help me sort out current print films

Hi there folks. I'm a new member, beginner photographer. I've been

using an Olympus Stylus epic (35mm/f2.8 lens) for a long time, now an

older Canon AE-1 (50mm/f1.8) as well and considering a Nikon N80.

What I'm into is travel (low-light museum shots, outside

architecturals and sculpture) and outdoors (backpacking, slot

canyons, nature, not much wildlife), comparitively few people shots.

Mostly handhelds or pocket tripods. Not into slides at the moment.

 

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the variety of opinion on print films

currently out there (and sorting out info on discontinued films).

This is what I make of the current negative film scene relevant to

me, please tell me if I have it right or not:

 

Fuji:

 

Superia 800 - decent color, very wide exposure latitude (someone

recommends exposing at 640?)

 

NPH 400 - low/medium contrast, realistic color, good for general

outdoors, expose at 320?

 

Reala Superia - the go-to 100 speed film, nice saturation, try

overexposing a bit (80?), print only with qualified printer

 

Kodak:

 

Royal Gold / HD400 - bright, not quite lurid color, on the slow side

for a 400 speed (maybe 320?), easy to find and $3/24 exp locally

 

Portra 400UC - perhaps most people's choice for go-anywhere do-

anything 400 speed? Expensive.

 

I was thinking a mix of Reala, HD400, and Superia 800 would meet my

needs. Any opinions?

Andy I think you will do well with Fuji NPH or portra uc or vc.Reala is a good film. Dont be fooled by low contrast with NPH,I shoot more of this than any print film along with NPS 160 and NPC 160.It will perform well with what you Intend to do. As for price,order your film from a place like BH photo, Adorama etc. it will save you good money,compared to the local photo shops.The superia films are consumer based films and may lack what you are hoping for,not to say they are not decent films when you dont have a choice.Every photographer has different taste,you may end up a agfa fan.These are the films I use and like,just remember Where you get your film developed will likely have more impact than what print film you choose.

Andy,

 

After months of testing and more testing, I've finally settled on using PORTRA 400UC (HD400 as a backup since I can find it anywhere) and REALA 100 when I know I'll be making very large prints. I just love the colors on the 400UC and the grain is amazing. I try NPH on and off, but still find it a bit muted in color for me. Great film though.

 

Alex

Andy,

 

I just returned from a short vacation where I used both Fuji NPH (the older emulsion) and Portra UC. Printed on Agfa Digital Prestige paper, I still prefer the NPH to Portra. I found the color palette to be almost identical (I shot the same subject with both films in some cases), and the Portra sometime printed a bit warmer than I prefer. So, for the price, I'll stick with the NPH, at least while my printer uses the Agfa Prestige paper. The Reala has also given me some very nice results, and I've also liked Supra 800 on the Agfa paper. Before you settle on your film selections, you might want to first determine what paper and processing your preferred shop is using, then go from there.

 

Bill