Most saturated colour negative film?

Having done a little more research, it seems that Portra 400UC was renamed Ultra Color 400 in the US, and Elite Color 400 in Europe. 7dayshop have Elite Color 200 and 400 at reasonable prices. But Elite Color 200 can't be exactly the same as one of the Portra range, as there wasn't a Portra 200. Has anyone used the European Elite Color films? Are they okay? Which would I be better off choosing: 200 or 400?

 

Many thanks for the help.

 

Chris

Elite Color 200 is probably similar to, or the same as, UltraColor 100

in the US. Many people who test 100UC get the impression that it is

higher than 100 speed. Benny says 100UC has good skin tones, and I

agree. However I get more saturated results from 400UC.

Have you tried adding a polarizing filter? Occasionally I've used one to "punch up" the color in some scenes.

"I'd prefer the image on the negative to be as close to what I want as possible."

 

In the case of negative films this is not a practical thought in fact. When the negative is printed you will be dealing with contrast, density and saturation adjustment or optimization too. This may not be done when you print in 4x6 size but if you order enlargements and if the enlargement is done using a Fuji Frontier system your negative is scanned and level adjustment is performed.

 

The level adjustment is not adding saturation to the image. If the negative has a very wide dynamic range the level adjustment is to optimize the histogram of the image and bring the hidden contrast and saturation out of it. No color is added. You will have no control of level adjustmnent if you give your negative to a lab to print for you. But if you scan and do the digital darkroom work yourself you have full control and really get the best out of your images. You will realize there is no need to search for higher saturation films.

Dave asks why. I ask why not. Seriously, if I can use a film which gives me results closer to what I want, why not use it? I'm not worried about shadow detail. I just want bold colours and strong contrast.

 

It looks like Kodak Elite Color 200 or Elite Color 400 are my best bets. Anyone have more opinions on these films?

 

Many thanks for the advice.

 

Best wishes,

 

Chris

Christopher,

 

Look at a color negative. What is it about one color negative that resembles "reality" more than another. It's all in the end-to-end process. Not worried about shadow detail - you have a lot to learn.

 

Whatever you decide regarding film, stick with that film until you learn how to use it to its best advantage - at least 10 or 20 rolls, maybe 100. If you go out with more than 3 types of film, including B&W, you haven't a chance at any consistency.

The reason I'm not concerned about shadow detail is because many of the pictures I'll be taking will be indoors in a studio, where it should be possible to light the subject evenly without any major shadows. I perhaps should have made this clear at the start, whereas re-reading my original post I've basically given a list of my photographic interests. Mostly this film will be used for technical subjects in a studio.

 

I've shot dozens of rolls of Fuji Superia 400 recently, and I've just decided that in my opinion, it isn't quite perfect for the job.

 

Chris

Your only real options left are really just 400uc or 160vc. Maybe some strange konica or agfa film, but the quality(or availability) on those may be questionable. Or you could just go with velvia slide film if you needed too.

Agfa Ultra 100, still available on e-bay. Hands down the most saturated print film, stunning for fall colors and landscapes. But for your purposes, 400UC is probably best. It is an excellent film.

Randall

 

Why pay the prices on ebay when you can order it from a place that keeps it cool.

 

http://www.ultrafineonline.com/agfavista100.html

 

Larry

<p>Right now, Kodak 400UC (Ultracolor) is the "Velvia" of negative film. Tight grain that is indistinguishable from Kodak 100UC, deep rich blacks and eye popping colors. Plus you can find it at Walmart and their Fuji machines are setup to process it very nicely. Really nice. Plus it scans beautifully.</p>

 

<p><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/232370887_54ee42ed0e.jpg"></p>

 

<p>Here is a sample image from Koday 400UC (Ultracolor) shot on an old Minolta X700 with 50mm F1.7 lens.</p>

Thanks for all the thoughts. For me in the UK it seems that my choice is between Kodak Elite Color 200 and Elite Color 400. I'm inclined to go for the 200, as I would expect it to have finer grain, but I can't find any Kodak data sheets regarding these films. Does anyone know where I might find data sheets? Or does anyone have strong opinions regarding the two?

 

Many thanks,

 

Chris

The wwwuk.kodak.com website has product information for Elite Color

200 and 400, but no datasheet that I can find. Try searching for

the "tech pub" and it might work in your locale. Failing that, call

Kodak customer support and kvetch. <P>My <A HREF="http://cacreeks.com/films.htm">website says</A>

"Elite Color 200 and 400 seem to be European rebrandings of

Ultra Color, with the 200 speed jacked up because 100 speed film

doesn't sell in Europe."

For the record, I have kindly been shown where to find the data sheet for the Kodak Elite Color films:

http://wwwpl.kodak.com/global/plugins/acrobat/en/professional/products/films/eliteColor/e4039.pdf

 

Best wishes,

 

Chris

I'm going to buy a 10-pack of Kodak Elite Color 200. Thanks for all the advice.

 

Best wishes,

 

Chris

Chris, could you please report back what the edge codes say?

Somebody from Finland (?) reported that the EliteColor 400 edge code

was 400UC, making me think it was rebadged UltraColor, but the

datasheet you referenced makes it look more like High Definition 400,

which has grainier skin tones. I have seen no reports about

EliteColor 200 edge code.