Decision Paralysis: AKA which film for an upcoming camping trip in the mountains

I think I have too many choices, which is contributing to my indecision.

Next weekend I'm going on my yearly camping/hunting trip in the VA mountains. I'm going to bring my Canon New F-1 and 35-105/3.5 zoom (as well as a 50/1.4), but I'm unsure which film to bring. Peak leaf color has passed us but there will be lots of golden light from the sun shining through what remains. Sunsets and sunrises will be stunning.

Choices:
Lomo Metropolis: Will expose at 400 for additional contrast and color, but I think this wouldn't be a great choice for the woods. Could be interesting but I'm thinking it'll be mostly wasted here.

Fuji Superia 400: Great for "golden hour" shots, but the region will be mostly brown and grey with a little green here and there. It may be a bit limited during midday.

Berger Pancro 400 B&W: I'll lose the "golden hour" colors but can focus (heh) on shapes and textures of the forest.

Kodak Double-X B&W: Could make for a "grittier" composition, but I think it'll be too slow in the forest outside of midday.

I'm leaning towards the Berger and just using my phone for color shots.

Thoughts?

Chris

How much of every film? Bring everything

mtnbkr said:

Fuji Superia 400: Great for "golden hour" shots, but the region will be mostly brown and grey with a little green here and there. It may be a bit limited during midday.

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Why limited under midday? I am a 120 shooter and find C41 400 (basically Portra 400) great for everything. A lot of the look is up to scanning (hybrid) that gives leeway in interpreting the results. For ages consumer film was printed optically, so it should be good for everything.
I agree on your thought about Metropolis, it's more of a specialty unrefined C41 film.

For B&W I have no experience in either stock you have, choose a general purpose film and be good with it. In the last years I became focused in B&W but there is still a lot of beauty in color film, although the phone is great for snapshots.

Prest_400 said:

How much of every film? Bring everything

Why limited under midday? I am a 120 shooter and find C41 400 (basically Portra 400) great for everything. A lot of the look is up to scanning (hybrid) that gives leeway in interpreting the results. For ages consumer film was printed optically, so it should be good for everything.
I agree on your thought about Metropolis, it's more of a specialty unrefined C41 film.

For B&W I have no experience in either stock you have, choose a general purpose film and be good with it. In the last years I became focused in B&W but there is still a lot of beauty in color film, although the phone is great for snapshots.

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I don't want to take everything because I'll struggle to finish a roll, much less multiples.

As for why color will be limited under midday...all of the leaves have changed color and will be brown and/or off the trees entirely. Everything will be flat brown in the middle of the day, but during "golden hour" light they'll pick up a glow. But, only during those times.

Chris

My go to films are all ISO 400 films so that I can use smaller apertures during the day with greater depth of fields and then as the sun goes down or early in the morning I open up the lens and keep on photographing with natural light. I do not have to change backs unless I am switching between color and black & white.

I settled on TWO SLRs a long time ago -- one color & one B&W -- but if that's not an option, learn how to rewind your film. It's quite simple and let's you carry fast & slow COLOR, and well as fast & slow B&W -- and switch mid-roll. E-Z, P-Z.

Velvia 50.

I will chime in with the old standby of bring the film you are most familiar with. If you are well versed in all of them, my hat is off to you sir!

mtnbkr said:

I think I have too many choices, which is contributing to my indecision.

Next weekend I'm going on my yearly camping/hunting trip in the VA mountains. I'm going to bring my Canon New F-1 and 35-105/3.5 zoom (as well as a 50/1.4), but I'm unsure which film to bring. Peak leaf color has passed us but there will be lots of golden light from the sun shining through what remains. Sunsets and sunrises will be stunning.

Choices:
Lomo Metropolis: Will expose at 400 for additional contrast and color, but I think this wouldn't be a great choice for the woods. Could be interesting but I'm thinking it'll be mostly wasted here.

Fuji Superia 400: Great for "golden hour" shots, but the region will be mostly brown and grey with a little green here and there. It may be a bit limited during midday.

Berger Pancro 400 B&W: I'll lose the "golden hour" colors but can focus (heh) on shapes and textures of the forest.

Kodak Double-X B&W: Could make for a "grittier" composition, but I think it'll be too slow in the forest outside of midday.

I'm leaning towards the Berger and just using my phone for color shots.

Thoughts?

Chris

Click to expand...

Double-X will not be too slow. I use it as my “fast” film these days. The grain will make forest scenes look great.

xkaes said:

I settled on TWO SLRs a long time ago -- one color & one B&W -- but if that's not an option, learn how to rewind your film. It's quite simple and let's you carry fast & slow COLOR, and well as fast & slow B&W -- and switch mid-roll. E-Z, P-Z.

Click to expand...

I mean ... pre-autofocus 35mm bodies and lenses cost almost nothing now. You can probably get however many AE-1 bodies you want, with 50/1.8 body covers on them, for $25-50 each at a swap meet or antique faire.

120 bodies and lenses, still not quite so much. I am quite content with my old skool M645 though.

OP: If taking B+W, bring a red or orange filter for daylight, and optionally a CP, in case you have a blue sky. Deep red and polarizer will give you a nearly black sky that looks pretty dang cool with bare limbs.

Sirius Glass said:

My go to films are all ISO 400 films so that I can use smaller apertures during the day with greater depth of fields and then as the sun goes down or early in the morning I open up the lens and keep on photographing with natural light. I do not have to change backs unless I am switching between color and black & white.

Click to expand...

If you are shooting 35mm for landscape, and you want a clean look, I think that 400 speed negative film is not an optimum choice. Color film has improved steadily but I don't think it's that improved.

Note: Monopods make great hiking poles. You can get handles that fit onto the screw. Somewhere I have a Novoflex carbon fiber monopod that is just awesome that way.

How are you going to use your negatives? Will you print them or scan? If you are scanning then color film could be more versatile.

xkaes said:

I settled on TWO SLRs a long time ago -- one color & one B&W -- but if that's not an option, learn how to rewind your film. It's quite simple and let's you carry fast & slow COLOR, and well as fast & slow B&W -- and switch mid-roll. E-Z, P-Z.

Click to expand...

I don't want to carry multiple cameras. This is not a photography trip. I also have to schlep my gear down several miles of 4x4 trail (actual 4x4, not "dirt road", last time I was out there I had to deploy my winch). One camera and a single roll of film. I *might* toss a second roll in the bag, but probably not.

MTGseattle said:

I will chime in with the old standby of bring the film you are most familiar with. If you are well versed in all of them, my hat is off to you sir!

Click to expand...

I'm pretty familiar with all of the films mentioned except Kodak Double X. I've only used it a handful of times before. I like it, but like Metropolis I think it might be a bit too specialized for this trip.

Bill Burk said:

Double-X will not be too slow. I use it as my “fast” film these days. The grain will make forest scenes look great.

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It will be at dawn or dusk or if I'm down in the valley below our camp at any time other than mid-day. I agree about the grain and have liked it in woodland scenes before, but that was in the summer when there was more light and longer days.

J N said:

I mean ... pre-autofocus 35mm bodies and lenses cost almost nothing now. You can probably get however many AE-1 bodies you want, with 50/1.8 body covers on them, for $25-50 each at a swap meet or antique faire.

120 bodies and lenses, still not quite so much. I am quite content with my old skool M645 though.

OP: If taking B+W, bring a red or orange filter for daylight, and optionally a CP, in case you have a blue sky. Deep red and polarizer will give you a nearly black sky that looks pretty dang cool with bare limbs.

Click to expand...

Not looking to buy more cameras. I have a yellow and red filter, but they'll only fit the 50/1.4. The zoom's front element is huge and I haven't invested in filters for it yet.

J N said:

If you are shooting 35mm for landscape, and you want a clean look, I think that 400 speed negative film is not an optimum choice. Color film has improved steadily but I don't think it's that improved.

Note: Monopods make great hiking poles. You can get handles that fit onto the screw. Somewhere I have a Novoflex carbon fiber monopod that is just awesome that way.

Click to expand...

I'm not going to be shooting landscapes per se, more "items of interest". I particularly like capturing interesting textures and shapes with B&W (rock formations, old twisted trees, etc). This area isn't particularly "scenic" for shooting wide open vistas anyway (been camping out there for over 20 years, I'm pretty familiar with the photo ops). I thought color would be interesting during golden hours because the forest absolutely glows at that time with the leaves all brown with some muted reds and yellows, but outside those limited times it's kind of bland, which is why I was leaning towards B&W.

Romanko said:

How are you going to use your negatives? Will you print them or scan? If you are scanning then color film could be more versatile.

Click to expand...

If color, it'll be developed and printed by The Darkroom. If B&W, I'll develop and scan myself, but send anything out that is worth printing post-development.

Chris

IDK… after reading that post I’d think a mobile phone would be a good solution for taking pictures, as long as you don’t forget the charger at home.

Shoot color. Since you're scanning you can convert to BW. Also I'd pick a higher speed film. It's going to be dark in those valleys plus you might want some people shots too. Portra 400.

I’d still vote for Double-X. Leave the zoom home bring the 50mm f/1.4 and keep the yellow filter on most of the time. Take the filter off when it’s too dark. Use the red filter when you come up on a crest view with magnificent views.

Take pictures of your buddies and the gear, when you get between trees and have to winch, take pictures before and after. Maybe even take pictures instead of helping. Show close-ups of the rigging and tires throwing dirt.

If there’s fish don’t forget to include a ruler (or banana) for scale.