Tungsten balanced film.

[Funkmon]

Hey guys. I've decided I shoot more at night than anything else, so I'd like to get a tungsten film... But uhh... Can't find one by Fuji or Kodak. My local store sells Fuji and Kodak film for MSRP.

I'm not too hip with the other manufacturers, but it looks like there are a few at 16 bucks a damn roll. Are they the only options or should I shoot more black and white?

 

[joelbolden]

FlicFilm offers vision3 200T and 500T ECN-2 film for around $12.70 a roll. B%H carries it. The film can't be processed using C-41, it needs a separate bath to remove the Rem-Jet layer. I've used the 200T and it's a very contrasty film with fine grain. I send it out to be processed and I suppose a major drawback to some is it costs $5.00 more and the wait time can be anywhere between 7-20 days before I receive the scans. However, since I like it, and I don't have time restraints, I enjoy using it. BTW I use the Old School Photo Lab in New Hampshire for processing.

 

[CarmelSoul]

One solution is to use an 80A or 80B filter. While this will remove a great deal of the color cast caused by tungsten lights, additional color correction may be required.

Using these filters will come a cost of about one to two stops of speed.

 

[A Marcus]

In the heyday of film photography, color slide film was manufactured so that the light sensitive emulsion would deliver optimum results when used under different types of illumination. Three film flavors were most prevalent however there were others.

Daylight color temperature 5500 K
Photo flood lamps 3400 K
Photo flood lamps 3200 K

The K is the symbol for degrees Kelvin, a temperature scale modeled after the Celsius scale. This scale is favored by many scientists. Celsius sets 0 (zero) at the temperature at which water freezes. The Kelvin scale sets the zero point at the lowest temperature (absolute zero -273°C). The advantage is that the Kelvin system sports only positive numbers thus no confusion if the sign is omitted.

When going on assignment, we had a gadget bag filled with color film balanced for these three types of illumination. Also, it was likely that the camera was loaded with the wrong film type. We carried conversion optical filters that we attached to the camera lens.

The filters we used were labeled according to the catalog of Master Filter Maker Frederic Wratten of the British firm of Wratten & Wainwright. The firm was acquired by Kodak.

Wratten 80A cooling filter converts 3200 to 5500
Wratten 80B cooling filter converts 3400 to 5500
Wratten 85 warming filter converts 5500 to 3400
Wratten 85B warming filter coverts 5500 to 3200

Best was to load the correct film otherwise best was tungsten film loaded in camera with warming filter mounted (gives higher ISO as filter factor is low).

Let me add: We often loaded negative color film. Negative film allowed us to ignore the conversion filter. This is because the color balance of the finished displayed image is adjusted during the printing (or scanning) process.

 

[Overrank]

Hey guys. I've decided I shoot more at night than anything else, so I'd like to get a tungsten film... But uhh... Can't find one by Fuji or Kodak. My local store sells Fuji and Kodak film for MSRP.

I'm not too hip with the other manufacturers, but it looks like there are a few at 16 bucks a damn roll. Are they the only options or should I shoot more black and white?

As has been said the cheapest way of using tungsten balanced film would be rerolled tungsten balanced Vision3, which you can buy for ~£6 - £7 a cassette. It needs to be ECN-2 processed which is ~£8 a roll if you get it done commercially. Tbh at the moment that is probably one of the cheapest ways to use colour film.

But if you’re using negative film then you can probably fix most of the white balance issues when scanning or printing,

 

[Tomm111]

You have to decide how you are going to use the film, if you want to have a blue cast on out door photos use no filter. If you want correct color outside use an 85B filter (from my trusty Tiffen filter guide). If Old School Photo can do ECN-2 they are a good lab, only slow, they are who I use.

 

[CarmelSoul]

Hey guys. I've decided I shoot more at night...

Are you planning on shooting outdoors at night (cityscapes, highways, streets, etc.) then shooting tungsten balanced film may not solve your lighting issues. Depending on where you live you will most likely find a variety of different types of light; each with their own unique color signature.

As an example, my own neighborhood has a mix of mercury vapor (green) high pressure sodium (orange), LED and some tungsten. Being able to balance all the different types of light would be extremely problematic with film. If balanced color is important then shooting black and white may be the answer.

 

[commiebiker]

Hey guys. I've decided I shoot more at night than anything else, so I'd like to get a tungsten film... But uhh... Can't find one by Fuji or Kodak. My local store sells Fuji and Kodak film for MSRP.

I'm not too hip with the other manufacturers, but it looks like there are a few at 16 bucks a damn roll. Are they the only options or should I shoot more black and white?

CiniStill 800T is readily available. (rebranded Kodak movie film)

Here are some links of you want to see results. Some folks use it to maximize "correct" results, others seem to lean into the color shifts

https://www.lomography.com/films/871964831-cinestill-800t/photos?order=popular

https://mrleica.com/cinestill-800-daylight-portraits/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/CineStill 800T/