----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Woerner Subject: Re: Kodak Portra?
> Hi, > > I've shot the Kodak 400 C-41 B&W( the kind you buy at Target, WalMart, etc.) > and had it printed on B&W paper. It looks great. Only problem is I lose the > "savings" and "convenience" of C-41 due to the cost of having it printed on > B&W paper. I may as well shoot HP5 or TriX Pan(and do) because it costs > the same at the lab I use. Ask them if they are using black and white paper or Ektamax RA. If the latter, they are using a chromogenic colour paper with bad image life. > > A couple of my friends have shot the Kodak and had it processed at a > grocery store mini-lab (Konica chemistry and paper). Unfortunately, the > pics have a rather noticeable purple color cast; however, they seem > satisfied with the results. They like paying $5.00 for their pics. Funny, > they liked my pics better the only problem being they cost $14.00. So, it > seems the problem is the paper. It is really dificult to get perfectly neutral results with the pseudo B&W films on colour paper. For 5 bucks a roll, they have to accept they are not getting custom colour balanced prints. If I was charging 14.00 a roll, I would be giving perfect proofs every time. The films also are really unstable and prone to rapid dye shifts and fading. Don't expect images shot on Kodak chromogenics to last more than about 5 years > > As far as the color cast of C41 B&W on color paper, I've read that the > Portra version is "designed" to print best on color paper. I have a roll to > try out. Don't know if the color cast will go away. I will report back. Portra prints quite easily on colour paper, but any colour casts show up very quickly in monotone. For ease of printing: 1) Portra B&W 2) Kodak Select. 3) T400CN (discontinued, I think) 4) Konica B&W chromogenic (I don't recall what they call it) 5) Ilford XP-2 (which is a really ugly film for us to print, as it has a soft emulsion and no mask). William Robb - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
