My first experience with Kodak Professional Portra 160

Jellygeist · 10-03-2017, 08:21 PM

This is all on Portra 400 with a Pentax KM

These are my Pentax 6x7 Portra 400 shots

And more 6x7 shots

Do note that most of those shots are in the evening or near sunset, which will affect the colour palette. If you browse my Flickr you will see tons of Portra 400 shots I've taken with a non-Pentax camera (the Canon AE-1) that shows off what it does in different lights.

murrelet · 10-03-2017, 09:54 PM - **1 Like**

Portra 400 is my go-to color film. I've experimented some with 160. So far, I see little difference. Living in a nearly constantly overcast city, I'll likely stick to Portra 400. I don't find the grain of 400 unpleasant. Here are some samples. 160 above, 400 below. All development and scanning was done by the same lab. Scans were only lightly sharpened in Lightroom, no other processing.

nickthetasmaniac · 10-03-2017, 10:17 PM - **2 Likes**

I shot Portra160 quite a lot when I first started shooting film seriously, and looking back through my archives I think some of my favourite 35mm shots were taken with it.

I've ended up using Portra400 more, as it offers the added flexibility of a 400iso film, without any perceptible loss in image quality.

leekil · 10-03-2017, 11:16 PM

Comparing the older Portra 400 NC with the current Porta 160, there was noticeable grain on the 400 NC compared to the Portra 160 printed at 13"x19". The grain on that 400 could be pleasing to some, but I was mixing the Portra 160 and 400 NC with digital photos, so I would have preferred less grain than what the 400 provided. (The 160 However, the current 400 is a newer generation of film, so it could have somewhat less grain than the 400 NC.

**goatsNdonkey** · 10-04-2017, 08:18 AM

murrelet and nickthetasmaniac -- thanks to both of you for posting those great examples!

I can see how the portra 400 has a bit more punch in the color and contrast, without making the color garish, as I tend to find Kodak UltraMAX. My main reservation about using 400 speed film is that it would keep me away from those small-number apertures that offer bokeh. Perhaps I need to get some ND filters, either that try the Portra 400 mainly with longer/slower lenses!

leekil -- I don't mind some grain, but it is good to be aware that my roll of 160NC may be grainier than my remaining later formulation roll of that speed Portra. If I get some 400 to try, I'll probably stick with the later variety, not the NC or VC.

nickthetasmaniac · 10-04-2017, 03:35 PM

Originally posted by goatsNdonkey

My main reservation about using 400 speed film is that it would keep me away from those small-number apertures that offer bokeh. Perhaps I need to get some ND filters, either that try the Portra 400 mainly with longer/slower lenses!

I've often rated Portra400 at 100iso with faster lenses and achieved good results...

IgorZ · 10-05-2017, 06:55 AM - **1 Like**

My experience with Portra 160 has been similar to yours. I find it really needs sun and then it produces really rich deep colours. It seems to produce softer colours in direct sunlight. I didn't like the results I got from using it in a flat light situation. I was taking photos of a waterfalls which were in a deep bowl-like ravine. There was no direct sunlight and the photos turned out boring. Mind you, I used 120 film for the attached photos, and 135 for the waterfalls (don't have those handy right now). So maybe there is a format difference...

Attached Images

tuco · 10-10-2017, 10:50 AM - **1 Like**

Older shots posted here on PF before. But anyway a contribution.

New Portra 400

New Portra 160

**goatsNdonkey** · 10-10-2017, 11:25 AM

When shooting (new) Portra 400 at ei200, do you have the film developed normally or have it pull-processed in some way.

Originally posted by tuco

Older shots posted here on PF before. But anyway a contribution.

New Portra 400

New Portra 160

tuco · 10-10-2017, 11:29 AM

Originally posted by goatsNdonkey

When shooting (new) Portra 400 at ei200, do you have the film developed normally or have it pull-processed in some way.

I develop my own film. I did a test at EI 200, 400, 800 and 1600 ( not shown) all on the same roll at the standard C-41 development time. Portra 400 has a huge exposure latitude ( derived from their motion picture film) . In the shadows, it has finer grain at EI 200.

**goatsNdonkey** · 10-10-2017, 11:41 AM

Originally posted by tuco

I develop my own film. I did a test at EI 200, 400, 800 and 1600 ( not shown) all on the same roll at the standard C-41 development time. Portra 400 has a huge exposure latitude ( derived from their motion picture film) . In the shadows, it has finer grain at EI 200.

That's good to know. I recently shot a roll of BW film that had a surprisingly narrow exposure latitude. The contrast was great, but shadow and highlight detail was poor. It has started me looking in commentaries about films for any mention of exposure latitude.

tuco · 10-10-2017, 11:55 AM

Originally posted by goatsNdonkey

That's good to know. I recently shot a roll of BW film that had a surprisingly narrow exposure latitude.

Long toed (i.e. it's characteristic curve) BW film typically has a narrow exposure latitude. The tabular grain BW films I've tried have good latitude. You can get both more exposure latitude and higher DR by highlight compression ( over expose and under develop - developer dependent though) with a lot of BW films. So much so that I don't use a light meter outside anymore when I employ that technique.

nickthetasmaniac · 10-10-2017, 03:03 PM

Originally posted by goatsNdonkey

When shooting (new) Portra 400 at ei200, do you have the film developed normally or have it pull-processed in some way.

Whenever I've shot Portra400 at iso100 or iso200 I've always had it developed at box speed. No issues.

**goatsNdonkey** · 10-10-2017, 05:02 PM

Originally posted by tuco

Long toed (i.e. it's characteristic curve) BW film typically has a narrow exposure latitude. The tabular grain BW films I've tried have good latitude. You can get both more exposure latitude and higher DR by highlight compression ( over expose and under develop - developer dependent though) with a lot of BW films. So much so that I don't use a light meter outside anymore when I employ that technique.

The narrow exposure latitude BW was Kodak 100 Tmax. It seems to have much less exposure latitude than either Ilford FP4 Plus or Fomapan 100 which I have also used in the past year. Years ago I did some BW film developing and BW print enlarging/developing, but I don't have the facilities to do that now.

This got me thinking about how Kodak Portra 400 shot at 200 might work as a black-and-white film, if its color scans were desaturated with software?
Here's a cropping of your 400 at 200 test shot of the mixer converted that way. I dialed down the highlights enough to get more creamy modeling in the white mixer.

It would be interesting to find a *Universal* film that functioned equally well as color or black and white. This might be a nominee for that title?

.

tuco · 10-11-2017, 08:03 AM

Originally posted by goatsNdonkey

The narrow exposure latitude BW was Kodak 100 Tmax.
.

100TMX has decent exposure latitude.

Edit:

TMX vs FP4 characteristic curves. The characteristic curve of a film is also developer dependent but you can see FP4 has a broader shoulder than TMX.

10-03-2017, 09:54 PM - 1 Like	#17
murrelet Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Portland, OR, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 506	Portra 160 vs 400 Portra 400 is my go-to color film. I've experimented some with 160. So far, I see little difference. Living in a nearly constantly overcast city, I'll likely stick to Portra 400. I don't find the grain of 400 unpleasant. Here are some samples. 160 above, 400 below. All development and scanning was done by the same lab. Scans were only lightly sharpened in Lightroom, no other processing.

10-10-2017, 05:02 PM	#29
goatsNdonkey Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Fulton County, Illinois Posts: 3,730 Original Poster	Originally posted by tuco Long toed (i.e. it's characteristic curve) BW film typically has a narrow exposure latitude. The tabular grain BW films I've tried have good latitude. You can get both more exposure latitude and higher DR by highlight compression ( over expose and under develop - developer dependent though) with a lot of BW films. So much so that I don't use a light meter outside anymore when I employ that technique. The narrow exposure latitude BW was Kodak 100 Tmax. It seems to have much less exposure latitude than either Ilford FP4 Plus or Fomapan 100 which I have also used in the past year. Years ago I did some BW film developing and BW print enlarging/developing, but I don't have the facilities to do that now. This got me thinking about how Kodak Portra 400 shot at 200 might work as a black-and-white film, if its color scans were desaturated with software? Here's a cropping of your 400 at 200 test shot of the mixer converted that way. I dialed down the highlights enough to get more creamy modeling in the white mixer. It would be interesting to find a Universal film that functioned equally well as color or black and white. This might be a nominee for that title? . Last edited by goatsNdonkey; 10-10-2017 at 05:31 PM.

10-11-2017, 08:03 AM	#30
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,026	Originally posted by goatsNdonkey The narrow exposure latitude BW was Kodak 100 Tmax. . 100TMX has decent exposure latitude. Edit: TMX vs FP4 characteristic curves. The characteristic curve of a film is also developer dependent but you can see FP4 has a broader shoulder than TMX. Attached Images Last edited by tuco; 10-11-2017 at 09:59 AM.

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10-03-2017, 08:21 PM	#16
Jellygeist Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Brandon, MB Photos: Albums Posts: 334	This is all on Portra 400 with a Pentax KM These are my Pentax 6x7 Portra 400 shots And more 6x7 shots Do note that most of those shots are in the evening or near sunset, which will affect the colour palette. If you browse my Flickr you will see tons of Portra 400 shots I've taken with a non-Pentax camera (the Canon AE-1) that shows off what it does in different lights.

10-03-2017, 10:17 PM - 2 Likes	#18
nickthetasmaniac Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 2,361	I shot Portra160 quite a lot when I first started shooting film seriously, and looking back through my archives I think some of my favourite 35mm shots were taken with it. I've ended up using Portra400 more, as it offers the added flexibility of a 400iso film, without any perceptible loss in image quality.

10-03-2017, 11:16 PM	#19
leekil Pentaxian Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Albums Posts: 2,003	Comparing the older Portra 400 NC with the current Porta 160, there was noticeable grain on the 400 NC compared to the Portra 160 printed at 13"x19". The grain on that 400 could be pleasing to some, but I was mixing the Portra 160 and 400 NC with digital photos, so I would have preferred less grain than what the 400 provided. (The 160 However, the current 400 is a newer generation of film, so it could have somewhat less grain than the 400 NC.

10-04-2017, 08:18 AM	#20
goatsNdonkey Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Fulton County, Illinois Posts: 3,730 Original Poster	murrelet and nickthetasmaniac -- thanks to both of you for posting those great examples! I can see how the portra 400 has a bit more punch in the color and contrast, without making the color garish, as I tend to find Kodak UltraMAX. My main reservation about using 400 speed film is that it would keep me away from those small-number apertures that offer bokeh. Perhaps I need to get some ND filters, either that try the Portra 400 mainly with longer/slower lenses! leekil -- I don't mind some grain, but it is good to be aware that my roll of 160NC may be grainier than my remaining later formulation roll of that speed Portra. If I get some 400 to try, I'll probably stick with the later variety, not the NC or VC.

10-04-2017, 03:35 PM	#21
nickthetasmaniac Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 2,361	Originally posted by goatsNdonkey My main reservation about using 400 speed film is that it would keep me away from those small-number apertures that offer bokeh. Perhaps I need to get some ND filters, either that try the Portra 400 mainly with longer/slower lenses! I've often rated Portra400 at 100iso with faster lenses and achieved good results...

10-05-2017, 06:55 AM - 1 Like	#22
IgorZ Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Ottawa Posts: 1,735	My experience with Portra 160 has been similar to yours. I find it really needs sun and then it produces really rich deep colours. It seems to produce softer colours in direct sunlight. I didn't like the results I got from using it in a flat light situation. I was taking photos of a waterfalls which were in a deep bowl-like ravine. There was no direct sunlight and the photos turned out boring. Mind you, I used 120 film for the attached photos, and 135 for the waterfalls (don't have those handy right now). So maybe there is a format difference... Attached Images

10-10-2017, 10:50 AM - 1 Like	#23
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,026	Older shots posted here on PF before. But anyway a contribution. New Portra 400 New Portra 160

10-10-2017, 11:25 AM	#24
goatsNdonkey Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Fulton County, Illinois Posts: 3,730 Original Poster	When shooting (new) Portra 400 at ei200, do you have the film developed normally or have it pull-processed in some way. Originally posted by tuco Older shots posted here on PF before. But anyway a contribution. New Portra 400 New Portra 160

10-10-2017, 11:29 AM	#25
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,026	Originally posted by goatsNdonkey When shooting (new) Portra 400 at ei200, do you have the film developed normally or have it pull-processed in some way. I develop my own film. I did a test at EI 200, 400, 800 and 1600 ( not shown) all on the same roll at the standard C-41 development time. Portra 400 has a huge exposure latitude ( derived from their motion picture film) . In the shadows, it has finer grain at EI 200.

10-10-2017, 11:41 AM	#26
goatsNdonkey Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Fulton County, Illinois Posts: 3,730 Original Poster	Originally posted by tuco I develop my own film. I did a test at EI 200, 400, 800 and 1600 ( not shown) all on the same roll at the standard C-41 development time. Portra 400 has a huge exposure latitude ( derived from their motion picture film) . In the shadows, it has finer grain at EI 200. That's good to know. I recently shot a roll of BW film that had a surprisingly narrow exposure latitude. The contrast was great, but shadow and highlight detail was poor. It has started me looking in commentaries about films for any mention of exposure latitude.

10-10-2017, 11:55 AM	#27
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,026	Originally posted by goatsNdonkey That's good to know. I recently shot a roll of BW film that had a surprisingly narrow exposure latitude. Long toed (i.e. it's characteristic curve) BW film typically has a narrow exposure latitude. The tabular grain BW films I've tried have good latitude. You can get both more exposure latitude and higher DR by highlight compression ( over expose and under develop - developer dependent though) with a lot of BW films. So much so that I don't use a light meter outside anymore when I employ that technique.

10-10-2017, 03:03 PM	#28
nickthetasmaniac Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 2,361	Originally posted by goatsNdonkey When shooting (new) Portra 400 at ei200, do you have the film developed normally or have it pull-processed in some way. Whenever I've shot Portra400 at iso100 or iso200 I've always had it developed at box speed. No issues.