daniel_kim7 Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Hello, I have a question on the noise level and the grain size of Portra 400NC. I have attached a picture that I shot with A-1 and 50mm f/1.4 at wide open. It was shot in the morning inside of a building with translucent windows that let some light in. I believe the shutter speed was around 1/60s. I've scanned this directly through a flatbed scanner Epson 4990 Photo in negative holders. Is this too much noise for 400 ISO? Is my A-1's meter off? Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you! Daniel Kim.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_kim7 Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 The negative was scanned at 4880dpi.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_chan4 Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I cannot tell much from the scans but there are 2 tips I can offer. 1) Film scanners will do much better than flatbed. 2) Overexpose the negative by up to 1 stop will be much less grainier when scanned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awahlster Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 film does not have noise any noise you find is induced by the scanner. As to grain size I shoot wedding stuff with Portra 400NC when I don't have enough light and I have never found it to have unacceptable grain much finer then most 400 ASA films you can go on to Kodaks Pro site and get the exact spec's to compare to another film. How does the negative look? is it nice and dense with a full range of tones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sattler123 Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Scanning any regularly exposed film increases the apparent grain. For scanning purposes you need to over-expose your film (I know sounds nuts). If at all possible I use slide film because it has much less grain and scans very nicely, but sometimes that's not a good choice - especially when you need faster films and/or the latitude print film offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egoldste Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I suspect this is a human meter problem and not a camera meter problem ;-)... your A-1 meter wanted to turn the large white wall behind your subject to middle gray and underexposed the negative, and you did not compensate. The advice you had relative to over-exposure is headed in the right direction... don't be afraid to hit C-41 films at +2 f/stops for longer gray scales and more saturated colors, the only caveat being that while they will print like a dream in an enlarger the dense negative may be difficult to blast through in some scanners... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_kim7 Posted February 12, 2008 Author Share Posted February 12, 2008 Thank you all for your advice! I am now shooting with EV+1, I will post the results after I get them developed. Thanks! Daniel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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