In The Bleak Midwinter - New Kodak Portra400 vs Vision3 500T 35mm

As we find ourselves nearing the darkest night of the year, more and more we end up losing light right when the most memorable moments are flashing before us. We do stretch the light we have as far as it can go, with fast lenses and high speed B&W film, but this season we have been capturing life as a movie with Kodak's Vision3 motion picture film. We will usually push the 500T at least 1 stop, and rate it regularly at ISO 1600, to capture all the colorful subtlety of what we witness in the faint fading light. This stuff works wonders! All year long we have been enjoying the light that cinematographers have been spoiled with for years, but now the Vision Technology has been passed down to all still photographers through the new Portra 400.

When Kodak sent us some "sample" Portra 400 in 35mm to test, we immediately had to see how it compared to our beloved 500T. Of course Portra is not Tungsten balanced, but we decided to rate them both the same, unfiltered, without push processing at all, and see how closely they are related. Since we have had good experiences rating the 500T from ISO 400-1600 with great latitude, we chose to stretch it a stop in either direction at night with mixed, contrasty, lighting. All the scanning was done on the Frontier with, surprisingly, very little color correction to match the stocks.

We didn't know what to expect, but it appears that they are very similar emulsions, with almost identical grain structure (due to the Vision hand-me-down). It seems that the 500T has a little less contrast, and picks up a bit more detail in the mixture of lighting. But both seem ideal for push processing to bump up the soft detail in the underexposed areas.

Shooting in extreme bright and shadowed scenes was the other strong suit that we had discovered of the 500T & 250D, so we found a high contrast evening location of a white building with glaring sun and deep shadows. We metered for the diffused light hitting the base of the building, then shot every aperture from f/1.2 all the way down to f/16 at 1/2000 sec.! To spare you the redundancy of looking at the same shot 16 times we selected the shots where the exposure actually made a difference.

It seems that both stocks do very well rated to be between 3 stops over (50), and 2 under (1600) in the mid-tones, which allows for a 6 stop margin of error. But the 500T still holds some exposure as much as 7 stops under! I would not knowingly underexpose even these amazing films more than a stop without push processing, though I also would shoot with confidence that no matter where I meter a scene the image will expose well. I mean, thats why we shoot film essentially. We don't need to chimp a shot, or even re-meter much at all, especially knowing that if we err on the side of overexposure it will be beautiful. And apparently the occasional underexposed shot would turn out as well! Granted, one would have to try very hard to underexpose an image 4 stops, especially when you know you could go over 8 stops in the highlights and be golden. It's the difference of f/1.4 and 16 for goodness sakes! What I walk away with from this example is; that no matter what the lighting situation is, or how you are reading the light, all the precious times and moments in life can be (as it should be) lived like a movie. :-)
Happy holidays from The Wright Brothers!

It's Our Favorite Time of Light - New Kodak Portra400 vs Fuji Pro400H

Welcome to the golden hour of film! The age old tradition of film photography has always possessed an inherent warmth and beauty, that transcends technical explanation. As photographers, we relish something called "The Golden Hour" (sometimes known as magic hour) which is the first and last hour of sunlight during the day, because the quality of light is such that everything becomes magically photogenic. Due to the diffusion of the sun's abundance of light, and the hues created by the atmosphere, everything is illuminated within photographic reach. Well, Kodak's new Portra400 has this magical quality packed right into the emulsion! No matter the lighting situation, Kodak's Vision Technology brings it within reach. Pretty much anything your eye can see now is visible within one frame. We have always loved film for this quality, but the limits have been stretched further than formerly possible.

Our curiosity was peaked when we heard word of this new film, just after Fuji began to faze out 400h (our preferred emulsion) in med format. We have been tapping into Kodak's Vision technology in 35mm motion picture film for over the past year, but couldn't figure out a good way to translate it into our medium format world. We immediately wondered if this new Portra4oo would be comparable to the 500T and 250D that we had fallen in love with. By the time Kodak sent us some "sample" rolls for us to test out, we had already gotten ahold of some 120 from a friend (Thanks Ryan!). Our first thought was to pit it against the tried and true 400h that we've stocked up on. Our main concerns were; latitude, color, and grain structure. So we began with a sunny day test.
The results don't blow me away with this first shot. It's a suitable replacement for 400h for sure, and that's the main concern really. But when I went in and scanned it way too large, I found amazing resolution, and the beautiful grain that was rumored. It's much smoother and sharper than the old emulsions, once you begin to print above 16x20 at least. ;-)
My next thought was on overexposure latitude. I decided to shoot the most backlit situation that I could find, and overexpose based on my shadow reading. Normal exposure, +2 over, and +4 over.
I knew that the Fuji could take it, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Portra actually held up much better. These are all straight scans (untouched) from our Frontier by the way. The Portra doesn't get as muddy in the highlights and has much cleaner color. But again, comforting but not mind blowing.
Negative film has always looked good overexposed, the main struggle in the film world has been in those shadows. Especially with Med format cameras, that rarely have faster lenses than 2.8. That's what we shoot 500T with f/1.2 lenses for. Normally, I would never underexpose Fujifilm. But I just had to see what it did in comparison to the Portra. I brought my TLRs to my friend's (Francisco The Man) show at a local dive bar, and got the light meter reading from the main stage lights and shot away. It was nearly black in there so I didn't expect much.
Normally, I wouldn't shoot color film in this ugly of light. Maybe 3200 Delta if I can get away with it. I did not push process this film, even though I underexposed the highlights up to 5 stops. Fuji begins to look horrible at 1 stop under, but the Portra looks exponentially better in comparison each stop under! At 12,000 ISO the fuji begins to even loose the detail in the light bulbs, but the new Portra 400 keeps some shadow detail up to 6400 ISO! To give you an idea, a guy with a 5D was having trouble getting their faces without loosing the sign at 6400. I will probably never underexpose film again, but I will most definitely push this Golden film to 3200.

And speaking of gold, take a look at the Portra backlit at twilight. No still film has known this kind of shadow detail. I mean,I'm not giving up my 500T motion picture film, But I also cant wait to shoot some new Portra400 in 4x5! :-D
"It's our favorite time of light, just before the day kisses the night. You see the red winged blackbirds fly. The sun's a big ol' lazy eye. When the day is bending low, and rolling fields begin to glow, feels like we traveled all this way, just so I could hear you say, It's our favorite time of light... It's our favorite time of light, just before the day kisses the night. You see the red winged blackbirds fly. The sun's a big ol' lazy eye. The moon is waiting in the wings, dreaming up some midnight song to sing, and I know we'll be okay evry time I hear you say, it's our favorite time of light." - Over The Rhine

Morning has broken! - 220 400H vs. 35mm Kodak Vision (new Portra 400 technology)

Stop holding your breath and crossing your fingers, because the time has finally come. A brand new film stock, unlike any before, is being released from Kodak! The new Portra400 "Incorporates Entertainment Imaging's KODAK VISION Film Technology" and is "the world’s finest grain high-speed color negative film" according to Eastman Kodak today. You know what this means? Still photographers will finally be able to capture the light that cinematographers have been spoiled with for years. You can see more on Kodaks website, KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA 400 Film
This is the dawn of a whole new line of light sensitive materials. Created for the hybrid workflow, the Vision technology harnesses light like no other emulsion. We have tested it's limits with our Nikon F3 250 exp. film backs, and processing at Technicolor for the past year. I cant tell you how excited I am! Vision in medium and large format! But not until October... So for now, in honor of the release of the new Kodak Portra400, we give you a taste of 35mm Vision technology.

35mm Kodak Vision3 250D up against Fuji PRO400H 6x7cm negative!
This is far from a fair comparison here. A 6x7 negative is 4 times the size of a 35mm frame, and the P67 SMC glass is the best around. I exposed 35mm 250D at ISO 400, and 220 400H at ISO 200. I performed straight scans of each on our Fuji Frontier at an 8x10 proportionate print resolution, then scaled directly to original magnification. You can see for yourself...


It is a brand new day and film is not dead, it's just entering a new generation. And it's heirs shall have more majesty as splendor than ever! c'mon... Say it with me... LONG LIVE FILM!

The night is darkest just before the dawn - 220 Fuji 400H (RIP) vs. 35mm Kodak 500T

For many artists straining to see in the dark of a digital age, the recent news of Fuji ending production of 400H in 220 can feel like the final blinding blow from the digital demagogues. After seeing Kodachrome, 800Z, and countless other beautiful stocks (not to mention Polaroid) vanish before our eyes, we have clung to the analoged daylight of the past. After all "Photography" breaks down to "the writing (archiving) of light" in greek, and as photographers we cherish moments of light. I recently received an alarmist text from a fresh photographer, choosing to shoot film, reading "Film is dead, Fuji is killing it!" Another such phone call left me with the image of a successful photographer weeping at her desk, after running into "discontinued" notifications online. I have followed up these emotional reactions with reassurance and rationality, but as these occurrences are becoming all too common, I decided offer our foresight to the public.

The future may seem pretty dark, but to everything there is a time and a season, and you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. And if Fuji's 400h is an exegetical egg, then Kodak's Vision3 is the Goose that's laying the golden egg! But platitudes aside, let me assure you that film is only going to get better! How do I know this? Because I have seen the future, and it's brighter than ever. You see, film is manufactured (and will continue to be for a long time coming) primarily for motion picture films. TV shows and movies pay millions of dollars per production to film manufacturers. So it is in the interest of; say Kodak, to spend all of it's R&D on motion picture stocks. This technology is only handed down to us, still photographers, years later; i.e. Kodak's celebrated Ektar 1oo is based off of a technology used by cinematographers for a decade.

As recently as this June kodak has been releasing the most exciting emulsions in their Vision3 line of film stocks. We have been shooting these ECN2 negative films since January, and working with Technicolor to have our 250 exposure rolls processed. Our journey into the future has been quite amazing! Our first test was high ISO 35mm 500T vs 800z in low light, and the results blew us away. We then followed up with some real world examples, and upped the ante by comparing 500T to 35mm 400H and 800Z in 220! Now I'm going to blow some minds...
We shoot the Vision3 500T film in our 35mm Nikon F3's with bulk backs, and one of our favorite setups for MF is our Pentax 6x7 with Fuji 400H. This is far from a fair comparison here. A 6x7 negative is 4 times the size of a 35mm frame, and the P67 SMC glass is the best around, not to mention 500T's native ISO is 1000 & tungsten balanced! But I figured what the heck... I exposed 35mm 500T at ISO 800, and 220 400H at ISO 200 (both wide angle lenses were shot wide open). I performed straight scans of each on our Fuji Frontier at an 8x10 proportionate print resolution, then scaled directly to original magnification. You can see for yourself...

I know that the Pentax glass is superior, and the Nikon is a little softer wide open, but this stuff is ridiculous! Printed at 8x10 neither would have grain visible to naked eye, but the 35mm shot would actually have smoother texture! And just looking at the emulsion close up, I can't help but get excited about what "new" bright ideas Kodak has on the horizon for still photographers... Perhaps in medium format? :-)

4X5 "Quality you can taste!"

These were taken with Frankie (our Polaroid 110A Land Camera crossed with 3 other cameras to make hand serious holdable 4x5 camera). They are instant negatives from some expired Fuji FP-3000B45. For some reason this film needs to be rated at ISO 12000! The one on the right was taken while tilting the lens to a preset position and using the rangefinder to focus.

"The way of the future" High ISO film test pt.2 - 500T vs. 800z & 400h!

Within the last year digital has made great leaps in high ISO capabilities. But unbeknownst to the world outside of hollywood, film has been making it's own advances well into it's supposed afterlife. This is part 2 of our Kodak Vision 3 500T motion picture film test. For part 1 we set up a controlled study, which can be viewed here. This time we brought our Nikon F3 with 250 exposure MF-4 back to a wedding. Most of the day was to be very low light photojournalistic coverage of a traditional Jewish wedding (full real wedding post coming very soon!). We shot the 500t along side our Nikon FE-2's, range finders, and TLR's and the results are amazing! We had the ECN-2 film processed by Technicolor here in Hollywood, and I scanned all of these samples on our Fuji Frontier with no post-correction in the computer. This is the honest truth!
First off, during preparations we shot some 400h in the lobby of the hotel. We usually overexpose our 400h by a stop. But the 500T? no need. One under is just fine!
The 500T in 35mm holds up against medium format, could you image 500T220? The exposure difference under the altar was 3 stops and change. Look at that DR!

This bulk back came in super handy through all the events leading up to the ceremony in this low lit temple.

This shot was taken during the day with window light metered off of the table.

The most amazing thing is the versatility of this film. All temperatures of light and extreme under and over exposure produces acceptable images. But 800z does have a look all it's own.

Color images in low light are possible on film! That's the cinematographer's dirty little secret...

This just demonstrates the advances and potential in film, that are kept just out of arms reach, since the popularization of the "film is dead" ideology, when in fact film is still just maturing! Digital would have a hard time getting these kind of images straight out of the camera, or even through RAW processing. I don't even care if I could achieve it through the right combination of money+time, I still love film! :-)

Film's future is far brighter than imagined - high ISO 500T vs. 800Z

Everyone is raving about the new high ISO capabilities of digital, and the future of digital. What about the future of film? Well, one way to find out is to look to the motion picture industry. Any R&D into new emulsions by Kodak or Fuji is going to be for film's biggest clientele, Hollywood movies! It usually takes years (if ever) for the technology to trickle down to the still community; e.g. Kodak's Ektar 100 that was finally released to photographers years after the vision negative technology replaced older emulsions for movies circa 1996-2002. (Listen to Inside Analog Photo Radio's interview with a Kodak representative on Ektar's success HERE!) That film is amazing to us photographers today, but the technology is really over a decade old! Imagine a digital capture that old. Talk about dinosaur! Another film from Kodak that's a part of their Vision series motion picture films is their 500T. This film has yet to be packaged for still photographers, but we figured that we'd use our Leica Summicron 5cm for what it was designed, to test movie film!
This film is ECN-2, virtually the same as normal C-41 process 35mm but it has a Remjet antihalation layer for movie cameras that must be removed (it's like a black carbon coating on the base of the negatives). We paired it up against our favorite high ISO Fuji film that we love, PRO 800Z.

I shot in a mixed lighting situation, with wide range of exposure to demonstrate the film's latitude (digital could never touch this detail in light bulb's filament at any exposure). I light metered off the wall behind bird cage to let the purse overexpose, and the Louis Vuitton logo fall well under. We prefer to rate the 800Z at 400, so I started by rating both films at ISO 200 to test for overexposure. Then from there stopped down, step by step, all the way to metering at ISO 3200! Please keep in mind that there was no push processing on any of these negatives in standard C-41 chemistry, and they were straight scans, untouched from Richard Photo Lab.
Rated at ISO 200 (f/2.0 & 1/30th sec): 500T/800ZRated at ISO 400 (f/2.0 & 1/60th sec): 500T/800ZRated at ISO 800 (f/2.0 & 1/125th sec): 500T/800ZRated at ISO 1600 (f/2.0 & 1/250th sec): 500T/800ZRated at ISO 3200 (f/2.0 & 1/500th sec): 500T/800ZI was blown away when I got the scans back! The 500T has virtually unlimited exposure range, and has better grain structure and shadow detail underexposed at ISO 3200 than the 800Z exposed at it's native ISO 800! Ignoring the fact that it's tungsten balanced film (meaning less color correction in common low light situations), this film destroys any Kodak film I've ever shot!!! Why has Kodak been sitting on this film?

Here are a few more comparisons in a real world situation, rating both at ISO 800 in camera...


This just demonstrates the advances and potential in film, that are kept just out of arms reach, since the popularization of the "film is dead" ideology, when in fact film is still just maturing! Can you imagine if the same amount of R&D went into film these days as digital? Really it's the marketing dollars that make the popularity difference, resulting lower availability and research investment.

But hey, the new Digis. have high def. video now! The question is, are the new Blue Ray readers gonna be able to read all those lush word processor docs on your 5.25" floppy, that killed paper and ink so many years ago?
I remain hopeful...