I switched from negative to positive (slide) film because I seemed to keep having inconsistencies in the color when the prints were made -- from lab to lab.
If you can find a good lab you are happy with, prints can be less trouble than slides. OTOH, I also got a scanner and a printer, and I am happy now to make my own prints. Probably not the highest quality around, but they please me. It also puts me in control of the color balance. Where I try to reproduce the slide colors. I just like the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) aspect of slide film. And with certain types of slide film I think the colors are more vibrant. OTOH, the downside is the lack of latitude as others have mentioned and that is still a problem I run into, being still a relative novice at photography. Underexposure (blacking out) being the main one. Or not good results when there is a lot of contrast. Shadows too dark. It's a trade off. If I did a lot of people shots I'd probably go with negative film, but I do primarily scenery and stuff, so I go with slide film. I started with Velvia, but Provia 100F probably does scan better. It's what I've been using lately. However, when the hills are green again I will try Velvia again because I love the color it produces with a lot of green. Pretty much I've said what every one else has. I think. One thing, slide film does force you to be more accurate in your exposure and if one is a novice I don't think that is entirely a bad thing. That is one upside of the lack of latitude. HTH, Marnie aka Doe
