Films to shoot in 2019 (Part 1)steemCreated with Sketch.

in #filmphotography5 years ago

In this post I will talk about the two colour films I have been shooting the most and why I am using them.

I. Kodak Ultramax 400

I have few words to describe how much I like this film.
Firstly, it’s very cheap and sold almost everywhere.
Secondly, it keeps impressing me with it’s high resolution and contrast. It’s a true all-rounder that does most of the things well.
On the top of that, it is very tolerant to exposure errors with decent latitude.

In Hong Kong it sells for 4$ 36 frames roll which is a good deal.

ISO 400 gives me all the flexibility I need in terms of light. If you have a reasonably fast lens e.g. f2.8, there will be very little situations you won’t get a shot.

F2.8 @1/30s gives you 8EV for ISO 400 which is what you normally have in most streets with public light at night.
If you underexpose by two stops you will be at 6EV which is pretty dark…underexposing film is not ideal but there will be something on the negative to work with.

Conclusion: Kodak Ultramax 400 is by far the colour film that I have used the most in the last few years. It might not be the perfection of Kodak Portra 400 but it’s damn good.



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End of the day light with Kodak Ultramax 400

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Day light with Kodak Ultramax 400

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Crazy light with Kodak Ultramax 400

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Kodak Ultramax 400 Underexposed

II. Fuji Venus 800

This film was not supposed to be in this list but unfortunately Fuji discontinued the Natura 1600 and I had to find a replacement.

The Natura 1600 used to be my choice for photo documentary when I wanted to zone focus in not that good light conditions. I used it to document the HAIMA Typhoon in 2016 and HATO in 2017. This film was perfect for these situations since I could keep the shutter speed at 1/125s and the aperture @f5.6 which really helped to keep things focused when there was no time to focus.

Other thing I loved was its gritty look that made things feel real.

The Fuji Venus 800 shares most of these attributes but looses one stop.

I used it to document the MANGKHUT aftermath and the photos kept the same feeling but moving from ISO 1600 to ISO 800 created more difficulties than I was expecting.

Unfortunately, when it comes to high ISO colour films there aren’t many option…If I am not wrong we are left with Kodak Portra 800 and Fujifilm Venus 800…this until Fuji decides to discontinue another film… maybe I will move to Kodak DELTA 3200 for low light photo documentary.

Anyway, this is still a great film to shoot. It sells around 7$ which is not bad.

Conclusion: If you need a fast film that does not cost a fortune and shows things as they are, Fujifilm Venus 800 is the one to get.



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Fujifilm Venus 800

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Fujifilm Venus 800

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Fujifilm Venus 800

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Fujifilm Venus 800

Part 2 with B&W films to come soon!

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Thank you for sharing @fcdvpds! I love the series of photo you shared with us. I only used Ultramax 400 once and really enjoyed it. I my will definitely be the next color film I buy again !

I’d be very interested in seeing what you shot on Fuji Natura 1600. Are you planning on posting some, or is there a link you can send me to? :)

thanks @atmospheric-haze! I will make a post on the Fuji Natura 1600...really felt disappointed when Fuji discontinued it...unfortunately it seems there is no way back for Fuji they are 100% not the digital which is a shame for a company with such history...I remember back in 2012 they were still selling amazing film cameras! cheers!

That is a shame indeed. You may still be able to find some second hand ones online? Of course it wouldn’t be fresh film, but who knows ! The age might add something to it.

Looking forward to see your post on Fuji Natura 1600!

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thanks @curie! well appreciated!

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thanks @misterakpan! It's my pleasure to be in the @curie blog! :-) see you there! thank you!

I'm surprised by every image, dirty cities are very photogenic.

I like the contrast it has, and with a little vintage style gives a lot of originality to your photographic record. Well, congratulations.

:-) thanks @fernando.lubezki! yes Honk Kong is messy and dirty and looks great on the photos!

did you ever try pushing the Fuji? I'm sure it would go easily to +1 (ISO 1600) and even +2 (ISO 3200). Plus: you get beautiful grain and contrast!

I ve tried to push a couple of B&W films and pushed once the Kodak Super Gold 400 to iso 1600. Not very impressed with the results. Anyways, I already had in mind to try Portra 800 @3200. The problem is that it sells for 10$ in HK and most labs add 1.5$ to the development if you wish to have the film pushed...sounds far to much! Thanks for the tip!

Films... You are into analog photography? It's pretty cool, it takes more effort than its counterpart, yeah? But it definitely does a great job with the photos!

I think I do love the Fuji film more, well, have no idea about the technical dits just judging by the photos here😃.. Oh, and the last photo you took with the Kodak, I like the effect there too...

I love the photos you took, they are really cool! That must be a street in China...😃

thanks @audreybits! maybe you should give film a try! :-)

Maybe someday...😉

Awesome post. If you did just one of these per day, you would be doing much, much better.

I know it's not as easy, but it's well worth it!

Thanks for sharing! 😉

See what I mean?

;-) thanks!

I like those analog photos a lot. They remind me of my childhood when my uncle was developing them himself in a dark room (bathroom with black shades on the windows :D ) Oh, that excitement about how those photos would turn out. And then you finally see them and you think, SHOOT, I've closed my eyes again, lol! That flash was so strong that I could see it in front of my eyes for a few hours :D

I see that more and more people shot on film nowadays and it makes me smile. I like that this way of photography is being kept alive. Are you developing your photos as well?

hi @delishtreats! glad the post remind you good moments! at the moment I bring films to the lab...so I don't develop and I don't scan them myself...anyways what I like is to be outside taking photos so I am happy to skip the development part...cheers!

Great stuff. Will check both films out!

Thanks for this very useful info on films to use in 2019, @fcdvpds.

hi @zorank! you haven't posted in the in the #filmphotography group lately! hope to see some photos soon! cheers!

There will be more, very soon, @fcdvpds.

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