Best color negative film for Alaska trip

[rob_crilley]

My wife and I are going to Alaska at the end of September. Being a

relative "newbie" to SLR photography, I was hoping someone can lend

some guidance as to what film is best. From what I understand, I

should probably stick with color neg film at this point since I will

need the tolerance with exposure mistakes. Up until this point, I

have been a devout Fuji customer for the old P&S. I like the Superia

X-tra 400 (the only thing I've used in the new SLR so far), but wasn't

sure if the NPH 400 would be a better choice given the

location/weather.

 

So as not to shock the wife too much at first, I have started my foray

into the SLR world with just the Nikon N65 with a Nikon 50/1.8 and a

Sigma 28-200/3.5-5.6 HZM. Happy with the setup so far, though the plan

is to eventually upgrade to all primes and possibly a better body. We

probably won't encounter many sunny days, and we're hoping for

dry/overcast. The concentration will be in Denali and the Kenai

peninsula. As you might guess, the subjects will consist of mostly

lanscapes and wildlife.

 

Thanks in advance for anything that you might be able to offer.

[Tony Rowlett]

Photo Wright Labs on Fireweed Lane in Anchorage is a good pro lab, so no matter what film you bring with you, and if you get into Anchorage at all during your trip, you won't have to wait until you get home to get some of your film developed.<p>

For what it's worth, you'll see splendid arrays of yellows, greens, oranges, and reds up here during the time you'll be here. It's very beautiful during September. I think you'll enjoy your trip.

[Tony Rowlett]

I reread your post and saw that you said "end of September" but that's OK, because you'll still have lots of colors. It's just that you'll see more of the yellows on the ground instead of in the trees.

[markus_arike]

With 200mm being your longest lens, I don�t anticipate that you�ll have too many worthwhile opportunities shooting wildlife, but I�ve never had the pleasure of visiting Alaska, so hopefully I�m wrong. With that in mind, as that will leave landscape/scenic situations, I would urge you to ditch the 400 speed film and instead bring ISO 100 film. I assume that you�ve been working with a good tripod or at least have access to one. If you want to simply record your vacation, that�s fine, but if you intend on bringing home high quality images that you�ll enjoy for years to come, I�d get a good tripod.

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<BR>Back to film, if you plan on taking landscapes or scenic photographs, and I would imagine the sunrises in Denali are breathtaking, the ISO 100 film will record a sharper more saturated image.

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Since you like Fuji films, I�d suggest you bring Superia Reala, and Superia 100. I�d also say that Kodak Gold 100 and Royal Gold 100 would be excellent choices. For 200 speed films, Superia 200 and Gold 200 would be good, inexpensive choices. Although I�ve only shot one roll, Agfa Vista 200 is seems surprisingly good. Greens seem extremely vivid, maybe a bit too vivid, but the film scans <I>very</I> easily with a minimum amount of fuss.

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Point & Shoots work best with faster films, i.e. ISO 400, but an SLR affords you many more film choices because you get a wider range of apertures. With this in mind, you might consider shooting a couple of rolls of the above ISO 100 films <I>before</I> you leave for Alaska. Lastly, since your experimenting anyway, maybe try a roll of slide film. Don't worry about a thing - Set your N65 to Matrix, and Aperture Priority and you'll get good exposures. The meter is very accurate. Trust it. It won't let you down. <BR><BR>As for NPH 400, as a portrait/wedding film with low contrast it doesn�t seem very well suited to Landscape/Nature. As an ISO 400 film period, it's not well suited to landscape photography. I�ve tried it for wildflowers, wildlife, and <I>I wasn�t impressed</I> but it's not designed for this type of subject. I like it <I>very much</I> for people pictures. Anyway, I�m sure you�ll have a most enjoyable trip, as well as many great photographic opportunities.

[rob_crilley]

Thanks for the great advice, guys. I always wanted to be able to use 100 (ie. Reala) film for it's fine grain. Can I still use it for landscapes with my slower Sigma 28-200/3.5-5.6 when it is overcast? I do have a quick-release tripod and a remote trigger, but don't want to have to use it for every shot. Also, a lot of what I have read about Reala suggests shooting it at ISO 80 or even 60. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

Thanks again...and I'll definitely take a shot with some slide film before I go.

[jimstrutz]

It's been raining off & on for the last several days, but there were some periods of sunshine. Denali was coudless & wonderfull for at least part of last Friday. Typical Alaskan end of season. Count on it being mostly dreary weather, but hopefully drier than it has been today. I like Alaska in the fall, the colors are nice, but there isn't a great deal of sunshine.

 

I'd bring Fuji Superia Reala in case the sun does show, and Superia 400 in case it doesn't. The high contrast & saturation of the cheap consumer film works well for low contrast but colorfull scenes & Reala does a nice job in the sunshine.

[john lehman, college alask]

BTW, Markus' comment on the breathtaking Denali sunsets reflects the fact that he has never been here ;-) They ARE breathtaking, especially with the Fall colors at their peak this weekend (I just got back from Wonder Lake, where I shot alot of Fuji Realia along with most of my remaining Agfa Ultra 50, now discontinued), but by the end of September the Park will be closed for the winter.

 

Bring both Realia and something faster (e.g. Superia 400) -- in late September the daylight is fading fast

[jeff_moag1]

Rob,

 

You can shoot with slow film using your slow zoom, on a tripod. For most landscape work you will want to stop down the lens to get better depth of field, so the max aperture is irrelevant. This is true whether using the zoom or your fast 50mm prime. Setting up the tripod can be a hassle, and carrying it always is. For me, if the scene is worth photographing, it's worth the time to set up the tripod, to compose carefully and to meter critically. Of course when I'm on vacation I often blaze away without the tripod on things that I know won't make great photographs, but that I just want to have a record of.

 

As far as wildlife is concerned, you're very unlikely to get any really stunning shots with your 200 of truly wild animals. But never fear -- every national park I know of has roadside herds of photogenic mammals. I got frame-filling headshots of bighorn sheep with a 200 two weeks ago in Jasper N.P. The trick here is to watch your background. Crop out the road, the row of RVs and fellow tourists. Then zoom out and shoot a few more frames that puts the whole circus in context. Stay in the car, and don't try this with bears.

[dr._steven_bein]

Re Jeff's comment,"Stay in the car, and don't try this with bears. " Disregard this. Just go with another photographer, one you do not value, who can not run as fast as you. :-)

[brien_szabo]

I guess eveyone is assuming you have a tripod. My wife and I were up in Alaska at that time last year and it was pretty gray. If you're not using a tripod 100 and 200 will be fairly useless as f/16 and smaller will be impossible. 400 speed is always safe but for walking around or darker areas/times, pick up a couple rolls of Fuji 800. Yea the grain is there but somtimes grain can add to the drama of a shot not hinder it. If you have a tripod, ignore the above.

[jayson_cardwell]

MY SUGGESTION TO YOU IS THIS. BRING AN ARRAY OF FILM, IN ALL DIFFERENT SPEEDS. YOU'LL FIND THAT YOU MAY WANT TO SHOOT LATER INTO THE EVENING, AND A 400 OR 800 SPEED WILL SUIT YOU JUST FINE. IF YOU'RE UNSURE, TAKE A GOOD 200 SPEED (I LIKE ROYAL GOLD, PERSONAL OPINION). IT'LL BE A GOOD 'ALL-AROUND' SPEED DECENT COLOR SATURATION AND FAST ENOUGH THAT YOU WON'T HAVE TO CONPENSATE WITH FLASH, AND SHUTTER SPEED TOO MUCH TO GET THE EXPOSURE YOU WANT. MY ADVICE TO YOU IS TAKE A SEVERAL ROLLS OF 100-400 SPEED, AND THEN 2-3 ROLLS OF 800 JUST INCASE YOU'RE NOT SURE. WHILE YOU'RE AT IT EXPERIMENT. GRAB SOME SLIDE FILM, TAKE A ROLL OR 2 IT WON'T HURT TO TRY IT OUT, EVENTUALLY YOU'LL WANT TO SHOOT SLIDE AND ONLY SLIDE. THIS'LL BE A GOOD TRIP TO HELP YOU FIGURE OUT WHICH FILM'S WORK THE BEST FOR YOU AS A SHOOTER!

[rob_crilley]

Thanks to everyone for responding. All of the advice has helped a great deal. Unfortunately, our Alaska trip had to be cancelled due to the terrorist attacks. Perhaps next spring we'll try it again. For now, we're driving to Acadia NP in Maine and then hopping the ferry to tour Nova Scotia. Any photo tips for these areas would be appreciated if you have any experience there. Thanks again.

[potok]

this was my lead airport safe bag for recent trip to Alaska (June, 2002) few Fuji NPS 160, some NPZ 800, the rest just get 20pack of Press 400, and some NPH 400. Bright skies, true, but tall trees, and clouds, and long twighlights, so iso 400 will give you less worry.