Non-digital look 28mm lens

[Aryel]

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2 hours ago, Steven said:

I've had great success with Silver Effex, being able to reproduce the BW film look effortlessly with this excellent plugin

That you can get great pictures, no doubt. That you can make it feel film-like, no doubt. That you can reproduce it, no offense, but not going to happen any time soon. Beside, different films look completely different (without even getting into developers) so what does it mean reproduce?

Ps: I forgot to say, that I do not say or think that one is better than the other. I just say that they are different.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Aryel
Added PS

[Aryel]

2 hours ago, Steven said:

Semantics. And since we’re on semantics, I’d suggest that we exchange your choice of words. 
You say I can make it feel like film but not look like film. I would say it’s the other way around. I can make it look like film, but never will it feel like film. 

No offense taken. 

I'll stick to what I wrote (it is fuzzy enough). My only disagreement was about the word 'reproduce'. So, yes, semantics...

In any case, let's not derail the thread. Happy to discuss this further on another thread or privately. It is very subjective, and would need some images. The best would be to sit with a few beers, discuss some prints and some images on a computer!

Edited February 28, 2021 by Aryel

[Ko.Fe.]

11 hours ago, Steven said:

These look nice and very Nik Collectionish.... 

I've had great success with Silver Effex, being able to reproduce the BW film look effortlessly with this excellent plugin. 

For color emulation, I've been struggling a little more. These "extreme" effect, as shown in your example, are quite easy to achieve. The grain is also nicely made in general. But if I want to emulate the Kodak Portra 400 look, my digital photos don't quite look like my M6 photos. 

Have you had more luck with more neutral film emulations such as Portra ? 

I'm not expert on film emulsion to dublicate particular look. I also have free, old version of DxO and it is stand alone application where many color films presets are available. 

[SoarFM]

On 2/9/2021 at 1:42 PM, startover said:

Thank you, all.  I have the 28 Summmaron but it hasn't gotten much time lately.  This morning I was looking at The Blue Room by Eugene Richards--a rare use of color by him--and was taken by the "soft" quality of his photographs.  It is hard to tell where the magic comes from--choice of lens or darkroom/post-production.  I am not able to replicate that look even with my film M.  So I am looking to see which lever to turn--a change of lens seemed the easiest.

Use the Summaron more. I bought one, almost on impulse, thinking maybe I had gotten carried away by the retro look of the physical lens itself. I quickly became enamored with how the lens draws. Of course it’s widest aperture is rather small so a Summicron is going to be preferred in low light, but how I love that summaron...

[Rick in CO]

23 hours ago, Steven said:

Which softwares are you referring to ? 

I use Franzis' Black & White Projects.  Tried Silver Efex demo but was too similar to have both.

[Jeff S]

48 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

...there is still the one, the only and the unsurpassed non-digital look... use the film negative and scan it. You *can't* beat that.

Sure you can: print it on lovely paper.

Jeff

[Kwesi]

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On 2/9/2021 at 1:42 PM, startover said:

Thank you, all.  I have the 28 Summmaron but it hasn't gotten much time lately.  This morning I was looking at The Blue Room by Eugene Richards--a rare use of color by him--and was taken by the "soft" quality of his photographs.  It is hard to tell where the magic comes from--choice of lens or darkroom/post-production.  I am not able to replicate that look even with my film M.  So I am looking to see which lever to turn--a change of lens seemed the easiest.

Hi Startover, I think the answer to your question is - the magic comes from the quality of the light he is shooting in that series.

Look again at the images in the Blue Room but this time with an emphasis on the light falling on his subject, then contrast it with Red Ball of Sun Slipping Down

https://eugenerichards.com/red-ball-of-a-sun-slipping-down-1

[BrianS]

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

This picture represents the look that I want out of my M Monochrom. Panatomic-X in Microdol, ~1978.

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by BrianS

[Harpomatic]

I just saw this video and I think it has some relevance here:

I don’t think a lens will give you a film look. You have to sharpen your skills in post-processing for that and get the right look.