Kodak Gold 100 (GA-100) - C-41 suggestions for outdoors?

[jsb]

Now that fall is fast approaching and the bugs are going away I plan

to take quite a few hiking trips while the fall foliage is at its

peak. I would like to find a C-41 print film that is similar to

E100S or E100SW. Definitely something with clarity and very little

grain.

 

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I'm looking for a good print film for outdoors and am well acquainted

with Agfa Ultra 50 but would like to have something a little less

saturated for outdoor shots of people.

 

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No one seems to mention Kodak Gold 100 in 120... good, bad or

otherwise. I'm particularly interested in Gold 100 for two reasons:

price and "printability" but that's not the most important factor.

 

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I have no experience with Fuji print film and am looking for

suggestions. I'd also like to be able to make good Photo CD scans

from the negatives... I don't ask for a lot, do I?

[keith_l_wiebe]

Finding a good film for landscape work is hard these days. I love Agfa Ultra 50 but also run into trouble when trying to do some portrait work on the same roll of film although Agfa suggests trying this film if using a soft focus filter as it'll bring back some of the lost color! (I'm going to try that one of these days) Lately I've been running Kodak PRN and Kodak PPF 400. I was dissappointed in using the PPF 400 during high noon in Colorado a month ago as the highlights got washed out because of too high of contrast. I've used Gold 100 about 8 yrs ago and couldn't tell the difference between it and VPS for some indoor shots of people. Some outdoor shots were nothing to write home about. The grain is probably better in the PPF 400 than the Gold 100. I've shot some Agfa 125 (now it's 100) a couple of yrs ago and loved this film as some other people have (haven't heard anything bad about it yet) The new Kodak Porta films coming out in a month might be the answer to our needs but the price might be slighly higher. If price is a concern I would try some Fuji CN 100 as it can be had for around $2.25 a roll. I haven't tried any yet but that may be the way to go. I thought that Fuji CH 400 would be the way to go about 1 yr ago but it looked just like NPH in some photos taken at the same time (indistiguishable) I use NPH for all of my outdoor portrait work but like the CH 400 is weak in color and contrast-good detail just dull. Conclusion-use PRN in good light, PPF in lower light or when wanting to handhold. Possible Agfa Optima 100 or Fuji Cn100. I guess you can tell I'm not really happy with any of them! There's Kodak GPX 100 probably imported from Mexico that I liked about 5 yrs ago and I loved VHC for the contrast and color which is discontinued. How about Konida VX 100-cheap film and one of my portraits has the best color of any enlargements I have.

[lennart_estrvm]

Try Fuji Superia 100. It4s an excellent standard film with a grain finer than Gold 100. Or, as an alternative, Fuji Reala, a film that is lower in contrast than Superia and Gold.

[juergen_jakobi]

Keith,

as I wrote a few days ago (closest replacement for Ektar 25) I too

was using Vericolor HC (VHC) from KODAK for some years.

Yes, VHC is discontinued, BUT was replaced by EKTACOLOR ROYAL GOLD

100 HC (GPH). This one is still available and was /is far better than

VHC in terms of resolution and comes close to Ektar 25.

Bad news as I was told by a KODAK Rep. is that GPH will be replaced by

PORTA 125. Then there would be no 100 ASA negative film from KODAK

except VERICOLOR III for Tungsten light sources.

[scott_eaton]

This is a really tough call because so many of the above mentioned

films are being dicontinued.

 

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Currently Kodak's PRN is probably a better choice than the oddball

"G" designated films by Kodak. One of the best all around films made

by Kodak was amatuer 35mm Gold-Plus generation-3, but I know for a

fact the "G" series films never made it this far - contrary to claims

by Kodaks sales reps. I'd also feel confident that if your using a

commercial lab you'll get more consistent prints with PRN.

 

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For shooting fall foliage with a mix of unknown lighting conditions

I'd strongly recommend carrying both a moderate/high contrast film

(PRN, Superia) for when it's overcast or dusk and a low contrast film

like Reala for sunny conditions. VPS, NPS, PMC and NPH are too flat

for this type of subject material and PPF is horrible period. I don't

like Agfa and Konica so I'll just avoid commenting on them.

 

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In my own personal experience Fuji NHG pro will kick all these films

in the butt for all purpose use, but it's a little grainy compared to

the 100 films.

 

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Jason,

You must also be carefull when you shoot C-41 films as to what you

print them on. RA-4 papers vary as much as film.

 

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//scott