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April, 2025

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What film to use and when?

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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,008
This is more for 35mm and 120 film folks out there.

What types of film do you guys shoot and when/what situation do you use different film?

What are your favourites for shooting in certain situations/etc?

share experiences etc.
13 years ago
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,392
Haven't shot enough color to know what I like, I know I enjoy Porta though - pretty safe bet usually.

When I shoot black and white, I shoot TMAX 100 when I want a tighter lower ISO grain pattern, Delta 400 if I want the same for a higher ISO. TMAX 400 if I want a grainier image and if I really want the image to be rough, shooting higher ISO rated Delta is really fun.

I've played with Tri-X, it produces an interesting image, but not my thing for general shooting; I'd use it for low light situations and longer exposures where my subject is more delicate, landscapes and the like. I don't know how to describe how it's different.

I haven't used any other BW films because I enjoy these ones, and they are cheap, and frankly - I'm poor. haha.
13 years ago
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s.erickson
Posts: 504 - Karma: 992
FP4+
13 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
I mostly shoot in colour, and for 35mm these are the films I use:

Fujichrome Velvia 50 (The unbeaten king of landscape photography, insanely sharp, unrivaled contrast and colours, shit for portraits.)
Fujichrome Velvia 100 (The colors aren't as warm the 50, people look a bit better do.)
Fujichrome Velvia 100F (A bit paler in colour then the 100 but very, very sharp.)
Fujichrome PROVIA 400X (The film that does everything, low noise)
Fujichrome PROVIA 100F (The film that does everything, now with low ISO.)
Fujichrome Astia 100 (Soft colors, perfect for portraits.)

The Velvia and Provia films have a cult following but the Velvia 50 is a legend itself.



Sadly not my pic but this is an example of what Velvia 50 can do:

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13 years ago
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Obie.
Posts: 1741 - Karma: 3,646
^Provia is an awesome slide film, when I have the $ to pay for E6 processing mailout I make sure to pick up some. But I shoot Portra and various speeds of Ilford film. (lower speeds usually for landscapes etc)
13 years ago
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Bloc_chain
Posts: 26051 - Karma: 4,433
ektar 100 for sunlight
velvia 50 for landscapes
portra 400/800 for when it gets a tad bit darker
13 years ago
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,392
This is going to be a very helpful reference.
13 years ago
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,008
Exactly my reasoning in making this.
13 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
b-e-a-utiful!

I've shot a bit of gold 100 (havent had cash to get it developed/scanned yet though), have some kodak ultramax 400, Portra 160 + 400, and a few other rolls still at my disposal. Portra looks great from what i've seen.
13 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
portra 160. love the grain and sharpness!
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13 years ago
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1337
Posts: 31078 - Karma: 29,667
^examples, btw
13 years ago
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the.cheat
Posts: 2859 - Karma: 171
i'm 6 shots into a roll of 400tx from my local camera shop, we'll see how this goes. also threads for invaluable advice.
13 years ago
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MACAQUE
Posts: 2811 - Karma: 696
I usually stick to Ektar when there's enough light. I'm too concerned about missing the exposure to shoot slide film. When it's a little darker I'll go with Portra 400. For BW I've shot Delta 400 and Neopan 100 but I don't really have a favorite. Portra and Ektar both have amazing color:

Portra 400

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Ektar:

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13 years ago
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
Ilford hp5 for skate photos, delta 400 for general B&W portraiture and other work. As for colour I've been shooting a lot of cheap fuji superia and Kodak gold/ultra 400 lately, I have a few roles of portra and fuji pro 400h but I'm saving those for something special.
13 years ago
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,008
I forgot to mention what I usually have shot for film. I shoot almost only B&W for film.

I use tmax-100 for general B&W. Sometimes Neopan-100 if it's significantly cheaper. Tmax-400 for low light or action stuff.

I have only really used Reala-100 for colour prints... and I've liked the results so far.
13 years ago
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MACAQUE
Posts: 2811 - Karma: 696
I always forget how fucked over Canadians get on film prices,
13 years ago
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,788
This is pretty much a "mythreads" for reference.
I've been getting into film using Fuji superia 400, because it's cheapish and I don't know what I'm doing really.

Just sent off a roll of expired Fujichrome Sensia 100 though (with developing coupon included in the 15 year-old film canister!), will see how that turns out.
13 years ago
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BryantPhoto
Posts: 1574 - Karma: 891
High ISO isn't any harder than other types of film btw.

I shoot HP5 and Velvia 50. If it's any darker, I'm not going to waste my time and money on high iso bs film.
13 years ago
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bakedpow
Posts: 8770 - Karma: 10,468
threads for later when i can scan some film shots.
13 years ago
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Ethan.G
Posts: 1166 - Karma: 465
this exactly
13 years ago
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MACAQUE
Posts: 2811 - Karma: 696
Fuji isn't gong to be producing Velvia 100F anymore. I better try it out before it's too late.
13 years ago
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tomahawk
Posts: 2006 - Karma: 53
I found a bag of kodak gold 100/200. Waiting on some special moments to shoot 4 rolls of fuji pro 400h 35mm and 5 rolls of 120mm fuji 400h too.

Only thing is, I need to get a medium format camera.

Really wanting the Contax 645 but my funds aren't quite there yet.
13 years ago
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Keyjibbs
Posts: 1542 - Karma: 96
If you mainly shoot black and white, I highly suggest Arista Premium 400. It's just rebranded Tri-X for half the price. It's the only thing I've shoot in the last year and it's perfect for pretty much everything. Your exposure can be off by like 1 or 2 stops and you can still get a great image with a little work.

For color, like others have said, Portra 160NC or the new Portra 400 is pretty good for just about anything. I prefer 160NC shot at 100 over most other color films. For E6, I'm a fan of Provia 100F. Awesome colors but like most chrome/slide films you need to be pretty accurate on your exposure or you won't get the results you want.
13 years ago
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Mar-O
Posts: 960 - Karma: 827
Threads because I would love to start shooting some film if I find a cheap way to get it developed.
13 years ago
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,392
If you're shooting color neg, you can get it developed and scanned at Costco (if there's one near you) or almost any photo lab. It's way cheap at costco and good enough for reviewing your shots. If you want a good scan of them, it's better to have a good lab with a drum scanner do it, but it gets expensive, and you may have to send away for it. That really only matters if you want to make prints though, as even coscto gives you a scan that's a 6mp equivalent.
13 years ago
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
I love Kodak gold, 400 is perfect for fall/dusk. I want to try some 100 and 200 soon too.
13 years ago
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,008
Alright guys.. I'm going full on darkroom status hipster as fuck style pretty soon. What would you guys recommend for good n00b traditional B&W film with a good cheap:quality ratio?
13 years ago
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9243 - Karma: 5,678
ilford hp5+ it's cheapest BW film at B&H and Ilford makes good stuff, i pretty much exclusively shoot Hp5. It pushes to 800 well and it's juts nice overall. this was in d76 but i recently tarted using HC110 and i make a new batch for every roll cause you get a bottle of concentrate. Doing the new bath makes way nicer negatives all the time.
{img]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3519/3464046148_5d3476abce_z.jpg?zz=1[/img]
i also like tri-x, it's punchy. this was done in HC110. Super contrasty although that was the light here obviously.
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color, i really like slides. provia 100 is great and cheap. also ektar is good. if you're looking for 400 i'd go with portra.

all of the black and white on here either hp5 tri-x or tmax. the color is a mix of slides, ektar, or digital.
13 years ago
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9243 - Karma: 5,678
oops here's the first one
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13 years ago
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MLeone
Posts: 725 - Karma: 72
I love shooting Kodak Gold 100, i highly recommend it
13 years ago
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Keyjibbs
Posts: 1542 - Karma: 96
Arista Premium 400 aka rebranded Tri-x. Seriously at like $2.50 a roll it's the best price to quality film out there. You could also do 100ft bulk rolls though you'll need canisters and a bulk film loader but both of those can be found for super cheap.
13 years ago
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,008
Anyone ever used anything by Efke?
13 years ago
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/24745-REG/Ilford_1574616_HP5_Plus_135_36_Black.html
13 years ago
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Ethan.G
Posts: 1166 - Karma: 465
haven't personally used it but one of my customers at work has some photos shot with it

yashica mat 124g + efke 100 b&w

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yashica mat 124g + efke aura ir820 infrared

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13 years ago
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jeremy.g
Posts: 4931 - Karma: 459
efke 25 is beautiful for landscapes. highly recommend it, cannot beat the quality.
13 years ago
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MACAQUE
Posts: 2811 - Karma: 696
Just bought some Ilford PanF+ in 120 today. Should be interesting.
13 years ago
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,008
Picked up some of this today for 8 bucks. Saw on the package "made in Japan". Figured it's just 3rd party Fujifilm, so figured for 8 bucks? why not..

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Curious to see how it turns out. I'm guessing it's pretty much just Superia 400 or whatever base-level stuff they have.
13 years ago
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Laurent.
Posts: 10056 - Karma: 25,311
Expect the unexpected.

This is what happened when i used a ~15-year old rolls with Chinese markings on them:

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13 years ago
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,296
Wow, this looks cool!
13 years ago
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Just shot my first roll of 120. Portra 160 is a nice and versatile film, but I really dislike warm tones with there's lots of green in the subject. All the vegetation turns into a nasty olive color. I probably won't use Portra for anything foresty again. I'm about to try some Ektar 100 this weekend.

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13 years ago
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,296
You won't be disappointed. Especially considering you don't like warm colors. To me Ektar is the 'ultimate' film look. I love how featherlight the film looks. Ektar pics always look carless somehow.

I've been shooting some rolls this weekend as well. No 120 because my Mamiya is so big, but my XD-7 was going strong (as always).

Deciding which film scanner to pick up. Canoscan 9000 or a V600. It doesn't really seem to matter, so I might go with the Canon because it's 30$ cheaper, although it looks like a toy, whereas the Epson looks super nice.
13 years ago
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
You won't be disappointed with a v600, such a great purchase!
13 years ago
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,296
I don't doubt that, but if the Canon is 30$ cheaper and just as good, why not get that? That's what I'm telling myself anyway. I don't feel good about the Canon though.

Also: I heard the software that comes with the V600 sucks, but the V700's software is great. To what extent is this true?
13 years ago
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24730 - Karma: 30,008
if you don't feel good about the canon. don't get it.

and.. the software seems pretty fine to me...
13 years ago
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skiP.E.I.
Posts: 7959 - Karma: 23,208
I have found T-Max 100 and 400 to be very versatile, easy to process and yield good results. Ilford HP5 is very good too as someone already posted. Likewise, 100 and 400 TMY are great for 120 mm.
I've been using Kodak Technical Pan lately, since I got a lot of it for free. I develop it with HC 110 dilution F, which gives very good continuous tone negatives. It's extremely sharp: when enlarged to 8x10 the grain is almost imperceptible. If you develop it with D76, rodinol or the stronger dilutions of HC110, it is extremely contrasty (i.e. no midtones) which can be interesting.
When I shoot colour I usually use Fuji 400.
I have some 800 ISO 120 film which I'm excited to try.
13 years ago
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Since all films react differently, does anyone have any tips for exposing Ektar? I overexposed all my Portra 160 by 1 stop, which I think was due to my iPhone light meter not being calibrated. I'm told Portra has amazing headroom, so a lot of people underexpose with great results. What are some of Ektar's quirks?

I need to pick up another roll for this weekend in Jackson. Any suggestions? I was thinking Astia 100f...

Can someone recommend a good, fine tungsten film? I'm kind of pissed I started shooting after Fuji 64T was discontinued. I want those deep blues from city lights...

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13 years ago
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