flashier than Portra and the grain is almost imperceptible. Shout out here for CineStill 50, and its 800 rated sister. These films both have a very appealing rendering of color that I personally really like. As to the blue hue . . . that can happen on a clear day, when you get some reflection from the sky, but that's not the case you describe. My first thought when someone describes a "cyan cast" is to go back to the lab and point it out to them, see if they will reprint correctly. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csacwp Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share #9 Posted February 17, 2018 I think the scans were poorly done, and they scratched my negatives as well. I’ll try a different lab next time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelwj Posted February 18, 2018 Share #10 Posted February 18, 2018 Portra is a beautiful film - those soft tones and pastel colors - but I did not like the overall bluish/purplish color cast, so I started looking into other film stocks. I love Ektar on very bright days, but the scanning and "reversal" process for color negative films is frustratingly hit or miss. I recently tried some "chrome" slide films (Velvia and Provia), and have fallen hard for Provia. Rich, deep, natural colors... not over-hyped like Velvia, which tends to have a greenish cast. Provia also has a very fine grain (looks "sharper" than Velvia) and an amazing ability to hold highlights and keep shadows open. I chalk some of that up to shooting Aperture Priority on an M7, which seems to meter scenes perfectly, but Provia is definitely my go to film from here on out. Bonus is that slide film is SO much easier to scan and post process because there are no "reversal" issues. Saves hours in the digital darkroom. FWIW, my second favorite film is CineStill 50, which is a color negative film, but seems to scan and reverse more easily, and has a unique "look" that is hard to generate digitally. Now is not the time for developing a Provia addiction, 10-20 years ago, but it'll be expensive these days! I do agree though, Provia is a great film. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Activatedfx Posted February 18, 2018 Share #11 Posted February 18, 2018 Ha! Yes, Provia is not cheap (note that B&H has "short dated" (5/18) stock at nearly half price right now), but then again, I didn't buy a Leica and get back into film to save money! :-) 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin B Posted February 20, 2018 Share #12 Posted February 20, 2018 Ha! Yes, Provia is not cheap (note that B&H has "short dated" (5/18) stock at nearly half price right now), but then again, I didn't buy a Leica and get back into film to save money! :-) I was fortunate to scavenge an expired but well stored 100' roll of Provia 100F film recently for free. I will be getting my own E-6 development kit and have already started taking pictures with self-rolled Provia 100F film. Curious how it will turn out. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Albertson Posted February 20, 2018 Share #13 Posted February 20, 2018 Porta is one film that Kodak is still updating as it is derivative of their movie film, which they are always improving. I think I've seen three iterations of Portra in its relatively short life. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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