Best 35mm C-41 Color for the Beach

[wilonstott]

Headed to the beach in a week and am trying to figure out what to order. I'm only interested in C-41 color because of the processing convenience (as opposed to e-6).

I'm thinking Ektar. I like the strong contrast of Ektar--the mood I'm going for is David Alan Harvey's work in Cuba. I realize he was using Provia and Velvia--again with the processing ease of C-41.

So what do you guys think--any recommendations?

Sample Images would be wonderful.

Thanks Guys.

[thegman]

Porta 160VC? Nice colours, similar to Ektar.

[not_in_good_order]

Sometimes I like to use cheap consumer film for these types of images. Here is an example using Kodak Gold 100:






Ektar looks good in direct sun, though I've found that you have to expose it very much like slide film. Overexposure, at least with my scanner, results in images with an odd cyan color cast that is difficult to remove.

[sonofdanang]

Well, that's the thing about C-41 films: you are at the mercy of the lab/printer.

Assuming you're going to scan the negs and negotiate your own printing values via post, I guess you can use anything - and that leads to a question: What is your time worth? If you value your time, even moderately, you might find that Velvia/Provia is less expensive in the long run - giving you results much closer to what you want without a lot of time spent in post.

Good luck!