Fuji Reala for Sunny/Cloudy lighting?

[manuel_garcia5]

I'm heading to Cancun soon and would like some tips on shooting Fuji

Reala 100 under Sunny/Cloudy conditions? I've decided that I will

shoot Reala exclusivly while there. I've been keeping track of the

weather down there and it goes from T-storms, to partly Sunny, and

then partly Cloudy. Changes all the time. I'm going to be shooting

family shap shots, the ruins, the locals, and of course the beach.

For cityscape shots I'll use my tripod and for low light situations

or fill I'm going to use my Minolta 3500xi flash. Thanks!

[manolis1]

"I've decided that I will shoot Reala exclusively..."

 

Your decision is the Best of the Best.

Reala is going to cover all your needs. Do not forget to carry with you a Polarizer filter. Definitly you will need it at the beach.

Manuel, I wish you to have Fantastic Vacation and if you do not mind allow me to recommend you to visit the Isla Mujeres.

[eric_rayboy]

HAHAHA. The Isla ... Bring an underwater housing.

[lex_jenkins]

Reala is outstanding for bright, contrasty lighting. Some folks find it a bit flat under cloudy or overcast skies. I like it well enough, tho', that it's the only medium format color negative film I stock in my freezer.

 

If you like Reala and think you may want or need a little more kick, tho', try NPS. Very similar in most respects with a bit more saturation, at least on the Frontier machine proofs I've had made. Very brilliant greens.

 

BTW, Reala has excellent reciprocity characteristics making it user friendly for those nighttime, long exposure shots. And it handles odd lighting such as various color temperature streetlights as well as can be expected from any color film. Be sure to download and print out a copy of Fuji's data sheet so you can estimate the necessary exposure adjustments.

 

I'll attach a sample, tho' it won't prove much in jpeg form online. MF Reala 6x6cm (Rollei 2.8C TLR) on 6x6" Frontier proof. I was testing the film for contrast handling on a typically harshly sidelit Texas summer day. It passed brilliantly. Tho' you can't see much in this jpeg, in the original print the entire lamp pole has highlight detail, as do the leaves in the background - nothing is washed out white. In the circular shadow between the yellow bug light and white reflector there is visible detail, as there is on every bit of tree bark and every leaf. Yet the overall effect is of a sparkling print, not dull or flat as one might expect from a print able to hold that much detail.

 

And in the original print every letter and number on the yellow bug lamp is legible. That's partly a testament to the Rollei lens but it also takes good film and printing to convey what a lens is capable of.

 

I can't say I've been quite as impressed with Reala under heavy shade, but there's no film that can do it all. NPS, on the other hand, behaves very well under heavy tree cover.<div></div>

[paulrumohr]

Reala is fantastic for this. I shot it in a Contax T3 in sunny/cloudy conditions on a recent

cruise to Mexico and had prints done on a Fuji Frontier.

 

The results were OUTSTANDING. The film was a great match for the Carl Zeiss lens on the

T3, too.

 

The detail was amazing and the prints had beautiful tonality.

[scott_eaton]

Reala is an exellent, all purpose print film, and I agree it's a bit flat under heavy clouds, but it still works. You can try rating it a bit slower like EI 50 or so under really flat lighting which beefs up density and saturation for those frames with low contrast.

 

Only thing I disagree about is any claim that NPS is more saturated than Reala. NPS is the pro/portrait version of Reala, and I'll argue strongly that it's the more conservative of the two films, and has less contrast, not more.

[lex_jenkins]

I only got the impression that NPS has somewhat more saturation and contrast than Reala from comparing Frontier proofs made by the same lab. And it wasn't that NPS was more saturated across the spectrum - it was mainly the greens that stood out.

 

I'll have to talk to my favorite lab next time I'm there, see what kind of paper they're using, what adjustments they make for proofs (not custom prints).

[felix müller]

Yes, the pictures from Reala are very soft under diffuse lighting. No contrast at all.<div></div>