120 Roll Film

[madeinengland]

I have just acquired a lovely Mamiya 645 1000s. It looks virtually brand new. It came complete with spare back, prism head, 80mm and 55mm lenses. Anyway, it must be 25 years since I have used 120 roll film and don't know what's considered good or bad anymore. I want negative colour with a speed of ASA 400 and prefer a warm rather than cool image. Last time I used film Fuji was always a cool film and Agfa was warm. I suspect it's changed a bit since then so was wondering if you chaps had any recommendations.

 

[ChrisR]

I think the obvious film would be Portra 400... but I'm not sure whether it classifies as warm or cool! I think of it as tending to pastel in many situations. Someone will tell us soon.

 

[big soft moose]

I've got the best part of a fridge full of film (much of it now out of date) - if you pm me your address i'll send you a couple of rolls of different types to play with.

ref warm vs cool isn't the obvious answer a warm up filter like the 81A , or (heresy) if you are going to scan your result you could warm it up in post

 

[skysh4rk]

Congrats on the Mamiya!

As Chris suggests, Portra 400 is your winner if you are looking for a warm 400 speed 120 film. Very fine grained for a 400 ISO film with fantastic skin tones, great dynamic range, and amazing low light capability (can be pushed several stops; or even underexposed in camera and developed normally with great results). Ironically, I usually prefer Fuji Pro 400H for my 120 shooting as I like my images a bit more neutral compared to the warmer tones of Portra, but when it gets really dark, I always opt for Portra

 

[madeinengland]

I've got the best part of a fridge full of film (much of it now out of date) - if you pm me your address i'll send you a couple of rolls of different types to play with.

ref warm vs cool isn't the obvious answer a warm up filter like the 81A , or (heresy) if you are going to scan your result you could warm it up in post

Thanks for the offer, I'll send you a pm when I find out where to do it.

 

[big soft moose]

they are called conversations on the new forum - click on my avatar then select 'start a conversation with' from the pop up.

 

[madeinengland]

they are called conversations on the new forum - click on my avatar then select 'start a conversation with' from the pop up.

Cheers for that, it,s not very clear what to do is it. I couldn't find anything in help either. Pm sent.

 

[madeinengland]

Congrats on the Mamiya!

As Chris suggests, Portra 400 is your winner if you are looking for a warm 400 speed 120 film. Very fine grained for a 400 ISO film with fantastic skin tones, great dynamic range, and amazing low light capability (can be pushed several stops; or even underexposed in camera and developed normally with great results). Ironically, I usually prefer Fuji Pro 400H for my 120 shooting as I like my images a bit more neutral compared to the warmer tones of Portra, but when it gets really dark, I always opt for Portra

Thanks for the info, does Porta go to scanned images OK?

 

[pingu666]

think its one of the better ones, its a fairly new film and made with that in mind

 

[skysh4rk]

Thanks for the info, does Porta go to scanned images OK?

It scans very well. You could look through the Show Us Your Film Shots Thread on this forum or the various Portra 400 groups on Flickr to get an idea of how it scans. It really is an amazing film stock.