What's the best type of film for enlargements?

[l_plate_driver]

Hi,

 

I mainly shoot landscapes and intend to do some enlargements to 8x12.

 

I use either Fuji Superia 100, Sensia 100 (the "New" one with "Super

Fine Grain" and RMS 8) or Provia 100F. Velvia is a bit too saturated

for my tastes.

 

Which would be the best for enlargements to 8x12 and why?

 

Thanks for your opinions.

[marshall]

Any of those would be fine at 8x12. The lower the grain number, the less you'll see that grain, but those are all relatively fine-grained, sharp films. "Best" for printing depends partly on subjective preference and partly on how you're getting them printed. [There are a bunch of threads on this topic, with notable contributions from Scott Eaton, among others, discussing how films work with papers. I won't pretend to be able to offer that expertise.]

[michael_hohner]

8x12 is tiny. You can easily blow up Provia 100F and the new Sensia 100 to 16x24 without hitting their limits (although this may show the limits of the lens that you used).

[roman_kuznetsov]

Any decent pro or semi-pro ISO 100 negative film will do. 35mm Reala is a good bet. When shot with good prime lens stopped to its optimum (Minolta 50/1.7 at about f/4.5 for example) it can be enlarged to remarkable clean and sharp 8x10' prints, even they can be easily mistaked as medium format.

 

Modern 400 speed films like Royal Supra or Portra UC will give you very acceptable 8x10s too.

[jbq]

At 8x12 pretty much any ISO 100 film (positive or negative) will produce good pictures, and you're more likely to be limited by your technique than by the film (I know it's the case for me) - trusting your lenses' marked hyperfocal distance is a sure way to end up with pictures that aren't as sharp as they could be.

[imaginator]

I agree that most 100 speed films will do fine, so your choice should depend on the conditions... the light. I tend to use Sensia (or Astia) for full sunlight, Provia for full or part sun, and Velvia for overcast or shade (where it's high contrast and satuaration help) You might also consider having a couple warming filters for slide films (especially for overcast/shade)