RE: [Leica] Film for travel: reality check

["Rodgers, David" <david.rodgers@xo.com>]

Peter:

>>If the new Kodak Supra 400 
film is really that good, and I didn't have to worry about which film I'd 
loaded...  Hmm.  Tempting.<<

I highly recommend Supra 400. It's my color favorite neg film, no question.
I used it exclusively last year and went through 200 plus rolls of 135. I
used 100 speed film a few times; then realized I was giving up two stops and
gaining nothing. 

Supra 400 is fast and it has excellent image structure. I was using Portra
400 (VM and MC) and PMC prior to that.  While I always overexposed PMC, I
rate Supra and Portra at 400. Supra 400 scans or prints well. I've made 16x
conventional enlargements with it, and countless digital images.      

As much as I like Supra 400, I've gone back to slide film, after a 6-year
hiatus. This winter, while remodeling my darkroom, it struck me that I've
still got thousands of slides dating back to when I started in photography
30 plus years ago. But I have few prints. Most of my color negatives are
long gone. There are many other advantages to slide film; one of which is
the impact of a projected image. 

I've been shooting Provira 400F, which is great film. I've got 2 dozen rolls
of Supra in storage, and I hope I use them up before they expire. The best
thing about digital imaging is that I can make prints from  slides as easily
as I can from negatives. Prints was the reason I went to neg film, but that
advantage -- along with others -- seems to have disappeared.    

Dave