TraditionalPhotographer.NET / Darkroom / Color: Film, Paper, and Chemistry

Color Prints Like Cibachromes?

Derek Lofgreen — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:01:43 GMT

Okay, I will ask you guys here. Seems like this crowd is more "into" color stuff than other places on the net. Don't get me wrong I love BW too.

I want to make some nice color prints that look as close to Cibachrome as possible without using Ciba. I have been using a hybrid process for my color stuff for a while now but I can't help but think that if I could just make a wet print it would be clearer/sharper. I think it would, because my BW optical prints blow away anything my scanner and printer can make. So, I could go out and dump a ton of cash for a new scanner or pay out the nose for drum scans and then a printer etc. Or I could just use the darkroom I already have.

I want to try the darkroom route. So, my question to you after all of that is what do you think is the best starting point using existing film and paper to get as close to a Ciba as possible. Keep in mind I will be shooting 35mm, 6X6, and some 6X9.

Portra VC?
fuji pro160C?
Kodak gold?
endura?
fuji chrystal archive?

screw it all and use a lab?

Thanks,
D.

Kodak Releases KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTAR 100 Film

roteague — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:31:38 GMT

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/ektar/ektarIndex.jhtml?id=0.2.26.14.5.14&lc=en

"The World's Finest Grain Color Negative Film!

Ultra-vivid color

Exceptional sharpness

Extraordinary enlargement capability
Featuring ISO 100 speed, high saturation and ultra-vivid color, EKTAR 100 offers the finest, smoothest grain of any color negative film available today.

Ideal for scanning, and offers extraordinary enlargement capability from a 35mm negative. A perfect choice for commercial photographers and advanced amateurs."

Seems to only be available in 35mm:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e4046/e4046.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/ektar/qAndA.jhtml?id=0.2.26.14.5.14.14&lc=en

It looks like it will be available sometime starting in October. I'll have to get a couple of rolls to try.

Kodak Ultra Endura Color Paper

roteague — Sat, 24 May 2008 21:07:21 GMT

From Kodak:

"KODAK PROFESSIONAL ULTRA ENDURA High Definition Paper—a new high gloss, iridescent surface paper. There's no backprint so you'll be able to use in a variety of commercial applications.

ULTRA ENDURA High Definition Paper shares a similar emulsion set with the other ENDURA Papers, featuring pleasing flesh-tone reproduction, great highlight and shadow detail, and excellent print longevity.

KODAK PROFESSIONAL ULTRA ENDURA High Definition Paper extends the ENDURA Family to include a high-contrast premium photographic paper designed for commercial applications. The paper boasts a thick base for a premium feel. Optimized for both digital and optical printing, the paper creates intense blacks, as well as an extended color gamut for rich colors and attractive flesh tones. Also, because the paper is non-backprinted, it maximizes both the placement and method by which it can be displayed."

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/papers/ultraEnduraHighDef/main.jhtml

Fuji FP-100C and other Fuji Instant Films

roteague — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:02:12 GMT

The current issue of Fuji's Cable Release is about Fuji instant films, including FP-100C (color), FP-100B (B&W) and FP-300B (high speed B&W).

You can find it here: http://www.fujifilmusa.com/shared/bin/CableRelease_May_2008_CR08.pdf

BTW, there is a great article on doing Emulsion lifts using FP-100C45. This should be especially interesting now that Polariod is dead.

New Portra 400 NC and VC

Eirik Berger — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:59:44 GMT

Film isn´t dead, it just smells funny. :D
Kodak announces the [url=http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/films/portra/400main.jhtml?id=0.2.26.14.7.14.22.5&lc=en]new Portra 400 NC and VC[/url] today!

Another [url=http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/prodtech/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003693382]link[/url] with info

Testing the forum: Fortia SP

Eirik Berger — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:10:51 GMT

I am just trying to get familiar with the forum and its possibilities for showing images etc. It is my first posting if you don´t count the introduction.

My first contribution will be an image of a very old bulldoser dumped by the coal company. Once it was hidden by the rocks but slowly the small river is uncovering this rusty beauty ;)

The picture is taken with the Fujifilm Fortia SP, a film that Fuji dont sell outside Japan (or Asia maybe). To bad, because it is a fun film. I have heard that it is specially made for photographing cherry trees in blossom.

It is a very saturated and contrasty film, and I have found the colors to be very unpredictable on snowy surfaces. The dirty snow in the background was even more magenta/violet than it is now, I have removed some the color cast to make it look more natural. The bulldoser is actually more neutral or "grey" in real life, but I like the way this film makes it real red-brown-rusty.

It is scanned on a Nikon Coolscan 9000 with a custom input profile, so this image looks much like the original except for the snow in the background.

[img]http://foto.no/bildegalleri/images/b_323642.jpg[/img]
Details: Toyo 45 CF, Apo Sironar N 135mm f5,6 @ f22. Som front tilt is applied. 6x9 rollfilm back. Fortia SP