Brighter prints....scanned slides or negatives

[MReid]

Having fun shooting some film.
I have not made any prints from scans yet.
My question is:
If I take the same properly exposed photo on slide film or normal color film, all things being as equal as they can be.
And assuming the subsequent scan of each is as good as they can be.

Would a print from the slide film be brighter and have more vibrant colors than a print from color film?

When viewing the two different mediums. The slide is so much more vivid and bright....for all the obvious reasons...I am curious to hear from those of you which have had both mediums printed from scans, to hear if that viewing difference carries over into the actual prints.

Apologize if this is a stupid question to those of you with years of experience. Thanks.

 

[MReid]

anybody that has printed them both ways???

 

[clanthar]

Hi,

I've done a lot of work with both. However my experience is nearly 100% scanning my own film and making my own prints. In other words, no commercial lab involved.

I can get much better results working from a color negative. The scanner and scanner software are a big factor.

Joe

 

[Alpha]

Totally depends on the character of the color. A slide film like Fuji Velvia will give you colors that really pop, but they are a bit exaggerated. Negative film tends to be more neutral, but you can still get really rich colors, especially if you overexpose a little bit. While the colors are equally rich, they are rich in a very different way.

As for the brightness of the print, that's a whole 'nother ball game. The only print process I think has inherent "brightness" is Ilfochrome. Most other printing is designed to accurately depict the character of the film.

 

[MReid]

Thanks appreciate the feedback.

 

[paulanton]

Another point to consider is that with color negatives the printing is very interpretive, meaning your relying on the software or paper characteristics to produce accurate colors. With transparencies the color is right there. You can look at the print, look at the slide and see how accurate the reproduction is. Of course there is also the film itself, As I'm sure you know each film reproduces color differently. The point I am making is every step of the procces from shutter release to final print can and dose affect color. Even before the shutter is released, the lighting temperature, angle and intensity all contribute to color. After all, all color is white light divided. The color you see is the only color not absorbed by the object your looking at. I have some other thought about color and color perception, but now I'm starting to ramble, for that I apologize.

 

[Helen B]

I've used, and continue to use, both reversal and negative film for images that are destined for print. I use reversal film for commercial work, mainly because the clients like to see 'chromes' on a lightbox - a strange practice because what looks good on a lightbox is not always the best original for reproduction in print. When I have the choice of negative or reversal for prints, I always choose negative film.

The limits on colour gamut, vibrancy, brightness etc are really set by the printer, inks and paper, not by the originating medium. Accuracy, however, is affected by the originating medium and negative film has a big advantage in this respect. Reversal film has compromises built in because the slide is intended to be an attractive, viewable image; the negative isn't, so it can be designed both for colour accuracy and wide dynamic range - ie accurate tonal range.

Best,
Helen

 

[selmerdave]

I would say that in my experience it is more difficult to get a scan from a transparency that does it justice short of really high-end drum scans. With negatives not such a big problem.

Dave

 

[Helen B]

I would say that in my experience it is more difficult to get a scan from a transparency that does it justice short of really high-end drum scans. With negatives not such a big problem.

Dave

That's a good point. It can be difficult getting the full shadow detail from a transparency, even with high-end scanners.

 

[selmerdave]

I'll say that recently I had some 120 Provia scanned, and it came out beautifully in every way with a 50M drum scan. With a 30M flatbed (done professionally) the results were horrid, even after rescanning to try to correct it.

With my Minolta scanner at home it is very difficult to get good results from transparency, especially in the shadows as Helen suggests.

 

[MReid]

Thanks to everyone who answered. Exactly the kind of info I was looking for .