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Portra 160, 400, 800 - differences


LocalHero1953

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22 minutes ago, Ornello said:

Thanks. I know there are a lot of similar comparisons elsewhere on the web, but I asked here because I have some notion of where those replying are coming from, or I can easily see the sort of image those people take: people don't necessarily mean the same thing by 'pastel' or 'saturated'.

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12 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Thanks. I know there are a lot of similar comparisons elsewhere on the web, but I asked here because I have some notion of where those replying are coming from, or I can easily see the sort of image those people take: people don't necessarily mean the same thing by 'pastel' or 'saturated'.

I have used a lot of the 400, some 800, and maybe one or two rolls of the 160. I like the 400 a lot, but from these comparisons it seems the 160 would be best for weddings and portraits. 

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30 minutes ago, Ornello said:

I have used a lot of the 400, some 800, and maybe one or two rolls of the 160. I like the 400 a lot, but from these comparisons it seems the 160 would be best for weddings and portraits. 

What was your conclusion about 400 and 800? How did you see them differing?

Edited by LocalHero1953
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22 hours ago, Doc Henry said:

Thanks - I hadn't looked outside the UK so far. If I'd thought, my daughter is travelling here from Brussels next week - I could have asked her to bring some.

As it is, I have now received 3x5 rolls of 160 from the ebay dealer in Bristol. In date, no problems.

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20 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Thanks - I hadn't looked outside the UK so far. If I'd thought, my daughter is travelling here from Brussels next week - I could have asked her to bring some.

As it is, I have now received 3x5 rolls of 160 from the ebay dealer in Bristol. In date, no problems.

https://www.retrocamera.be/fr/26-film-35mm?fabricant=kodak

Paul , Portra 400 at a good price in Belgium 

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Portra 800 or Portra 400 my choice is done for red of poppies 🥰

It's magic for your eyes ....  sublime red in backlight  with transparency and clarity,

Kodak Portra 800- Leicaflex SL-135 R Elmarit-Carbon Tripod Gitzo + cable release

Portra 800 dev in Tetenal homelab and scan in TIFF (size 120 Mo) post unfortunately in compressed Jpeg

No correction with any software ... scan with  Nikon factory software in "linear curve"  ...   not need Vuescan 

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  • 3 months later...

I've now shot 2 rolls of Portra 160 and one of 800 (I had previously worked through several rolls of 400). I will have to go through more rolls of each to come to a conclusion, but it has been an interesting exercise. I have posted some images on I Like Film. Within this limited use, I found the colours of the 160 easiest to adjust to my satisfaction.

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On 8/13/2022 at 9:41 AM, LocalHero1953 said:

between 160 and 400 in particular.

And interestingly it turns out that responders here hightlight the 800. I agree with that; it’s a film that you choose not so much because you need the speed of 800 but for its own colors and sympathetic grain/noise.

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...   maybe Paul you have seen this comparison https://jamesmadisonphotography.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/experiment-2-kodak-portra-160-vs-portra-400-vs-portra-800/

Portra 800 has less grain finer and with identical contrast and sharpness in comparison with Portra 160 and 400, but Portra 800 is more saturated in color , ideal for nature photos such as poppies  😀

Best Henry

Edited by Doc Henry
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15 minutes ago, Doc Henry said:

...   maybe Paul you have seen this comparison https://jamesmadisonphotography.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/experiment-2-kodak-portra-160-vs-portra-400-vs-portra-800/

Portra 800 has less grain finer and with identical contrast and sharpness in comparison with Portra 160 and 400, but Portra 800 is more saturated in color , ideal for nature photos such as poppies  😀

Best Henry

Thank you - I hadn't seen that comparison.

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26 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Thank you - I hadn't seen that comparison.

Paul you are welcome .... 

 

One recent photo taken with the Portra 800.

I remind you that I develop myself all my films  in Tetenal at 38 degrees C  for a dozen years and I am a fan of Portra

...  and I never correct my photos , the photos you see are natural color (scan in "linear" curve with Nikon factory software > No Vuescan and no Silverfast )

Kodak Portra 800 - Leicaflex SL - Elmarit R 90 + Tripod Gitzo + cable release

 

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Edited by Doc Henry
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On 8/15/2022 at 9:53 PM, Martin B said:

My favorite by far is Ektar 100 - which obviously is not good for portraits, but for my photo style it is the much better fit than Porta films. 

I'm a big Ektar fan. Very much suits my style too.  I don't do portraiture.  Shame there's no 400 equivalent to Ektar.  

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44 minutes ago, Doc Henry said:

Paul you are welcome .... 

 

One recent photo taken with the Portra 800.

I remind you that I develop myself all my films  in Tetenal at 38 degrees C  for a dozen years and I am a fan of Portra

...  and I never correct my photos , the photos you see are natural color (scan in "linear" curve with Nikon factory software > No Vuescan and no Silverfast )

Kodak Portra 800 - Leicaflex SL - Elmarit R 90 + Tripod Gitzo + cable release

 

Yes, lovely colours.

I am digitising with a SL2-S and Apo-Macro-Elmarit-R 100, so I am inverting the negatives myself. I have used Negative Lab Pro, but don't like its black box approach. Most of the time I find it straightforward, but my recipes for Portra 400 and Portra 160 didn't work so well with the 800. It's only one film so far, so I'm putting it down to lack of experience.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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As a side note, it s a struggle to track down 35mm Portra. I couldn't see any obvious supplies in the UK. I have ordered some from Retrocamera in Brussels (thanks for the recommendation, Doc Henry) for delivery to my daughter locally, who will bring them here at Christmas, but Retrocamera is rationing orders online - no more than 5 rolls of a stock (and no 5-packs available).

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/12/2022 at 9:09 AM, Doc Henry said:

...   maybe Paul you have seen this comparison https://jamesmadisonphotography.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/experiment-2-kodak-portra-160-vs-portra-400-vs-portra-800/

Portra 800 has less grain finer and with identical contrast and sharpness in comparison with Portra 160 and 400, but Portra 800 is more saturated in color , ideal for nature photos such as poppies  😀

Best Henry

... another comparison for Paul 😀

https://www.thephoblographer.com/2017/09/12/introduction-kodak-portra-family/

and when you push Portra 160 to 320 what does that give ?

https://www.stefanodegirmenci.com/the-blog/2021/9/2/pushing-kodak-portra-160-film-to-320-with-sample-photos

Best

Henry

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