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05-22-2017, 06:29 PM   #1
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Using Portra 800 as 400 Film

So I left the States for my vacation in a hurry, and I only brought some Portra 800 as my only high-speed film. I am a bit reluctant to buy any new film at this point but I need some ISO 400 film. I know it is possible to use Portra 800 as a 400 film, but do I need any special darkroom instructions?

Sincerely

05-22-2017, 06:39 PM - 1 Like   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by butangmucat Quote
So I left the States for my vacation in a hurry, and I only brought some Portra 800 as my only high-speed film. I am a bit reluctant to buy any new film at this point but I need some ISO 400 film. I know it is possible to use Portra 800 as a 400 film, but do I need any special darkroom instructions?

Sincerely
AFAIK, Portra 800 will work great shot at 400 and with normal processing. It is probably common practice for some to shoot it this way.
The nice thing is that you don't has to shoot every frame at 400. If you go indoors and need more speed, just set your meter to 800 and shoot, then set the meter back to 400...
05-22-2017, 06:49 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Swift1 Quote
AFAIK, Portra 800 will work great shot at 400 and with normal processing. It is probably common practice for some to shoot it this way.
The nice thing is that you don't has to shoot every frame at 400. If you go indoors and need more speed, just set your meter to 800 and shoot, then set the meter back to 400...
Do I get advantages like finer grain?

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05-22-2017, 08:39 PM - 1 Like   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by butangmucat Quote
Do I get advantages like finer grain?

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I haven't ever used Portra 800, but my experience with most C41 films when overexposed is that you get the appearance of finer grain, at the expense of resolution and tonal range.
If you're scanning your fillm, any underexposure tends to result in noisy shadows. Some overexposure will remedy the shadow noise issue and so will give the appearance of finer grain. With more overexposure you will get more density on the negative, plus the highlights will kinda hit a density/exposure ceiling but the shadows get pushed up further from the unexposed film base and closer to that highlight ceiling, so you end up with a shortened tonal range on the film. With the added density, the scanner will have more trouble "seeing" through the film which will result in a loss of fine detail.

As I said before, you're probably fine shooting Portra 800 at 400. My guess would be that the film will give best results in the 640-800 range.

05-23-2017, 08:20 AM - 1 Like   #5
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It would help if you could explain your particular need for 400ASA - for example, are you shutter speed-limited on your film body/bodies in bright light?

Depending on your lens fit-out, a 1-stop neutral density filter might be more useful for you.

Colour film usually takes an extra stop of light very well, but some emulsions react extraordinarily badly to underexposure, as if there is a discrepancy between their actual and box speeds. The potential for this to be the case has been known since Ansel Adams's time. Fomapan 400 is said to have this issue (and Foma's own EI vs time development curves appear to prove it), and no Lomography film I ever shot except for their 100 did as well at its box speed as it did when shot a stop slower (and I might arguably have got better results if I had shot the Lomo 100 at fifty, but I'm now out of it and so well stocked with colour film that I've no need to buy more for quite some time).
05-23-2017, 08:30 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by pathdoc Quote
It would help if you could explain your particular need for 400ASA - for example, are you shutter speed-limited on your film body/bodies in bright light?

Depending on your lens fit-out, a 1-stop neutral density filter might be more useful for you.

Colour film usually takes an extra stop of light very well, but some emulsions react extraordinarily badly to underexposure, as if there is a discrepancy between their actual and box speeds. The potential for this to be the case has been known since Ansel Adams's time. Fomapan 400 is said to have this issue (and Foma's own EI vs time development curves appear to prove it), and no Lomography film I ever shot except for their 100 did as well at its box speed as it did when shot a stop slower (and I might arguably have got better results if I had shot the Lomo 100 at fifty, but I'm now out of it and so well stocked with colour film that I've no need to buy more for quite some time).
I bought Portra 800 as a travel film because before I left the States, B&H didn't have Portra 400 in stock. My initial scans of my 800 had some more grain than I expected. That's why I wonder if I shoot it at 400 and process normal will remedy this.

P.S. because I am using Portra 800 too fast, I am now considering buying new film. Fuji here in China is way cheaper than both Kodak and Fuji in the US, so I am trying to decide between the Fuji Press 400 and 400H.

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05-23-2017, 09:03 AM - 1 Like   #7
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Can't say about Portra 800 but in my simple latitude test of Portra 400 the grain gets finer in the shadows at EI 200. These are all home developed at the standard C-41 dev time.









05-23-2017, 09:08 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by tuco Quote
Can't say about Portra 800 but in my simple latitude test of Portra 400 the grain gets finer in the shadows at EI 200. These are all home developed at the standard C-41 dev time.
With all the fun of digital ,we too easily forget how good film was/is with a good camera/lens/processing.
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