Choosing a colour neg film for sharpness

I generally use only B+W, but I have to photograph a group of 20

people in colour using my M6+tripod and I'm concerned that i'll lose

detail with all those tiny heads in the image. Is there a colour neg

film equivalent to the very sharp slow B+W films?

 

Thanks........John

I have been using Fuji Reala 100 lately for outdoor 35mm portraits and the color and sharpness is stunning. I just picked up some beach engagement portrait proofs today and they were beautiful. The enlargement capability is excellent...16x20+ easily. Handles bright sun (with fill) and high contrast scenes very nicely.

Fuji NPS or NPC; Kodak Portra 160NC/VC. even with leica glass

keeping your f-stop larger than f/16 will help definition. over

exposing color negative by about a half stop helps resolution

/sharpness as well because of the nature of color negatives (dye

clouds instead of grain.)

I am with Todd. The NPC, NPH films and VC from Kodak are

great, but for absolute sharpness, Reala can't be beat.

If I could not borrow a med. format, I'd go for Kodachrome 25. Prints are more expensive than color neg, but they should produce fine results. I wonder why they dropped the Ektar ISO 25 negative film? I used to have a Fuji 690 III that would have been right at home with a 20-person group photo.

John, you did not specify how big an enlargement you will be making. I have found that the one place where 35mm falls the shortest of medium format is group shots like the one you describe. If there is any way you could rent a medium format rig for the occasion I would strongly suggest it. If this is not possible then Kodak Portra 160NC rated at 100 and developed normally.

<B>Kodak Supra 100</B>. Grainless. Razor-Sharp. Deep

exposure lattitude and v. easy to scan. Also doesn't need to be

refrigerated. I've used it for years (first as "PJA", then as "PJ100")

- my favourite (ahem, only!) daylight colour film.

I did some testing of color negative films a while back, enlarging to 20x30 from 35mm negatives. Reala is head and shoulders above the pack. NPS, on the other hand, which Fuji describes as the "professional" version of Reala, is an imposter. It is actually less sharp and has more grain than 400-speed NPH. If you plan to shoot any Fuji film other than Reala, you might as well shoot NPH and enjoy the extra speed with better quality than NPS.

 

I regularly make 16x20s with Reala that my clients can't tell from medium format.

You might want to try a couple shots with fill-in flash.

You can flip a coin between Reala and Kodak Supra 100 - I've scanned them both from film, and they are indistinguishable as to grain and resolution. Slightly different color palettes.

 

At one time Konica had a 50-speed neg film but I don't know if it still is available or how it compares to the newer 100 films.

 

The Kodak portrait films (160 this or that) are pretty close to the first two.

"over exposing color negative by about a half stop helps resolution /sharpness" - this is wrong - especialy if you are going to scan the neg - you should slightly underexpose for greatest sharpness. I have to say though that any 1/2 descent medium format camera is a better option than 35mm for this type of thing - you can afford be a little less concerned about technique and film choice and concentrate on getting a good picture.

John,

ANY of the 100ASA color negatives films will do nicely. There is no neod to go to the expense of shooting transparency film and having an interneg made. Medium format is an even better idea, but you will get good results with your M6 on a tripod. Use fill flash if it's an outdoor shot. My personal favorite of the 100asa color neg films is SUPRA 100.

Good Luck

John:

 

Konica stil makes 50 speed Impresa which IS the sharpest, finest grein colour neg film. If you can find it, it is worth looking for.I have seen 30x40 prints from it and have done 16 x 20 wedding shots with it.

 

cheers

Whatever film you use, get some prints from a Fuji Frontier system.

I will also support Fuji Reala 100 here. I am a recent convert to using it for landscapes (rated at 80) but its origins were as a Portrait film so you will have no problems with those faces. The grain is superb and a 15x10 looks great. (the largest print my Frontier lab will do)

Oh , by the way , I forgot to mention I tried a roll of Konica Impresa 50 a couple of months ago and found it has a pronounced blue cast outdoors and the grain wasnt any different to Reala on a 12x8 Frontier print under a Nikon 8x loupe.