Hey, Umm I'm mainly into B&W but because I live in Taiwan and it is hot and humid and bright, there are lots of groovy pastels on certain buildings here, (just like you might find in Miami, New Orleans or Perpignan), I'd like to shoot a few rolls of color. There are a couple of "pro" labs I've used here and I have been satisfied with the results.

No, I don't want to use color slide film. Have any of you shot in the Mediterranean or on the Gulf of Mexico, if so, with a Leica M, what color print would you use?

And yes, I did check the film archive threads which kept me from asking an asinine B&W question, but I didn't see anything quite like what I just asked so... I can't wait for the answers.

Oh, I haven't taken any film to the lab yet, but if I get good shots, I'll try to post one or two. (My M6 is less than two days old.)

Thanks again,

-- Hyatt Lee (shahmat@ms63.hinet.net), May 07, 2002

Answers

Oh, by the way, I got chrome and not black, Doh! Now I want black! I guess I'll have to wait until I get my next body huh? (Hehehe, Vikram, I see what you mean.)

-- Hyatt Lee (shahmat@ms63.hinet.net), May 07, 2002.

In the first post I meant to say, color print film, not mmmm... color print. That was silly.

-- Hyatt Lee (shahmat@ms63.hinet.net), May 07, 2002.

<< Oh, by the way, I got chrome and not black, Doh! Now I want black! I guess I'll have to wait until I get my next body huh? -- Hyatt Lee >>

Hyatt,

Leica Axiom #1. If you get a Chrome body, you will IMMEDIATELY wish you had bought Black; and if you get a Black body, you will IMMEDIATELY wish you had bought Chrome.

So far you are upholding the law.

I hope you got a chrome lens to go with the chrome body. To quote James Bond [Sean Connery, the Leica among Zorki/Bessa Bonds], "I don't care whether my women are blondes, as long as the cuffs match the collars."

-- Vikram (VSingh493@aol.com), May 07, 2002.

Hyatt:

I was in Mexico about a month ago and shot Kodak Portra 160 and 400 NC -- the NC, not the VC. I know MANY on this forum disagree with my choice and claim VC is the better film, but I find NC excellent in reproduction of suttle tones and pastels. Yes, it is softer than most other print films, so it does not impart the color "snap" many are used to seeing in their prints, BUT it does give a truer rendition of color than the other films, IMO. Thus, I feel it is an ideal match to the Leica glass I put in front of it. Also, if you need the speed, the Portra 800 is a bit snappier than the 400 NC, but softer than the VC -- probably the perfect compromise for low-light shooting. If you try a roll of the NC, I'd be curious to hear what you thought of it...

Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), May 07, 2002.

Vikram: your "law" doesn't apply to me. I have a chrome 0.85 TTL and want a chrome, high-mag Bessa R2. I don't like black unless it's real, hard black paint which isn't a magnet to fingerprints. ;-)

-- Andrew (mazurka@rocketmail.com), May 07, 2002.

Hyatt, if you don't need more speed than 100 iso, you might like Fuji Reala. It's excellant in bright light, very fine grained and sharp. It's my favorite color negative film for landscapes, great for subtle hues and pastels. I shoot it at iso 80 and use Fuji processing on their Chrystal Archive paper. Like Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing." Let us know how you make out.

-- Ronald Wills (youngdeer@earthlink.net), May 07, 2002.

I broke the law. Bought me a chrome 6.2, never wanted a black one. Maybe the law is only for M's.

For print film, I was pretty happy with Kodak Royal Gold 100 ASA. I don't do much color, but these colors came about pretty vibrant and very saturated. I like it just fine. But like I said, I don't do that much color...so I don't have tomes of film to compare it with.

-Ramy

-- Ramy (rsadek@NOSPAM.cs.oberlin.edu), May 08, 2002.

Leica Axiom #1. If you get a Chrome body, you will IMMEDIATELY wish you had bought Black; and if you get a Black body, you will IMMEDIATELY wish you had bought Chrome.

I broke the law too. I bought a black M6 and never looked back.

-- Jonas Vilslev (jonasvilslev@groenjord.dk), May 08, 2002.

Hyatt, I've used the 160 NC that Jack mention in Mexico and was really happy with the results. I rated the film at 100 and ran it normal.

-- Steve Wiley (wiley@accesshub.net), May 08, 2002.

It gets worse.

I have a chrome .72 M6 classic and a black .85 M6TTL.

What I really need (want) is a chrome .85TTL. And maybe a black classic M6HM.

And spare chrome .72 M6 classic, so I can switch top plates with the M6HM and that way I'll have a chrome M6HM.

After that I need another black M6HM, just for authenticity's sake.

And don't even get me started on M7s. Or M3s...

;-)

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), May 08, 2002.