(newbie) What film most accurately reflects what we see?

I have been doing some reading about film on the internet and have a
question about what kind of film does one get if they want the most
accurate reproduction what we see through the SLR.

I currently use Fujicolor Superia 100, and have been told to look into
Fujichrome Velvia, but after reading some peoples experiences with it,
discovered that the film somehow enhances the colors, maybe a bit too
much. People claim that it alters skin tones, and makes colors that
are not very vivid and bright become more vivid and bright.

I would also prefer to work with ISO 100 film because I can take shots
in most light conditions without a tripod this way.

The film I am using now takes relatively drab pictures in comparison
to what I see when I take the shot.

Is there anything out there that exists that will do what I want? I
want one film for all kinds of photos. I just want to have the
pictures be perfect reproductions of what I see.

On 2-Oct-2003, (Adrian) wrote:

I have been doing some reading about film on the internet and have a
question about what kind of film does one get if they want the most
accurate reproduction what we see through the SLR.

I currently use Fujicolor Superia 100, and have been told to look into
Fujichrome Velvia, but after reading some peoples experiences with it,
discovered that the film somehow enhances the colors, maybe a bit too
much. People claim that it alters skin tones, and makes colors that
are not very vivid and bright become more vivid and bright.

I would also prefer to work with ISO 100 film because I can take shots
in most light conditions without a tripod this way.

The film I am using now takes relatively drab pictures in comparison
to what I see when I take the shot.

Is there anything out there that exists that will do what I want? I
want one film for all kinds of photos. I just want to have the
pictures be perfect reproductions of what I see.

This is going to seem like a smartass answer, and perhaps it is, but the
real answer is no film creates perfect reproductions of what we see.

Part of the role of the photographer is to interpret the scene in the way
that s/he feels most accurately reflects what s/he wants the viewer to see.
Film selection, scanning, color correction, printing technology, ink and
paper selection, lens selection, filters, exposure, and lighting all play a
part in what the final output looks like.

If your pictures are drab, it's probably your exposure or lens, more than
the film you use, that is responsible. If you shoot negative film, the lab
makes a lot of difference in how your prints look.

--
Tom Thackrey
www.creative-light.com

(Adrian) wrote in message . com...
I have been doing some reading about film on the internet and have a
question about what kind of film does one get if they want the most
accurate reproduction what we see through the SLR.

I currently use Fujicolor Superia 100,

This is a negative film, used to make positive prints.


and have been told to look into
Fujichrome Velvia,

This is a 'positive' film, to make transparencies, also called
'slides'.

but after reading some peoples experiences with it,
discovered that the film somehow enhances the colors, maybe a bit too
much. People claim that it alters skin tones, and makes colors that
are not very vivid and bright become more vivid and bright.

That's true. i hate it, and have used ONE roll.

I would also prefer to work with ISO 100 film because I can take shots
in most light conditions without a tripod this way.

Kodachrome 64 is what you want. It's close enough to 100 for all
practical purposes that you won't notice the difference.

The film I am using now takes relatively drab pictures in comparison
to what I see when I take the shot.

Is there anything out there that exists that will do what I want?

No, and there never will be.

I
want one film for all kinds of photos.

No one film is suitable for everything, but Kodachrome 64 (and 200)
comes closer than anything else out there.

I just want to have the
pictures be perfect reproductions of what I see.

No such thing is possible, not even in principle. It's physically
impossible to get perfect color reproduction without essentially
reproducing the original materials and lighting conditions. What we
achieve in good color photography is 'good enough to fool us' color
reproduction. We don't need perfect color reproduction anyway.

I would look into Kodak EPN 100 slide film. This is what I used to reproduce
fabrics and paints. I rarely had problems with EPN when other films delivered
shifts with various dyes in fabrics.
http://www.jonlayephotography.com

Reala and Royal Gold are good ones to try.
Smitty
"Adrian" wrote in message
om...
I have been doing some reading about film on the internet and have a
question about what kind of film does one get if they want the most
accurate reproduction what we see through the SLR.

I currently use Fujicolor Superia 100, and have been told to look into
Fujichrome Velvia, but after reading some peoples experiences with it,
discovered that the film somehow enhances the colors, maybe a bit too
much. People claim that it alters skin tones, and makes colors that
are not very vivid and bright become more vivid and bright.

I would also prefer to work with ISO 100 film because I can take shots
in most light conditions without a tripod this way.

The film I am using now takes relatively drab pictures in comparison
to what I see when I take the shot.

Is there anything out there that exists that will do what I want? I
want one film for all kinds of photos. I just want to have the
pictures be perfect reproductions of what I see.

None are absolutely accurate. As I become fussier, I become more
disappointed. Fuji films tend to be green, and the shadows tend to go
blue. Kodak tends toward yellow. I looked at some recent comparisons of
slide films that were done very carefully. Kodachrome 64 stood out as far
more natural than anything else. Among the print films, I lean toward
Kodak as well. I use Portra 160NC a lot. It's not perfect, but it's good.
Kodak Gold 100 and Gold 200 (called Bright Sun and Bright Sun or Flash now)
are also quite good, but somewhat more saturated.

Adrian wrote:

I have been doing some reading about film on the internet and have a
question about what kind of film does one get if they want the most
accurate reproduction what we see through the SLR.

I currently use Fujicolor Superia 100, and have been told to look into
Fujichrome Velvia, but after reading some peoples experiences with it,
discovered that the film somehow enhances the colors, maybe a bit too
much. People claim that it alters skin tones, and makes colors that
are not very vivid and bright become more vivid and bright.

I would also prefer to work with ISO 100 film because I can take shots
in most light conditions without a tripod this way.

The film I am using now takes relatively drab pictures in comparison
to what I see when I take the shot.

Is there anything out there that exists that will do what I want? I
want one film for all kinds of photos. I just want to have the
pictures be perfect reproductions of what I see.

Norman Worth wrote in message link.net...
None are absolutely accurate. As I become fussier, I become more
disappointed. Fuji films tend to be green, and the shadows tend to go
blue. Kodak tends toward yellow. I looked at some recent comparisons of
slide films that were done very carefully. Kodachrome 64 stood out as far
more natural than anything else.

No surprise there!

Among the print films, I lean toward
Kodak as well. I use Portra 160NC a lot. It's not perfect, but it's good.
Kodak Gold 100 and Gold 200 (called Bright Sun and Bright Sun or Flash now)
are also quite good, but somewhat more saturated.

I like the Royal Gold films (unless Kodak have changed the name
again). Is is Ektar or High Definition this week?


Adrian wrote:

I have been doing some reading about film on the internet and have a
question about what kind of film does one get if they want the most
accurate reproduction what we see through the SLR.

I currently use Fujicolor Superia 100, and have been told to look into
Fujichrome Velvia, but after reading some peoples experiences with it,
discovered that the film somehow enhances the colors, maybe a bit too
much. People claim that it alters skin tones, and makes colors that
are not very vivid and bright become more vivid and bright.

I would also prefer to work with ISO 100 film because I can take shots
in most light conditions without a tripod this way.

The film I am using now takes relatively drab pictures in comparison
to what I see when I take the shot.

Is there anything out there that exists that will do what I want? I
want one film for all kinds of photos. I just want to have the
pictures be perfect reproductions of what I see.

Norman Worth wrote:

... I use Portra 160NC a lot. It's not perfect, but it's good.

What would you say are the flaws of Portra 160NC, if it's not perfect?

To the original poster:
Kodak EPN has already been recommended as an accurate slide film.
Astia would be Fuji's entrant as most-color-accurate slide film.
Velvia is very far from real-world accurate.

Among print films, printing plays a huge role, but in general, if
you use Kodak films with Kodak paper and Fuji films with Fuji paper,
or Agfa paper with either, you'll get the best possible results.

Print films to try: Fuji Reala 100, Kodak Portra 160NC (low contrast)
and Portra 400UC (higher contrast). All are superb, and the 400UC
has finer grain than most 100 speed films. Reala was called Reala
because of the way it accurately reproduces colors. When scanned,
most slide films cannot reproduce colors as accurately as Reala.

Royal Gold was discontinued, so ignore the recommendation for it.

This is a bit off topic, since you only asked about film types, but the
rest of the process has much to do with color accuracy as well ... finding
a lab that consistently gives me good results has been quite an odyssey of
late (being recently married, I lost my darkroom temporarily). Many of the
1-hour labs out there don't run their daily tests (causing permanent
problems after the film is developed as poor chemistry isn't detected much
less corrected), printing the film itself is often automated ... which
essentially means the machine itself is taking an educated guess.

My suggestions on film: for faster films I've been very happy with fuji
NPZ800 and konica centuria 800 and 1600 (despite the grain, which with good
scanning/printing hasn't been a problem for me). Slower films I have come
to trust are Fuji Velvia/Provia and Kodachrome 64.

A friend of mine shoots only fuji superia 800 (low light wildlife), which
makes me wonder if he's magenta color blind because I've never seen any
superia print without a megenta cast.

Unless you're shooting slide for use solely in slide projectors, keep the
above in mind as the printing process has as much to with final color-
accuracy as the film itself.


--
"Corruption. The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold
in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Nietzsche

(Adrian) wrote in message . com...
I have been doing some reading about film on the internet and have a
question about what kind of film does one get if they want the most
accurate reproduction what we see through the SLR.

Kodachrome. Try it!



I currently use Fujicolor Superia 100, and have been told to look into
Fujichrome Velvia, but after reading some peoples experiences with it,
discovered that the film somehow enhances the colors, maybe a bit too
much. People claim that it alters skin tones, and makes colors that
are not very vivid and bright become more vivid and bright.

I would also prefer to work with ISO 100 film because I can take shots
in most light conditions without a tripod this way.

The film I am using now takes relatively drab pictures in comparison
to what I see when I take the shot.

Is there anything out there that exists that will do what I want? I
want one film for all kinds of photos. I just want to have the
pictures be perfect reproductions of what I see.