Tong Family

Edward C. Nemergut Photography. I’m buying another batch of 35mm film. Used 9 rolls of Fuji Superia-X ISO 400 film for nature and portrait photography.
Results were Ok for the landscapes (mainly shot with a really neat 70-200 lense), but what was outstanding were the outdoor portraits (particularly on those overcast days in Alaska).
Many of the days were really hazy though and it felt like a haze filter or maybe a polarizing filter would have helped. I need to research this.
Or, it could have been film choise. The Superia-X is amazingly cheap and got good reviews out of popphoto.com, but some folks like Nemergut have some other recommendations for folks doing outdoor photography (E6 is the name for photo geeks):
* Fuji Velvia 50. This is ISO 50 slide film and is best for scenary. You need a tripod for many shots and it doesn’t do well with people. Works best in overcast or low contrast situations. Caucasians look red with this film. This is a slide film, so not great for putting into albums, but good for scanning and reprinting.
* Fuji Provia 100F. This is lower contrast and better for high contrast light. For instance shooting animals in midday. Can use with people too. Its slide film
Finally for print outdoor film (C41)
* Fuji Superia Reala. This is ISO 100 film and is great for the “family in front of the Grand Canyon” because it has great flesh tones yet saturated colors. Also quite inexpensive. The other films likst go for about $5/roll, while this is about half that at bhphotovideo.com
* Fujifilm NPH-400. Interestingly, photo.net likes it for outdoor when shot at 320 because it is sharp but colors are not oversaturated.
For shooting indoor people and portraits:
* Kodak Ultra Color 400UC (formerly called Portra 400UC). This is a great choice for indoor people photography because its good for fleshtones (low contrast) but has vivid colors.
* Fuji NPH-400. This is what he recommends for weddings because of the black and white contrasting outfits. (Interestingly, photo.net likes it for outdoor when shot at 320 because it is sharp but colors are not oversaturated).
* Fuji NPZ-800. This is ISO-800 film that has nearly the grain of 400 film, but is one stop faster. Its good for “available light” weddings where you don’t want a flash.