Do different color films have different color temperatures or just different color rendering?

Asked 3/2/2015

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I shot the same snowy scene on Kodak Gold 200 and Fuji Superia 200 and noticed the Kodak images looked warmer, even though the camera, lens, exposure, and lighting were essentially the same. Does color negative film have a specific color temperature, or is this more about each film stock’s color rendering? How do films like Kodak Gold, Fuji Superia, and Agfa Vista differ in this respect, and is there a way to know before buying a roll?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

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The color rendering of a film has to do with both color balance and the specific color response curves of the emulsion. This said, almost all the film stock produced today is daylight balanced, making it pretty difficult to find tungsten balanced film (which gives you strong blue cast if shot under sunlight). The subtle differences that you observed have more to do with each emulsion's specific color palette.

The color response curves of color film emulsions are not linear across color channels and the response curve anomalies of each emulsion are idiosyncratic. Furthermore, each film may use different dyes, different filters and a different base layer. Such matters used to be much better explained in the technical documentation of pro-films during the heyday of film photography. Not much of that remains today, although you can still find the basic spec sheets online if needed (e.g. Spec Sheet for Kodak Portra 160). Apart from the tech specs, it takes some learning curve to get used to each film and to get to know how to expose it. For instance, portrait shooters know how to over-expose portrait film in order to attain an unsaturated dreamy look and nature/architectural photographers know how to put the limited dynamic range and the exaggerated colors of Fuji Velvia to use in order to produce the wow effect.

Your observations about color properties of the films you used are correct: Fuji C-41 emulsions do have a green-blue tendency and Kodak C-41 emulsions do have a yellow-orange cast. You can expect more or less the same effect with their other emulsions, with some variation. For instance, some Kodaks have a more reddish color palette (Ektar) while some are more focused on the yellows of the skin tones (Portras). Agfa also has cool colors, but less of Fuji's pronounced green.

Originally by user31597. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user31597

11y ago

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What you’re seeing is usually not a precise “color temperature” difference so much as different color rendering between film emulsions. Most consumer color negative films are daylight balanced, roughly for daylight use, while tungsten-balanced films are a separate category intended for indoor tungsten light.

So Kodak Gold, Fuji Superia, and similar films are generally all daylight-balanced, but each emulsion has its own color palette and response curves. Those differences come from the film’s chemistry, dyes, filters, and base, and they can make one film look warmer, cooler, more saturated, or otherwise different even in the same scene.

Because film response is nonlinear, these looks usually aren’t expressed as a single exact Kelvin value. In practice, manufacturers historically documented this better for pro films, but for many films the best guide is sample images, technical datasheets when available, and personal testing.

If you need to correct for lighting, filters can be used: blue-conversion filters can cool a warm result, and warming filters can add warmth. But if you’re choosing among daylight films, expect differences in “look” rather than a published specific color temperature.

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11y ago

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