Film recommendations ?

delegopa · 09-07-2014, 09:43 AM

Hi everyone,

I have an old SLR from my grandfather. At the beginning of my photographic journey I already took some shots with it.
They came out rather poor because I used slow shutterspeeds and was lacking in skill aswell

The batteries have died meanwhile as it slept on the shelf
Now I found the correct batteries to bring it back to life and want to try again.

Do you have some film recommendations for me?
I guess the use would mainly be shooting people and blur the hell out of everything else. It has a nice 50mm f/1.2 on it.

Preferably I would shoot in the golden hour. Getting some indoor candids with it would also be sweet.

What I thought to use is:

Fuji Superia ISO 200 or 400
Ilford 1574577 HP5 Plus 135-36 (BW, ISO400)

What needs to be fed:

Painter · 09-07-2014, 10:42 AM

Fuji Superia is a serviceable colour film but if your going to shoot portraits I suggest you try some Kodak Portra. You may be tempted to shoot at f1.2 but you may find that very difficult with its thin DOF.

jimr-pdx · 09-07-2014, 11:30 AM

Cool camera, and impressive 1.2 lens

even black and white will be fun!

Na Horuk · 09-07-2014, 11:44 AM

Nice camera and lens!
Maybe Kodak Tmax? Usually black and white is recommended for people new to film. Its very versatile, but.. well golden hour won't have the same effect. Though, it will have some effect in terms of shadows and tonality.
Hope you post some photos one day

robthebloke · 09-07-2014, 12:32 PM

Kodak portra for portraits (160 if you want the best quality. 400 version, or even 800, if you are mostly shooting in the evening)
Kodak ektar 100 if you want a high colour punch for landscapes (without resorting to the additional expense of slide film)

The Fuji 'pro' films are very much like portra (both are excellent, so I tend to buy 160 from Kodak, 400 from Fuji; or visa versa - I try to mix up my film purchases - if you stop buying it, they'll stop making it...)

I'm not sure if this applies to 35mm (I mainly shoot 120), but I really like the rollei synthetic films (200s etc) for black and white. Cheap, easy to develop at home, very easy to scan. I err towards illford 400 films if I need higher ISO.

If you are going to be in a stunning landscape, try out a velvia slide film. For 35mm though, I'd probably recommend ektar instead. For me slide film only really makes sense on medium format (because the beauty is in the negative). On 35mm, I'd be inclined to say the best use for slide film is to buy some expired rolls, and get them cross processed as c41. Others will no doubt disagree!

Superia is a good enough film (it's what I generally use with 35mm), but the ones I've listed above are the ones I've tried that really shine IMHO...

Drake Avenue · 09-07-2014, 12:54 PM

I really like Fuji Pro 400h for medium format. I prefer it over Portra 400 as far as overall color and whatnot.

6BQ5 · 09-07-2014, 02:05 PM

I second the recommendations for Kodak Portra. Agfa Vista Plus 200 has also been good to me. The colors are punchier than Fujicolor 200.

Jamey777 · 09-07-2014, 04:08 PM

Kodak Portra 400 hands down..

delegopa · 09-08-2014, 10:18 AM

Thanks everyone! I will try Kodak Portra then, along with the Ilford.
If it wasn't for that lens, I would probably never have thought about bringing this one out again

(if you got spare time pls. tell me if this sentence is correct

)
The camera has a split prism but wide open it's still not that easy to focus.

I will rember to post some shots here. But sadly this will take some time, as I am quite busy atm. Already looking forward to slow down a bit with this project.

---------- Post added 08-09-14 at 10:33 ----------

Additional info for the interested: Camera and lens are actually rebranded Fujica AX-3 and 50mm f1.2 EBC X-Fujinon. The camera has aperture priority mode, manual and bulb.
The lens was made in Pentax mount, too.
The filter thread so far resisted anything to be screwn in, thus no easy reversing for Makros...

owl · 09-23-2014, 12:19 PM

Originally posted by delegopa

If it wasn't for that lens I would probably never have thought about bringing this one out again (if you got spare time pls. tell me if this sentence is correct )

Correct!

tuco · 09-23-2014, 12:38 PM

Originally posted by delegopa

...
If it wasn't for that lens I would probably never have thought about bringing this one out again

(if you got spare time pls. tell me if this sentence is correct

)

I believe you need a comma after your introductory conditional clause (aka "if clause" ). eg "If it wasn't for that lens, ..."

Nuff · 09-30-2014, 09:41 PM

You said you want shallow depth of field during daylight hours. In that case you want to use films with ISO100 or less, not ISO400... with ISO400 during daytime you will be shooting at f16 and 1/500. I'm not sure about camera specs, but if the max shutter speed is 1/1000, then you can only stop it down to f11.

At least with ISO100 (Ektar etc) you will be able to shoot at f16 at 1/125 or f5.6 and 1/1000.

LesDMess · 10-03-2014, 07:07 AM - **3 Likes**

Originally posted by Nuff

You said you want shallow depth of field during daylight hours. In that case you want to use films with ISO100 or less, not ISO400... with ISO400 during daytime you will be shooting at f16 and 1/500. I'm not sure about camera specs, but if the max shutter speed is 1/1000, then you can only stop it down to f11.

At least with ISO100 (Ektar etc) you will be able to shoot at f16 at 1/125 or f5.6 and 1/1000.

You can also take advantage of the latitude of most films given their ability to overexpose by a considerable amount such as Kodak Tri-X 400 processed in xtol below.

Knowing this, I took my Pentax LX + 50mm f1.2 lens and shot this daytime scene wide open with the meter indicating +6 overexposure knowing that I can get useful results as shown below.

Other film latitude examples shown below.

Kodak BW400CN

Kodak Portra 400

Please note that these are just straight-up results with no pre or post processing. During scanning, I can adjust exposure time and in post processing adjust some more.

---------- Post added 10-03-14 at 10:24 AM ----------

Originally posted by delegopa

Hi everyone,

I have an old SLR from my grandfather. At the beginning of my photographic journey I already took some shots with it.
They came out rather poor because I used slow shutterspeeds and was lacking in skill aswell

The batteries have died meanwhile as it slept on the shelf
Now I found the correct batteries to bring it back to life and want to try again.

Do you have some film recommendations for me?
I guess the use would mainly be shooting people and blur the hell out of everything else. It has a nice 50mm f/1.2 on it.

Preferably I would shoot in the golden hour. Getting some indoor candids with it would also be sweet.

What I thought to use is:

Fuji Superia ISO 200 or 400
Ilford 1574577 HP5 Plus 135-36 (BW, ISO400)

What needs to be fed:

That looks beautiful and it would be a sin not to take it out for a spin!

6BQ5 · 10-03-2014, 07:50 AM

Les,

Your latitude test shots are absolutely excellent!! Thanks for posting this!!

LesDMess · 10-03-2014, 07:57 AM

Originally posted by 6BQ5

Les,

Your latitude test shots are absolutely excellent!! Thanks for posting this!!

Thanks as I have found them useful in my own use. For instance I was out and about and came upon this scene and the meter indicated that I needed 1/60 but I wanted to get a smoother water effect at 1/4 but I didn't have an ND filter with me. Knowing the latitude of Kodak Ektar 100 - and my own post capabilities, I took the shot at 1/2 and got the results below.

09-07-2014, 09:43 AM	#1
delegopa Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 244	Film recommendations ? Hi everyone, I have an old SLR from my grandfather. At the beginning of my photographic journey I already took some shots with it. They came out rather poor because I used slow shutterspeeds and was lacking in skill aswell The batteries have died meanwhile as it slept on the shelf Now I found the correct batteries to bring it back to life and want to try again. Do you have some film recommendations for me? I guess the use would mainly be shooting people and blur the hell out of everything else. It has a nice 50mm f/1.2 on it. Preferably I would shoot in the golden hour. Getting some indoor candids with it would also be sweet. What I thought to use is: Fuji Superia ISO 200 or 400 Ilford 1574577 HP5 Plus 135-36 (BW, ISO400) What needs to be fed:

09-08-2014, 10:18 AM	#9
delegopa Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 244 Original Poster	Thanks everyone! I will try Kodak Portra then, along with the Ilford. If it wasn't for that lens, I would probably never have thought about bringing this one out again (if you got spare time pls. tell me if this sentence is correct ) The camera has a split prism but wide open it's still not that easy to focus. I will rember to post some shots here. But sadly this will take some time, as I am quite busy atm. Already looking forward to slow down a bit with this project. ---------- Post added 08-09-14 at 10:33 ---------- Additional info for the interested: Camera and lens are actually rebranded Fujica AX-3 and 50mm f1.2 EBC X-Fujinon. The camera has aperture priority mode, manual and bulb. The lens was made in Pentax mount, too. The filter thread so far resisted anything to be screwn in, thus no easy reversing for Makros... Last edited by delegopa; 10-03-2014 at 10:56 AM. Reason: Comma added

10-03-2014, 07:07 AM - 3 Likes	#13
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	Originally posted by Nuff You said you want shallow depth of field during daylight hours. In that case you want to use films with ISO100 or less, not ISO400... with ISO400 during daytime you will be shooting at f16 and 1/500. I'm not sure about camera specs, but if the max shutter speed is 1/1000, then you can only stop it down to f11. At least with ISO100 (Ektar etc) you will be able to shoot at f16 at 1/125 or f5.6 and 1/1000. You can also take advantage of the latitude of most films given their ability to overexpose by a considerable amount such as Kodak Tri-X 400 processed in xtol below. Knowing this, I took my Pentax LX + 50mm f1.2 lens and shot this daytime scene wide open with the meter indicating +6 overexposure knowing that I can get useful results as shown below. Other film latitude examples shown below. Kodak BW400CN Kodak Portra 400 Please note that these are just straight-up results with no pre or post processing. During scanning, I can adjust exposure time and in post processing adjust some more. ---------- Post added 10-03-14 at 10:24 AM ---------- Originally posted by delegopa Hi everyone, I have an old SLR from my grandfather. At the beginning of my photographic journey I already took some shots with it. They came out rather poor because I used slow shutterspeeds and was lacking in skill aswell The batteries have died meanwhile as it slept on the shelf Now I found the correct batteries to bring it back to life and want to try again. Do you have some film recommendations for me? I guess the use would mainly be shooting people and blur the hell out of everything else. It has a nice 50mm f/1.2 on it. Preferably I would shoot in the golden hour. Getting some indoor candids with it would also be sweet. What I thought to use is: Fuji Superia ISO 200 or 400 Ilford 1574577 HP5 Plus 135-36 (BW, ISO400) What needs to be fed: That looks beautiful and it would be a sin not to take it out for a spin!

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09-07-2014, 10:42 AM	#2
Painter Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Canada Photos: Gallery Posts: 348	Fuji Superia is a serviceable colour film but if your going to shoot portraits I suggest you try some Kodak Portra. You may be tempted to shoot at f1.2 but you may find that very difficult with its thin DOF.

09-07-2014, 11:30 AM	#3
jimr-pdx Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: now 1 hour north of PDX Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,897	Cool camera, and impressive 1.2 lens even black and white will be fun!

09-07-2014, 11:44 AM	#4
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	Nice camera and lens! Maybe Kodak Tmax? Usually black and white is recommended for people new to film. Its very versatile, but.. well golden hour won't have the same effect. Though, it will have some effect in terms of shadows and tonality. Hope you post some photos one day

09-07-2014, 12:32 PM	#5
robthebloke Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Sydney Photos: Albums Posts: 844	Kodak portra for portraits (160 if you want the best quality. 400 version, or even 800, if you are mostly shooting in the evening) Kodak ektar 100 if you want a high colour punch for landscapes (without resorting to the additional expense of slide film) The Fuji 'pro' films are very much like portra (both are excellent, so I tend to buy 160 from Kodak, 400 from Fuji; or visa versa - I try to mix up my film purchases - if you stop buying it, they'll stop making it...) I'm not sure if this applies to 35mm (I mainly shoot 120), but I really like the rollei synthetic films (200s etc) for black and white. Cheap, easy to develop at home, very easy to scan. I err towards illford 400 films if I need higher ISO. If you are going to be in a stunning landscape, try out a velvia slide film. For 35mm though, I'd probably recommend ektar instead. For me slide film only really makes sense on medium format (because the beauty is in the negative). On 35mm, I'd be inclined to say the best use for slide film is to buy some expired rolls, and get them cross processed as c41. Others will no doubt disagree! Superia is a good enough film (it's what I generally use with 35mm), but the ones I've listed above are the ones I've tried that really shine IMHO...

09-07-2014, 12:54 PM	#6
Drake Avenue Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Photos: Gallery Posts: 140	I really like Fuji Pro 400h for medium format. I prefer it over Portra 400 as far as overall color and whatnot.

09-07-2014, 02:05 PM	#7
6BQ5 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Nevada, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,348	I second the recommendations for Kodak Portra. Agfa Vista Plus 200 has also been good to me. The colors are punchier than Fujicolor 200.

09-07-2014, 04:08 PM	#8
Jamey777 Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Florida Posts: 426	Kodak Portra 400 hands down..

09-23-2014, 12:19 PM	#10
owl Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Upstate New York, USA Posts: 92	Originally posted by delegopa If it wasn't for that lens I would probably never have thought about bringing this one out again (if you got spare time pls. tell me if this sentence is correct ) Correct!

09-23-2014, 12:38 PM	#11
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,022	Originally posted by delegopa ... If it wasn't for that lens I would probably never have thought about bringing this one out again (if you got spare time pls. tell me if this sentence is correct ) I believe you need a comma after your introductory conditional clause (aka "if clause" ). eg "If it wasn't for that lens, ..."

09-30-2014, 09:41 PM	#12
Nuff Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Sydney Posts: 671	You said you want shallow depth of field during daylight hours. In that case you want to use films with ISO100 or less, not ISO400... with ISO400 during daytime you will be shooting at f16 and 1/500. I'm not sure about camera specs, but if the max shutter speed is 1/1000, then you can only stop it down to f11. At least with ISO100 (Ektar etc) you will be able to shoot at f16 at 1/125 or f5.6 and 1/1000.

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10-03-2014, 07:50 AM	#14
6BQ5 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Nevada, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,348	Les, Your latitude test shots are absolutely excellent!! Thanks for posting this!!

10-03-2014, 07:57 AM	#15
LesDMess Pentaxian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,235	Originally posted by 6BQ5 Les, Your latitude test shots are absolutely excellent!! Thanks for posting this!! Thanks as I have found them useful in my own use. For instance I was out and about and came upon this scene and the meter indicated that I needed 1/60 but I wanted to get a smoother water effect at 1/4 but I didn't have an ND filter with me. Knowing the latitude of Kodak Ektar 100 - and my own post capabilities, I took the shot at 1/2 and got the results below.