[LFLee]

Hi all,

It seem to me that color film in 120 format is getting fewer and fewer...

Kodak Portra 400, Portra 160, Ektar 100 are 3 that are still in production (but price keep increasing..)
Fujifilm Pro 400H is getting very expensive as I heard production stopped, I really like the colors from this film.

So total of only 4 options left for color film ?

I would love to try other films option, before they all gone ...
and I have some expired Fujichrome Velvia 50 slide film that come with the 67 I bought.... anyone interested in film swap?

[gofour3]

Are you not interested in shooting 120 slide film?

Phil.

[LFLee]

Are you not interested in shooting 120 slide film?

Phil.

I am... but that guy gave me like 40 rolls of Velvia 50. They are expensive I know..... but I heard for slide film exposure needs to be accurate compare to negatives. So want to hold off until I have more experience with film.
I worry about exposure with negative film before I start shooting, but after few rolls I realized they are actually quite flexible, so now I don't worry much about exposure anymore with negatives.

[Mr_Radzins]

Well, at least in UK one can get a lomography color 120 film, but i never tried it myself, so i don't know what it actually is. And on Amazon uk still available some Fuji Superia Xtra 400 for around reasonable price. And Fuji Pro 160 NS, but these are obviously last stock. I tried only 400H myself, and i do like colors a lot.

[Jonathan Mac]

Fuji 400H hasn't been discontinued. A Japan-only variation of it has been discontinued, as has Superia 400 (though it still seems to be available).

Fuji Pro 160NS is also still available, and is my favourite film. Unfortunately, the Fuji Pro films are more expensive that Portra. Portra has finer grain and is apparently more forgiving with exposure, but I find the Fuji colours much more natural and pleasing, so I mostly use them. Regarding flexibility of exposure, I recently shot a roll of 400H in a folding camera from the 50s with guessed exposure on every shot, including with a 10-stop ND filter, and they all came out great.

Ferrania (currently rising slowly from the dead) are supposedly due to produce a 100-ish ISO C41 film in 135 and 120 format in a few months, along with some kind of slide film. I'm looking forward to trying out the C41, as the few rolls of Ferrania 100 (135) I managed to get before they vanished are amazing.

I have heard bad things about all Lomography 120 films, so I avoid them. While the film itself is from other manufacturers, it's made with very poor quality backing paper which bleeds the printed text onto the film and is then visible in photos. It's no cheaper than that from the more established brands either.

[Silent Street]

I am... but that guy gave me like 40 rolls of Velvia 50. They are expensive I know..... but I heard for slide film exposure needs to be accurate compare to negatives. So want to hold off until I have more experience with film.
I worry about exposure with negative film before I start shooting, but after few rolls I realized they are actually quite flexible, so now I don't worry much about exposure anymore with negatives.

You had best freeze those 40 rolls if you are going to expose the lot slowly.

C-41 is easy pickings for exposure; I favour beginners moving swiftly to transparency film after a period using negative film so they have an understanding of how and why exposure is different and the need for it to be accurate between two very different types of film. . Your exposure will need to be within 0.5 stop correct (ideally 0.3 for projection, 0.5 for printing) with this emulsion's slight latitude, unlike C-41 films where you can blithely disregard (and be completely unaware of) small exposure errors that are easily covered by the negative film's gracious latitude. It is recommended you brush up on spot metering so you can master Velvia in a wide range of lighting conditions. Leaving the camera's meter to each and every exposure does not provide you with the high level feedback of exposure that Velvia requires.

Statements on the web in several forums about Fuji 400H et al amount to nothing more than mostly unfounded and confusing heresy. If you want to know what film is or will be discontinued wait for an official Fujifilm announcement rather than rely on forums for information.

[gofour3]

You have the 67ii & AE metered prism. If you use aperture priority and the matrix metering, then you will have no issues with slide film exposure.

The issue you will have is the slow 50 ISO of the Velvia, you will have to use a tripod for all your shooting. Just make sure you have at least a skylight filter and optionally a cloudy and morning & evening filter, to make sure your colour temperature is correct for specific shooting.

Phil.

[desertscape]

I remember that you shoot mostly portraits but Velvia 50 is not well suited for that application; skin tones are way off. Astia was one of the better slide films for that. Provia 400 X does well for portraits as well. My favorite print film? Fuji 160 Pro S.

Velvia 50 is in high demand, especially the old version in 220.

[destroya]

i have shot all the ones you listed and they are all good films. are you wet printing or are you scanning? sfor me, slide film is easier to scan than neg film. But a wet enlarger print from a neg is awesome compared to a digital file print (at least to me).

if you are scanning i would try the slide film. if not.....

try to shoot some reala if you can find it. its my favorite along with ektar as i usually take pictures of things, not people. I have lots of color neg film i would be willing to swap for the velvia.just let me know what you are looking for.

[itshimitis]

i have shot all the ones you listed and they are all good films. are you wet printing or are you scanning? sfor me, slide film is easier to scan than neg film. But a wet enlarger print from a neg is awesome compared to a digital file print (at least to me).

if you are scanning i would try the slide film. if not.....

try to shoot some reala if you can find it. its my favorite along with ektar as i usually take pictures of things, not people. I have lots of color neg film i would be willing to swap for the velvia.just let me know what you are looking for.

I second the suggestion of Reala. Lovely tones to that film. Rich colours but not as highly saturated as Velvia 50 and with more latitude as well as being at 100 ISO. Love the stuff.

[Nuff]

Velvia is definitely not for people photos. It's landscape only. Also I found I had to use spot meter to get a decent exposure. It's the hardest to shoot slide film with the lowest DR. But that's why it's so saturated.
If you want to take photos of people with slide film, get some Provia 100f or if you can find any, Kodak E100G. Astia is impossible to find now.

[AquaDome]

Fuji Pro 400 gives me the colors I want when shooting landscapes.
I have seen some amazing brilliant colors with Ektar 100, but I'm not getting them in my exposures.
Portra 400 gives you a lot of latitude in exposure, but I find the colors a bit dry.

Slide film is a whole different adventure. Shoot a roll by the camera's meter and see how it does.
There really isn't any other way to learn slide exposure than getting your film processed and saying "I knew that one was going to be too dark..."

BTW: Which Velvia is it? Is it old Velvia or new Velvia?

[K David]

It seem to me that color film in 120 format is getting fewer and fewer...

Check Freestlyphoto.biz. I can think of very few films that they don't carry.

[wombat2go]

Fuji Pro 400 gives me the colors I want when shooting landscapes.
I have seen some amazing brilliant colors with Ektar 100, but I'm not getting them in my exposures.

I am using both of those. For home processing the Fuji Pro 400H is easier to load onto the spiral because it has a stiffer substrate.
However I can load the Ektar, although it takes more time in the dark.
So i just purchased another 5 roll pack of Ektar 100.

Also Ektar is better with the old cameras with shutters limited to 1/100th.
In the summer, bright days we have no option but " sunny f/22" with the iso 400.

[Johnny Rod]

I'm slowly getting back into photography and am very much the amateur. I see a lot of people going on about how great Velvia is but it seems odd to be using a slide film - are most of them (you) in fact scanning the developed film rather than actually putting them in a slide projector? So far I've only ever shot negative film for prints, and scanned the odd print, so no post-production at all.