lahuasteca Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Very quick question - I've procrastinated too long, now I just have what is available locally at Wal-Mart, 400 UC or Fuji Superia 400? I'm leaving for Central America in two days and it does look like the conditions are going to be cloudy and/or overcast. Usually there is bright sun and I have that covered with Astia and Reala 100. I'll be shooting a religious procession (lots of color) plus a variety of landscape - volcanoes, lakes, rainforests, hillside terraces, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_thorlin Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Quick answer - Superia to my eye has more muted, even perhaps natural, colours whereas Ultra is a bit more, well, ultra. Personally, overall, I would go with Superia but that is just my subjective view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josphy Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 I would go with 400UC -- maybe more saturated color (is that a bad thing in this case?) but lower contrast than Superia 400 I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_thorlin Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 As I said it is a subjective view but to view examples of what can be done with Superia have a look at the current postings from Frederick Muller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lahuasteca Posted July 16, 2006 Author Share Posted July 16, 2006 Hi Bill, I did just check out the images posted by Frederick Mueller using Superia 400 and they are excellent. I'm mainly concerned, not for prints, but in how well the film scans. I'll handle sauration and contrast in Photoshop. It's too late for Provia 400F to be sent me, so I guess I'll go to Wally World and load up on Superia 400. Thanks. Gene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich815 Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 For scanning definitely 400UC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randall_pukalo Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 400UC, Great Film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_thorlin Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 Gene - I mentioned Frederick on the basis that "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" and I know he has used the film for a long time with much success. Have a good trip and I hope Superia works for you. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wirehead Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 400UC is like the Velvia of print films. It's the closest you can get to a slide film in print film form. I've been quite fond of it lately when I've found myself with not enough light for 100 ASA slide film. Superia is more of a normal print film. A good one, but not as interesting. If I were you, I'd take some of each. I also found myself quite impressed with Superia 800 of late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger_smith4 Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 I haven't used Superia 400 in a few years but 400UC is lower-contrast while stil colorful, and finer grained. I find it scans well and is fine for skin tones (not as good with skin under flash). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lahuasteca Posted July 17, 2006 Author Share Posted July 17, 2006 First I went to HEB (a big supermarket chain in South Texas) - no Fuji films whatsoever, just some horrible Kodak Max. Then I went to Wal-Mart - they did not have Superia 400, just 800 & some HQ. Much to my suprise, they did have several 3 packs of 400UC which I snatched up. There are 3 other Wal-Marts in Brownsville, TX, but I don't have the time to be chasing around. I'm just hoping this is an "out of stock" situation and not a harbinger of things to come. I'm not a 100% film diehard, do use digital a lot, also, but not when I'm on the "chicken bus trail." I like to keep my options open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_Lookingbill Posted July 17, 2006 Share Posted July 17, 2006 Gene, I'm in Kerrville, just 60 miles north of San Antonio. HEB stopped carrying Fuji film here as well. I'm assuming it's because they have Noritsu minilabs which seem to do better with Kodak film since they print to Kodak Royal Digital Paper. How do like the Rio Grande Valley? It's something ain't it? Lived there for about 15 years. Have you stopped by the Shary Mansion just outside of Mission? It makes a great photography subject to shoot especially close to sunset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpeterson Posted July 18, 2006 Share Posted July 18, 2006 <p>I'm a long time Kodak Ultracolor 400 user (mainly for flower macros) who recently tried Fuji Superia Xtra 400 on a whim and was very pleasantly surprised. Not as contrasty as Ultracolor and reds seem a bit less over the top. Truthfully, either film will do the job for me quite well. However, the fact that the Fuji Superia Xtra 400 is almost half the price of the Kodak Ultracolor 400 in Walmart was the biggest factor in my switching over to Fuji.</p> <p>Here is a photo from my <a href="http://www.abqstyle.com/index.htm">Albuquerque Photos website</a> shot recently on Fuji Superia X-tra 400. It was scanned on a Nikon Coolscan V with no color correction:</p> <img src="http://www.abqstyle.com/albuquerque_photos_15/abq_botanic_43.jpg"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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