High grain film

[ben_eriksson]

I'm new to film photography, and I thought I'd like to experiment with high

grain images. But those nasty film manufacturers have as far as i understand

eliminated most grain in most films, leaving me wondering if there still is some

way that I could achieve very high grain in colour images.

 

Suggestions for films and techniques would be greatly appreciated.

[roger_smith4]

Try high speed films. Fuji 1600 is pretty ugly looking.

Underexpose Kodak Max 800 a tad.

[edgar_njari]

Push 2 stops, besides increased grain you'll also get some interesting crossover anomalies in which you might find certain charm also.

[michaelging]

shoot tmx 3200 and develop it in Rodinal , you will see grain.

[robert lee]

Cheap and easy to find: Kodak Gold 200.

[phil_jarrett]

All the above films are good and grainy. You could also try Ilford 3200, however you must rate it down a bit, say 3000... that way you run some chance of finding a black in the neg. Rated straight, and everything will be a shade of gray.

[edgar_njari]

He said color images

[john_shriver]

Underexpose C-41 film by three stops, you'll get plenty of grain and crossovers. Especially with the cheapest 800 speed C-41 film you can find. No need to spend extra money pushing.

 

Other than that, Kodachrome 200 is pretty grainy, as would be the P1600 Ektachrome (requires a one stop push).

 

Not that any color film has grain, it has dye clouds.

[ben_eriksson]

Phil, should i expose as 3000 and develop as 3200? And is D-76 a good developer for this film?

[r.t. dowling]

Look for some Kodak PJ800 (Ektapress). That stuff was grainy as hell. Royal Gold 1000 shows up every now and then... also worth trying. Kodachrome 200 is fun if you want the "color Tri-X" look.

[helenbach]

Another vote for Ektachrome P1600, rated at 3200 (which is a three-stop push in E-6: it is a 400 speed film in normal E-6). In tungsten light, or daylight with a conversion filter, Ektachrome 320T (EPJ) is also rather grainy when pushed three stops and rated at 2000, but it then has a very low dynamic range (ie it is very contrasty).

 

Best,

Helen

[michaelging]

GAF, or 3M used to have a transparency film that was ASA 500 that was very Grainy. I doubt if its still around though.

[jtk]

Fuji NPZ 800... just overexpose it by a stop and scan it.

[helenbach]

"Fuji NPZ 800... just overexpose it by a stop and scan it."

 

A typo for '...underexpose it by a stop...'? The graininess of colour neg films decreases with increasing exposure, especially as you come away from the toe, then less so in the middle and upper part of the characteristic curve. That's why just giving one RMS granularity value (usually at a density of 1) can be misleading. The granularity of the three layers is different as well.

 

Best, Helen

[terence_spross1]

Mad Mad has a post currently http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Gpho

 

Its about a process of using transparency film intended for E6 but developed in B&W chemistry as a first dev and C41 chem in additional steps as a reversal process, he would get grainy positives. He has posted an example.

 

Looks pretty grainy to me, assuming his scan is nearly a full frame.

 

Another poster was asking about C41 at room temperature and that will result in larger dye clouds also. In B&W with simple emulsions, you can get reticulation by varying temperature during processing. I'm wondering if the same can be done with color in a repeatable way to get the grainy look.

[berk_sirman2]

KODACHROME 200.

 

Vintage look, nice color palette, and LOTS of grain. One poster above said it was like Tri-X in color. He is absolutely right. Even the grain on Kodachrome 200 looks attractive in its own way, like Tri-X grain. It's not like grain on other color films, which is quite ugly.

 

I do not want to advertise Kodachrome 200 too much here as I'll get flamed. True, it is hopelessly outdated, technically inferior (grain, color rendition, reciprocity issues) and newer films like Provia 400F (or Elitechrome 200) are light years ahead. But Kodachrome 200 is most probably the weirdest color film on the market today, and that is a good enough reason to try it.

 

I recently shot a roll of Kodachrome 200 with 1950's Kodak Retina IIa camera, and I got pretty remarkable old fashioned images.

 

Berk

[larrydressler]

Kodachrome 200 is OLD Tri-X in Color. the new stuff (TRI-X) is tame. Want some B&W like OLD Tri-X try Lucky 400 SHD. Solaris 800 has alot of grain with rich color.

 

Larry

[bill_tuthill]

There's also the Add Noise filter in GIMP or Photoshop. I'm sure

Photoshop "experts" could tell you how to use a transparency layer

with diffusion gradient and gaussian feathering, but the Add Noise

produced by GIMP looks just like C-41 film grain to me.

[larrydressler]

In Photoshop Elements I can add it with a filter but like he said.... He is new to film photography. Let him see the real thing before he decides to add it from the computer.

 

Larry<div></div>

[gale]

Hmmm, add grain to the picture w/ photoshop or just shoot grainy film. I choose grainy film:<div></div>