Thu, November 11th, 2004 by btezra
I am about to embark on a new photo essay and I have decided to shoot it on nothing but film...getting back to where my passion for photography started...with film and a Nikon 35mm SLR.
In this day & age of glorious digital cameras one must not forget what medium still provides the base for photography. Shooting film requires technique, preparation and a keen eye for subject matter. It also requires some knowledge on which film provides the best results and has the greatest strengths when it comes to certain aspects of "getting the shot".
So, as I embark on shooting I referred to a recent comparison on Popular Photography's website of both b&w and color film available in the marketplace.
Here are two PDF's to download:
Also, any thoughts, from all the photoblogs.org readers, to share on your favorite film to use and why you tend to use it more than others?
Lastly, I am planning on purchasing nik Multimedia's Color Efex Pro 2.0 ...it offers a complete range of 75 traditional and stylizing photographic filters for the photographioc editing process...you can demo the product at their website. Anyone out there using this product...thoughts?
November 11th, 2004 at 10:37 am
in the summer I use mainly fuji reala 100 C41 and also kodak portra, have just stocked up on some fuji 400, 800 and 1600, plus kodak E200 slide which you can push to 1600...apparently!
sometimes use agfa films which have some nice colour saturation
BW - usually HP5 in general
November 11th, 2004 at 11:49 am
my favorite film is compact flash. beautiful grain structure.
November 11th, 2004 at 12:07 pm
Wow, those PDF's are great and will come in handy.
Here is a listing of some of my favorites.
Colour Film
Agfa Ultra 100 - Great colour saturation
Agfa Optima 400- Love using this in my Holga or Diana
Fujicolor NPS 160 - Great for portraits
Fujicolor NPH 400 - Also great for portraits
Fujicolor Superia 1600 - For very low light situations (haven't used this in awhile, but I used this a lot in the past.)
Colour Slide
Fujichrome Provia 400F - used mainly for cross processing.
Black and White
Ilford FP4
Ilford HP5 - great for pushing
Chromogenic Black and White
Ilford XP2 Super
Of course I have tried other films, but these are the ones that you will find in my bag most often.
November 11th, 2004 at 12:31 pm
my favourite films are:
for b/w: ilford xp2 super. chromagenic - can be processed in every color lab, has fine grain and gives very good results for a relatively small price.
for color: fuji superia x-tra 400 or a rebranded version of kodak gold 400 (av only in german "aldi" stores, "kodak vr plus"). both feature nice colors and fine grain for this iso rating. [why iso 400? i often shoot in low light situations, where an iso 200 film would not feature finer grain (compared to 400) and is one f-stop slower.]
slides: kodak ektachrome or fuji sensia.
these are all "alround films", but they all have a very good price/performance ratio which is not unimportant, if you're not a pro.
November 11th, 2004 at 1:35 pm
I am a bit of an evangelist for the professional Kodak C-41 BW (400 CN I think it's called now, used to be Portra 400 BW). I use it almost always instead of any true black and white, and not just because it's more convenient and scans better, but because it has the most sumptuous inky black tones and amazing dynamic range. It also has a "grain" structure that doesn't feel dye-like but feels like real b/w grain. And it pushes very well. I've pushed it three stops with pretty acceptable results, although it loses a lot of leeway at that extreme. I much prefer it to the Ilford equivalents.
For colour I really like the muted tones and lovely smoothness of Kodak Portra 400, or 160. And Fuji Reala 100 is really punchy and smooth and great for sunny days. I avoid slide film because it's less forgiving, unless I plan on shooting colourful landscapes and bracketing exposures, or more experimental shots, or just really want that super saturation for some reason.
True b/w: I really like Fuji Press 1600. It has grain that looks... good, even when it spreads thin (especially!). Also the new Fuji Across 100 is remarkably sharp, but I think a little overhyped. And Tri-X 125 or 400 is great for that sorta soft familiar look if that makes sense.
November 11th, 2004 at 2:23 pm
My "all-purpose" films are Fuji NPH400 and Ilford HP5. There was a story line on this a while back:
http://blog.photoblogs.org/2004/09/film_and_film_c.html
November 11th, 2004 at 3:27 pm
just because one might shoot digital doesn't mean that they don't still "require technique, preparation and a keen eye for subject matter" for a successful shot. you make it sound like these are only required when shooting film.
i think Kodak Tri-X is the best black and white film. the grainy look of it can't be beat and it's quite forgiving in terms of exposure.
November 11th, 2004 at 3:32 pm
tri-x and hp5 for b&w. i drop them in rodinal and push and pull them willy nilly.
i like kodak gold 100 for color work. ross uses nph, but he has like a bazillion dollars (that he got from student loans).
November 11th, 2004 at 3:33 pm
and i don't understand why you want to shoot film and then mess it up using digital filters. stay pure, man. nik color effects will pollute your precious bodily fluids.
November 11th, 2004 at 3:45 pm
~Tristan...you say to-ma-toe I say to-maaaa-ta...I do believe there is a bit more technique involved, knowing exactly how a certain camera performs in relation to the setting and limits of the film you are using, there are a few more variables involved with shooting film that require a bit more preperation for the settings one will be shooting in...I did not mean to come off as dissing digi photography, I carry one everywhere I go and rely on the ability to shoot multiple images, bracketing like a champ, deleting where I see fit...
Ian, I am sticking with pure film, not going to use the filters when editing...just had a friend reco the product and I wanted to see if anyone had experience w/ it while editing digi images~
November 11th, 2004 at 3:58 pm
Tri X is where its at. Particularly pulled to ISO 200.
I find color film so finicky that I don't want to shoot it any more. Only black and white film.
November 11th, 2004 at 4:15 pm
Color: Provia 400F, Velvia 100, Astia 100 depending on what kind of effects I'm after.
B&W: BW400CN -- a wonderful discovery.
November 11th, 2004 at 4:44 pm
tri-x. always tri-x. i like it because it's possible to push it two or three stops without problem. never tried to pull it, as eric suggests (will try definitely try that).
fuji reala iso 100 for color negative. splendid emulsion.
kodak ektachrome slide film for cross-processing. iso 100 rated 64.
November 11th, 2004 at 9:04 pm
Ilford Delta 400 and HP5 as long as they keep making it. Because they both produce beautiful grain.
November 11th, 2004 at 9:47 pm
Ilford Delta and HP5 all the way. I use HP5 daily for classes...
October 4th, 2005 at 11:46 am
I still get hits from this from time to time, so people must be reading it. I've been shooting A LOT of tmax 3200 lately, grainy but with style. Can't really see much different between my hp5 and the tri-x 400, maybe a tad more contrast.