using tungsten film outdoors with 85B filter

[jim_simmons]

Shooting with an 85B filter is the "correct" way to shoot Fuji NPL

(tungsten 160 ISO film) outdoors, but I'm wondering what the

difference in total tonality and color will be when compared to Fuji

NPS (daylight film) without a filter. Will it be close, but some

colors just don't appear quite right? Or will it look almost

identical? Or will it not look the same, but when viewed without

comparison to a daylight film, it still looks like "correct" color?

I've got a chance to pick up a bunch of Fuji NPL very cheap, and I'm

wondering if I can use it for both indoor and outdoor work.

[john_shriver]

It can "mostly" be corrected in printing. After all, printers are used to printing daylight films exposed under indoor incandescent lighting.

 

But you may cramp the dynamic range of one of the color emulsions, and get off-colors (crossover) in highlights or shadows. Fuji changes the color balance of the film by changing the relative sensitivity of the three layers (R, G, and B sensitive). But it's not a severe risk, since this is a low-contrast film with a lot of dynamic range.

 

You only lose 2/3 of a stop with the 85B filter (ISO 100), so that's not much of a penalty for outdoors shots.

 

Also, ask the folks who print your negatives.

[jim_simmons]

Actually, John, I scan my own film, manipulate a lot in photoshop, then print on a profiled Canon inkjet printer. So I've got lots of opportunities to adjust the color in scanning and photoshop work. I'm just wondering if this will get me so close that I'll only need to do a little adjustment in photoshop, and will ultimately look like properly exposed daylight film once printed. Sounds like I should be able to, from what you're saying.

Thanks for the quick reply.

[john_shriver]

Shoot a roll (even if you have to pay retail) before you make a large investment, and look at the R, G, and B curves in your scanning program, and see that they aren't badly cramped at the ends. Shoot a grey scale too, if you have one around, in daylight and in tungsten. But, a three-point white balance should clean up most of it. You probably can produce a canned curve to clean it up, especially if you develop it from a good grey scale.

[jim_simmons]

Thanks, John, that's excellent advice. Shooting a white card, a gray card, and a grayscale in a test shot in both lighting setups is a great idea. And a canned curve, too. May be able to make it somewhat automatic. I'm still in that test-all-films phase before I settle in on one or two stocks to use. In transparency stock I've settled on Astia 100f and Kodak e100G. Velvia 100f is nice for soft light, but I can barely punch a scanner through its dark shadows (if I keep the highlights under control), and I just don't like Provia colors very much. I'm very interested to see how the dynamic range of the NPL and its colors compare.