Film Thread Options

[graphospasmic]

Okay this is just a basic outline of some favorite films of mine and other perceptioners. Feel free to add on any films that I missed that you want to talk about.

Color Print Films:

Fuji Reala - Cool and sharp. It's a very fine grain 100 speed film, very all purpose, and it has some of the best colors you'll get with any print film.

Kodak Portra - This series of films comes in a few different emulsions, all availible in 160 or 400 speed (and I believe 800 speed in some cases as well). First is the Natural Color, great for when you don't want very high saturation, and an accurate portrayal of the colors in the picture. The Vivid Color films have a little richer, more saturated colors, this one is very warm. And the Ultra Color films have very high color saturation, great for nature photography.

Fuji Superia 200 - If you can't afford professional films then I'd suggest just picking up 5 packs of this stuff, probably for under $15. It's 200 speed, so it's good for most outdoor situations, and it's got great color saturation. I've known photographers to prefer this over Kodak Ultra Color films, and for such a cheap price it's a great deal. Just stay away from the higher speed Superia films (400, 800, 1600) because most of these just come out too grainy and junky looking.

Color Transparency Films:

Astia - Very natural colors, probably the slide film suited best for portraits because there is not very high saturation. Nice for controlled lighting situations, such as a studio.

Provia - My personal favorite, Provia is very all around and useful in many situations. It has nice saturation for landscapes, but is still acceptable for a decent portrait. If you are going to be shooting a variety of subjects (whether it is a portrait or not) Provia has probably got you covered. EXTREMELY fine grain, but looks incredible when pushed a stop or two.

Velvia - Velvia is a favorite among landscape photographers and other nature photographers because of it's high saturation and vibrant colors. I would advise against portraits with Velvia because it blows out skin tones (turns them red and icky).

Kodachrome - The only thing stopping me from shooting more Kodachrome is the fact that there are only a few places in the entire world that will develop this special K-14 process film, and Kodak sends all of their's to Switzerland. Kodachrome offers natural and true to life colors, and is very accurate in detail. If you can still get it, try some Kodachrome 25 for landscapes. The ISO 64 and ISO 200 Kodachrome emulsions are also both excellent for just about any situation, providing a good range of cool and warm tones.

Black and White:

Tri-X - This is the staple of black and white photography. Tri-X is a consistently grainy black and white film, giving it a "classic look." Very wide latitude, so exposures that are a tad under/over will still be acceptable. If there ever was a beginner film, this was it.

T-Max - This film tends to be a little sharper and less grainy than Tri-X, so if you're not into the whole "old-school" look, you might try this film out. It comes in 100 and 400 speed emulsions.

Fuji Neopan - The 100 speed Acros film is an incredibly sharp, fine-grain film, great for getting in every little detail. The 400 speed emulsion is much like Tri-X, because of the noticible, yet consitent grain. There is also a 1600 speed emulsion, but that's getting pretty far up there, and this film is just so grainy that you lose a whole lot of detail in the image.

Ilford Pan F - This is awesome shit, the absolute sharpest, finest grain black and white film (with the exception of Panatomic-X). ISO 50. Great for use in the studio and other controlled light situations. Also, this is a good film for black and white landscapes because of the crisp detail and fine grain. As with most films, best results are with a tripod, and you'll be better off with one cause an ISO 50 film is gonna need a fairly long exposure if not in bright light.

Ilford Delta 3200 - Great contrast, grain is still somewhat acceptable for 3200 speed film. Pulling to 1600 gives some cool effects, however the grain is much worse than Neopan 1600.

Films I Dislike (And I think others will agree)

Agfa Ultra 100 - I shoot a lot of this but the only reason is because I bought a ton after getting back one roll of good looking pictures. Now I have probably a dozen rolls lying around. Just make sure not to waste your money on this film. It may be 100 speed, but the grain is the same, if not worse, than most 400 to 800 speed print films. It's got incredible saturation, the colors are very rich and deep, which can be a plus for some situations, but skin tones tend to be blown out. And there is hardly any detail at all in this one, just all grain.

Fuji Superia X-tra 400 - Ugh don't get me started on this one either. I guess I'll never be completely happy with 35mm 400 speed color negatives (I guess kodak gold is ok. . .) but the colors and grain on this film are jsut not cuttin it. Keep away, stick with the Kodak 400 speeds, you'll be better off.

[RichMurray]

Agfa scala:- black and white transparency, delishushness to the max, but has apparantly gone out of production which sucks balls it was always cool to see the picture but just as a smaller version IMO i dont like having to rely on prints to check everything. Buy some whilst you can seriously it's 10 worth it.

[peteh]

cvs 400 - everything

[FenderSixString]

[graphospasmic]

Do you notice much of a difference between the tri-x 320 and the tri-x 400? Cause I've shot 120 Tri-X 400 and really liked it, but if I can get it even sharper it'd be tight.

[kyle bunker]

[Paulywalnuts]

kodak ultra color 400 seemed good for all situations with an alright photo, but right on with the fuji superia 200 its definately a good buy for the money for a color print film.

[graphospasmic]

lol what? I didn't understand much of that

[FenderSixString]

Yeah, graphospasmic was deffinately right about the poor granularity for Agfa 100.

The saturation is good but not worth it considering all the grain (for ISO 100 film).

[skate34'84']

what about provia?? is that stuff good?? how much does it cost?

[germicide]

[Chris Lynch]

Faster Reversal films:


Provia 400F.... if you need a versatile/high speed Slide, this is it.
You can push it all the way to 3200 (if you know a lab that will do this for you). It does get very grainy once you pass ISO 1000/1600, but still- what other choice do you have?


The "other choice" i speak of is: Kodak Ektachrome P1600. You can still get it from BH and Adorama for like $14 a roll, which is obscene. But if you absolutely need this kind of film, you understand




i TOTALLY agree as to what has already been said about Kodachrome. Awesome color rendition, just too bad its difficult to develope.

[SteveLaClair]

[Exhumed]

Have any of you guys used this film Kodak E100 VS Ektachrome. How do you guys like it?

[Chris Lynch]

its a pretty wild film. Tons of saturation, very similar to Velvia.

difference is: velvia tends to get more greens, while kodak's films are more on the red-blue spectrum.




If i'm shooting Kodak its for:
B&W
E100SW (or whatever its called now) and its awesome reds
Portra (one of the best color negs out there)
400UC (the OTHER best C41 out there!)

[graphospasmic]

Hmmm I've always found Velvia to be the more bluey/reddy/purpley film.

[Chris Lynch]

velvia does render pretty much all colors in a crazy fashion. But really leans towards the green side. Do some longer shots, messing with Recipricocity Failure/color shift.

Most Fuji E-6's go towards the green end on long exp., while most Kodaks are more red.


(all just my experience though, backed up by some reading)

[Exhumed]

Fuck. The guy already sold them all. He had 36 rolls for 2.50US each. Half off for each roll.

Oh well.

[Chris Lynch]

Dude, ever looked at film on ebay? so cheap. Just search (buy it now only) for the film you're looking for, and you'll probably find bricks, 20+ roll sets, etc... expired film is cheap.

[Exhumed]

I hate ebay man. I try to stay away from it as much as I can. I'll put a wtb on Fm to see if anybody has film lying around.

Plus teh shipping charges are outrageouse.