Kodak Professional Portra 160VC Print Film

Kodak Professional Portra 160VC Print Film 

DESCRIPTION

The new family of KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA Color Negative Films is based on a breakthrough Unified Film Emulsion technology -- so you get remarkably harmonious results from film to film and shoot to shoot. It doesn't matter how many different PORTRA Films you shoot -- Natural Color (NC) or Vivid Color (VC), 160 or 400 speed. Image after image, they deliver a level of consistency that sets them apart.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 35  
[Jun 15, 2005]
stewartbootles
Professional

Strength:

Fine Grain Colour Sharpness

Weakness:

None

As Portra NC is perfect for people shots VC is perfect for domestic animal portraits. It's fine grain and sharpness and not too over the top colour saturation makes this film tops

Customer Service

Not Used

Similar Products Used:

Portra NC

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 15, 2005]
jmraspa
Intermediate

Strength:

Good colour, low grain, can be pulled just slightly. Very good for all intensive purposes.

Weakness:

Not so great for landscapes (requires pulling)

I've used this film for lots of things: in the studio, sports, and just casual snapshots. It has worked so well for me in every instance, that it is all that I use for colour now. The grain is especially low (I usually pull it half a stop or so), and the colours are always right on. Even though I print my own colour prints (old fashioned, in a darkroom), colour balancing only takes a test strip or two. For the amount of time saved and for the colour that it gives me, it is well worth the price. I am a student, so I can't afford to be too picky about my film, but I'm sticking with this film every time. It develops with excellent colours when USED PROPERLY! I'm not going to lecture, but "Portra" sounds an awful lot like "portrait", which generally refers to PEOPLE. Clearly, this film is specifically designed to be a portrait film, not a landscape film. Just like you wouldn't use a hammer to cut a piece of wood, you wouldn't want to use this film to take pictures of landscapes.

Customer Service

Don't need it.

Similar Products Used:

This is the only colour film that I use.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[May 13, 2004]
photoguy747
Expert

Strength:

LOW GRAIN!!! AMAZING SKIN TONES!!!! FINALLY, WHITE DRESSES!!!!

Weakness:

none...unless your an outdoor person. WHY ARE YOU USING A PORTRA FILM!!!!????????

I just found this website and have read the reviews on this film....and I have no idea what some of these guys are talking about. Looking at their reviews....I realized that they were outdoor photographers who arent even using the film for whats its made for. They should stick to their Velvia for landscapes, and I will stick to my Portra for weddings. Its a beautiful film that I have used ever since the first wedding I ever did 3 years ago. Your whites are whites, and your skin tones are skin tones. Plus, if I over-expose a dress....it is just way too easy to get that detail back. Very accident-friendly film. I've used the NC version as well....and for the gold tones in the brides hair, and for blue eyes....and for huge prints....nothing beats this film (in 35mm and 120)...except for maybe digital (hehe)

Customer Service

I always get it developed at pro labs, and have had wonderful service

Similar Products Used:

160 nc, 400 vc, 160 nc

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 23, 2003]
Tim Schwerdt
Intermediate

Strength:

Great skin tones in most conditions - flash, low light, midday sun etc. Whites were very good and clean - this is a lovely but expensive portrait film.

Weakness:

Obviuosly the VC (vivid colour) is not doing what is suggested by Kodak. When are they going to make a lovely saturated col/neg for the prosumer?

After spending some time using Fuji 35mm film through India and Singapore, I asked for a more saturated colour neg and was recommended the Kodak VC and NC. I have ran a roll of VC through my camera whilst in China and whilst the skin tones of the Chinese people was teriffic, the colour of the green country-side, the glorious blue sky and the patterned texture of the great wall are just memories. This film seems to have less saturationb than the consumer style Fujis. If you want saturation in a colour neg for outdoors, go for some standard fuji 400 for pretty good colour. If you are desperate to print big, suck in your stomach and buy colour reversal like the new Velvia 100ASA.

Similar Products Used:

Kodak NC Most Fuji 100 and 400 Kodak gold etc. Astia, Velvia, but no Fuji Col/neg.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
1
[Dec 17, 2002]
Mair2112
Intermediate

Strength:

-perfectly capable portrait film, thats what its made for! sorry if I'm offending the real pros, but seriously...

Weakness:

- a little grainy, but who'd notice at 4 x 6?

Just one thing-- How fair is it that 95% of these reviews for Kodak Portra NC/VC are based on outdoor landscape photographs, huh? Of course you wont get much color saturation in a PORTRAIT film, because if there was too much saturation, the skin tones would be screwed up. I'm nowhere near a pro and even I know that... landscapes are for slide film and maybe Superia, and if you want good multi-purpose print films then go for Reala, NPZ, Royal Gold, or Supra!

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
[Sep 10, 2002]
Jason
Expert

Strength:

Can't find any yet for my application. Great for SOME (and I stress some) people shots. Renders skin tones a little drastically.

Weakness:

Just read my review.

Ugh. VC stands for Vivid Color? Maybe with people, but throw some landscape into the picture... Can you say WASHED OUT? Absolutely no definition in the sunset I was using for a backdrop with some head shots. Switched to just shooting the sunset b/c it was so beautiful... Let me tell you, DON'T use this film for anything other than portraits. If you do, sorry for ya! My shooting buddy was shooting her Maxxum 9, Sigma 28-70 EX w/ consumer Fuji 400 and got 90% better color and 100% sharper results with it! I'm shooting a 1V w/ 28-70L glass. Hmmm... something's wrong here. Must be the film. The developer thought it might have been exposure error or bad film, but I've shot two more rolls since then. YUCK. Hate to say it, but I'm a die-hard Fuji film guy.

Customer Service

Give me a break... it's film.

Similar Products Used:

160 NC Reala All the consumer 100-400 speed Fuji and Kodak. AGFA (really starting to like this stuff)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
2
[Sep 10, 2002]
IndiStar
Intermediate

Strength:

The grain is superb, color[s] non-artificial

Weakness:

expensive

I tried to Camakazie Kodak 800 film once on photo.net and I still stand by some of what I say, but be honest. This is the better film than even the vericolor 160. I say: "better than the reala" with three conditions if you use reala, if you use Nikon ED lens /Carl Zeiss/ or large format lens. Two, dead on meter. Three, IN a studio setting that I have not used so I have no comment. but for 35mm, the Kodak is much much better film. Some on this thread said the lab cause only problem, I mean : >"are you crazy!"< I done this film at both walgreens and CVS one hour, scanned on Polaroid Sprint scanner with great clearity, color, and definition. I have a Tamron 17mm 3.5, and the reala turns yellow on this lens, only the Nikkor 20-35mm AF 2.8D on the dot. Be kind to yourself and buy one roll, don't listen to false comments. Shame on you!

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Reala, Vericolor, AGFA professional print, Supra, Superia(ouch, green Goblin), Velvia, Sensia, Kodachrome 25, 64, 200.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
2
[Aug 28, 2002]
Isaac Wong
Intermediate

Strength:

Grain, but it should be since it is only a ISO 160 film

Weakness:

Pale colour, doesn't catch the eye at all (I have a very contrasty Zeiss lens already)

VC should stand for Vivid Color, according to Kodak, but I am very disappointed because the prints came back so bland that I thought there is something wrong with the film. Granted, the skin tone is accurate, but every other colour looks pale, grass is not green and everything just looked washed out. If you want punchy colour, stick to Royal Gold. You pay much less, and you won't be disappointed. The grain with this film however is quite fine. No complaints.

Customer Service

huh?

Similar Products Used:

Royal Gold, 400NC, most other consumer level film

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
1
[Feb 26, 2002]
Bill50
Intermediate

Strength:

saturated colors accurate skin tones low grains

Weakness:

can be hard to find a bit expensive never seen 24 exp. only 36

I have read many complaints on reviews that this film has poor color saturation. If I read the reviews before, probably would not have bought it. But I had better luck. It was refrigerated until use and processed and printed at a pro lab. It was used at the motorcycle races. These bikes had wild paint jobs(day-glo orange,lime green, hot pink, deep shades of reds and blues). When I saw the pictures, they nearly blew me out of the lab with color saturation.The colors were saturated so much, they almost "bleed". Yes I know the paint on the bikes were wild, but even on "normal" colors the saturation is there. On another note, film is sharp with fine grain and skin tones are accurate. I have experience with only one roll, and eager to use the other 2 I purchased.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Fuji Reala, Kodak Royal Gold

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Dec 21, 2001]
ras1500
Intermediate

Strength:

Probably good for portrait work as the name implies.

Weakness:

Washed out colors in landscapes.

I just shot 15 rolls of 160 VC in Hawaii, in both 35mm and 120 format. I have to agree with some of the previous posts that for landscape photography this film is bland. 4x6 prints look like postcards from the 1940''s. Results are even worse when the sky was overcast. I got good color saturation shooting close-ups of flowers using fill flash; sunset photos were also acceptable.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Gold 200

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
2
Showing 1-10 of 35  

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