analog film technology

Article for Consideration

by EveNSteve

First click on the link below and read the article and look at the examples…

http://www.twinlenslife.com/2011/01/digital-vs-film-canon-5d-mark-ii-vs.html

Now here are my thoughts…

1. The film looks fantastic! The latitude is much better and I like the feeling of the film file much more.

2. The test was very good. It would have been even better if the film scan was done on a higher resolution scanner like say an Imacon. This would have also leveled the field a bit as the RAW processing done to the digital file corrects a lot (but apparently not enough) and the film image was stuck with a relatively middle of the road scan on a Fuji Frontier SP-2500. It is a shame that the scanned image had to be upsampled (due to the scanner resolution limitation) as this film has a lot of subtle detail that a higher quality scanner could have showed optically.

3. I would also like to hear their thoughts regarding a side by side print analysis say at 2 or 3 different sizes… the proof is in the print!

4. The digital wins in the high speed test but the film is still quite good.

In the end will this article sway any true blooded digital shooter to consider film…? I don’t think so, as there will be a myriad of excuses on the RAW conversion technique or other BS that really does not matter. It is a good solid test and it confirms once again the many strengths that film and the hybrid workflow provide for the working creative photographer

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

I’m Not Going To Say I Told You So

by EveNSteve

Click on the audio play button to listen to this 13 minute discussion on the future of photography…

Link to referenced article:

http://fstoppers.com/iphone/

Kodak Portra 400 Pinhole Reciprocity Test

by EveNSteve
Kodak Portra 400 at EI 100 60 Seconds Pinhole Test

Click on the audio play button to listen to this quick post on reciprocity correction for the New Kodak Portra 400 film. In a nutshell: double and triple everything beyond 1 second and you should be spot on.

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

Two Buck Chuck… Good Cheap Film Does Exist!

by EveNSteve

Yes Virginia, good cheap film does exist. Click on the audio play button to listen to my thoughts on new approaches and needs for film in this figital / hybrid world.

The test images below are Fuji 400 Superia X-Tra which is a fantastic film and is readidly available at only two bucks (24 exp)… that’s $2 Dollars, 1.51 Euro, 1.28 United Kingdom Pounds, 167.94 Yen… about the price of a cup of coffee!

Fuji 400 Superia X-Tra at EI 200
Fuji 400 Superia X-Tra at EI 100
Fuji 400 Superia X-Tra at EI 200
Fuji 400 Superia X-Tra at EI 1600

And for those of you who want even smoother results here is an example of the portrait of my wife (same file as above) that has been processed through Imagenomic Portraiture Photoshop Plugin at default settings and then faded back to 50%… very nice!

Fuji 400 Superia X-Tra at EI 200, Imagenomic Portraiture at 50%

Another Kodak Portra 400 Review

by EveNSteve

This review was passed on to me this morning and thought it would be of value to readers here on FR… his tests confirm what my posts here on FR did but he also tested the new Kodak Portra 400 at 6400 and 12,000 with very usable results… check it out:

www.twinlenslife.com

Links to articles on the New Kodak Portra 400 here on FR:

New Kodak Porta 400 Review Part 1

Kodak New Portra 400 Review Part 2: Skin Tones

Kodak New Portra 400 Review Part 3: Usable EI Range

Kodak New Portra 400 Review Part 3a: 3200!

New Kodak Portra 400 Review Part 4: Conclusion.

I have also heard that pushing the film in development for the 6400 is also quite amazing but of course requires special processing which is not available at my film processing lab… CVS or Rite Aid!

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

Something for the Holidays

by EveNSteve

The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, Fourth Edition is a must-have for every serious photographer… period.  An earlier edition was a constant resource for me while at RIT and now this newer edition is my Xmas gift to myself this year… it is expensive but well worth it. It is quite thick and full of very useful content on just about every photographic topic imaginable from film to digital and beyond… and if the heat bills get too high this winter I can burn it to stay warm… or my wife could throw it at me to knock some sense into me or perhaps I could learn something about this wonderful medium we all love… either way it will be my constant companion for the dark winter months here in VT. Be sure to add this gem to your holiday wish-list today!

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

LINK to Amazon

New Kodak Portra 400 Review Part 4: Conclusion.

by EveNSteve

New Kodak Portra 400

Click on the audio play button to listen to my final thoughts on this new film offering by Kodak.

Viva la Revolution- Stephen

Kodak New Portra 400 Review Part 3a: 3200!

by EveNSteve

The last vote… each of these 400 speed films at 3200! The only light in the room is the 40 watt compact florescent in the lamp behind Eve… talk about crappy light!

All negatives were scanned on an Imacon Scanner as a 3F linear file with no sharpening… essentially a RAW scan.

All images were processed exactly the same in Photoshop. All images were captured with my Nikon FM3a and a 50mm f1.2 AI lens… in this case at F 1.2… bit slow on the shutter speed… hand held. Both files were made so the film edge would read black.

Tell every photographer you know to vote on this as the results will be very informative for our Figital community and will be covered in my fourth and final post on this review on Novemember 23, 2010… vote now!!

Vote Now!!!!

Kodak New Portra 400 Review Part 3: Usable EI Range

by EveNSteve

How low can you go!

As promised here are example images of the new Kodak Portra 400 film with a bit of a twist… you get to vote… again! There are two different films shown, both films are a 400 speed color negative material… one of them is the new Kodak Portra 400. Which do you like? These scans represent the outer edge for a 400 speed film… EI 25 and 50 as well as 1600! In the last post here on FR you are voting on EI 100 and box speed 400- if you have not voted in that post yet please do now:

https://figitalrevolution.com/2010/11/17/kodak-new-portra-400-review-part-2-skin-tones/

I will use the information gathered from both of these posts and your votes along with additional testing I am running for my final thoughts in Part 4 which will be next week.

All negatives were scanned on an Imacon Scanner as a 3F linear file with no sharpening… essentially a RAW scan.

All images were processed exactly the same in Photoshop. All images were captured with my Nikon FM3a and a 50mm f1.2 AI lens.

Tell every photographer you know to vote on this as the results will be very informative for our Figital community and will be covered in my fourth and final post on this review on Novemember 23, 2010… vote now!!

Be sure to Vote now!!!!


Kodak New Portra 400 Review Part 2: Skin Tones

by EveNSteve

As promised here are example images of the new Kodak Portra 400 film with a bit of a twist… you get to vote! There are two different films shown, both films are a 400 speed color negative material… one of them is the new Kodak Portra 400. Which do you like? Both films have two examples images provided- one at box speed and one using a popular 2 stop overexposure. I have also provided a crop detail of each image at both the 100 and 400 speed settings.

All negatives were scanned on an Imacon Scanner as a 3F linear file with no sharpening… essentially a RAW scan.

All images were processed exactly the same in Photoshop. All images were captured with my Nikon FM3a and a 50mm f1.2 AI lens.

Tell every photographer you know to vote on this as the results will be very informative for our Figital community and will be covered in my fourth and final post on this review on Novemember 23, 2010… vote now!!

So which do you like??!! Vote Now!!