do you standardize your film?

BetterSense · Oct 29, 2015

I shoot many formats. Variety is the spice of life, and it is interesting to shoot different films. But if I were honest with myself I would have to admit that my photographs would improve if I would standardize on one film. I wouldn't have to look up development times. I would never lose track of or forget in the heat of the moment what film is in the camera. I could develop all the film together in the same tank.

As I get older I am becoming addicted to simplicity. None of my cameras require batteries, because without batteries,your batteries can never go dead. I like fixed lens cameras now because you always have the right lens. Fewer cameras means you have the right camera. Fewer films should be better for the same reason. If I commit to one film, I don't have to make a choice what film to load in my RB67 depending what I will be shooting. I just load the standard film because that's all I have.

Then there is the problem what to standardize on. I am amazed by TMAX400 in all formats, but it's priced high in sheet sizes, so I would just have to bite the bullet there. I like HP5 a lot, but I don't always want a grainy look in small formats and it has poor reciprocity. Maybe I should try Delta...but they don't make it in sheets.

The problem is clearing those last hurdles. Could I really do without 100 speed film in half-frame? If I chicken out and settled on a 100 speed and 400 speed I have started the choice snowball.

What have other people done?

RobC · Oct 29, 2015

Delta 100 is available in sheets, 4x5, 5x7, 10x8 and other sizes by special order I believe. But not in 400.

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/download.asp?n=2600&file=MONO PAL AUGUST 2015.pdf

I'm with you on the standardisation. Its Minimalism for me, less is more. I rarely even go for the toning or warmtone papers.

Sirius Glass · Oct 29, 2015

Kodak Portra 400 for color print unless I am shooting Red Rock or brilliant Fall Color and then I use my stash of Kodak Ultra Color 400.
Kodak Tri-X 400 for 35mm and 120; Ilford HP5+ for LF.

markbarendt · Oct 29, 2015

BetterSence I like the idea too. I haven't gotten there.

Standardization is actually a great argument for C-41 especially in medium & smaller formats.

ericdan · Oct 29, 2015

I am with you. I shoot way too many films.
I currently have a stash of

125 rolls of Ektar
130 rolls of Provia 400X
and 100 rolls of Gold 200

I am planning on shooting through one at a time. Really learn how that film behaves in all situations and then try to settle on one (not the 400X obviously).

winger · Oct 29, 2015

I can see the logic. But I guess I like my logic in small doses. I tend to use HP5+ or Tri-X in 35mm, Acros in 120, and Delta100 and HP5+ in 4x5. For color, it tends to be Portra in 120 and I haven't really shot color in 35mm or 4x5 lately. Well, never for 4x5, though I recently bought a 10 sheet box of Ektar to try. Acros is just too expensive in 4x5 and I like more grit when I shoot 35mm. And there are others hanging around - random rolls of SFX, D3200, and FP4.

mrred · Oct 29, 2015

I tend to standardize by acquisition. I buy 35mm in bulk, like 400' reels. MF I usually buy $200-$300 at a time. Choices are not the same in both formats, so I live with what I have. Effectively standardized by inventory.

removed account4 · Oct 29, 2015

in a sense yes..
it's all expired,
it all gets exposed,
no ,patter the ISO he same time
and it all gets developed the same way ..
paper negs are ez, I just count to 5

accozzaglia · Oct 30, 2015

For quite a few years, my E-6 standard was Fujichrome MS 100/100 Multispeed, both in 35mm and 120.

gone · Oct 30, 2015

I think using one film is smart, but there are times when one film just won't do it all. Ditto for developers. If you make a few tests on your films and write the optimal developing results on the neg sleeves, you'll never have to look up the times and temps again. Just pull out your 3 ring binder, flip to the film and developer combination you wish to use, and there you are.

Ian Grant · Oct 30, 2015

I standardised on Agfa APX10 for a nfew years 35mm, 120 & LF with Tmax 400 as my fast film. Then when Agfa stopped sheet film I switched to Tmax 100.

About 8 years ago I was forced to switch because Tmax films are very hard to get when abroad where as Ilford and Foma where everywhere, Now I use Ilford Delta a 100 & 400 in 120 and Deltaa 100 & HP5 in 5x4, Foma films are my backup if needed.

Ian

TheToadMen · Oct 30, 2015

jnanian said:
in a sense yes..
it's all expired,
it all gets exposed,
no ,patter the ISO he same time
and it all gets developed the same way ..
paper negs are ez, I just count to 5

Paper negs are attractive, indeed. Might become my main tool for LF pinhole photography.

I'm thinking on settling for film with Fomapan 100 developed in Caffenol-C-M.
Cheaper an readibly available overhere. And Caffenol is easy to make & use.

Bert from Holland
http://thetoadmen.blogspot.nl

Steve Smith · Oct 30, 2015

I like to use Ilford FP4+ for everything. However, there are times when I don't have enough funds to buy the film I want and instead, I will buy what I can get more cheaply.

I have recently been using Agfa APX100 in 35mm and Fujifilm Acros in 120.

Steve.

John Bragg · Oct 30, 2015

I have standardised on HP5+ as this is the best film for my needs and also easily available. I like the look in HC-110 and it is now my standard. I also have a backup stock of Tri-X, but for the last 18 months it has been Ilford all the way for me. Simple is best and it is just one less worry if I have a choice of one flavour. I think my photography is improved by not chopping and changing. Predictable results are the best way to go, especially when you cant afford to fail on an important shot.

removed account4 · Oct 30, 2015

TheToadMen said:
Paper negs are attractive, indeed. Might become my main tool for LF pinhole photography.

I'm thinking on settling for film with Fomapan 100 developed in Caffenol-C-M.
Cheaper an readibly available overhere. And Caffenol is easy to make & use.

Bert from Holland
http://thetoadmen.blogspot.nl

indeed !

1 developer caffenol mixed + dektol any film, any paper
works like a charm ! ( but you knew that already )

R.Gould · Oct 30, 2015

I use Fomapan for 99% of my photography in both 35mm and 120, I have used this film for a decade and feel that I know it's foibles very well, so don't need to think about how to get the results I like, for the remaining 1% I use HP5.
Richard

ic-racer · Oct 30, 2015

I use whatever film is available.

TheFlyingCamera · Oct 30, 2015

I've standardized on my default films - Tri-X in 120 is my go-to b/w film, Kodak Ektar 100 is my go-to color film. I keep FP4+ around in part because I still have a big stash of FP4+ left over from a 100 roll bulk purchase some years ago when B&H was running a special (I think the box of 100 rolls was under $150) and because it's good to have a slow speed b/w film available when you know you're shooting bright daylight but want to use shallower depth of field. In the color arena, I keep Portra 400 and 800 in stock for when I know I'll be shooting low-light, but they're not my go-to films. On my last trip, I shot 35 rolls of color film - 3 were Portra 800, 2 were Portra 160 (stub ends of an open pro-pack that I put in my Belair X6-12 panoramic camera) and the rest was Ektar 100.

Fr. Mark · Oct 30, 2015

Ektascan B/RA rated at 100 mid day (lower earlier or later---it's not a pan film) for LF in Pyrocat HD for LF. Everything else is done with a sensor right now. When I print the digi captures I tend to use Dr. Ware's cyanotype chemistry though.

I'd about given up on 35mm but then I came into ~6 rolls of tech pan and developed it in Rodinal---amazing. Not sure what to replace it with. ?tmax100? I'd like that fine grain @400 speed... For 35mm. Fantasy, I know.

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 30, 2015

I have standardized a couple of times over the years now.
When I first started photography I experimented a lot, but I finally settled on the Agfa APX films when they were made.
Then I stopped the nonsense of switching around and I settled on TMax 400 for 35mm and 120, and it helped that I didn't use sheet film, of course.
TMax 400 was too smooth, and I felt I wanted more grain so I switched to Tri-X 400 in those film types.
Then Kodak had its bankruptcy and I freaked out and switched to Ilford HP5+.

Now I'm relaxed about grain, resolution, and all that stuff that I these days find rather meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I just simply use Ilford HP5+ all the time, and don't worry about the film and what it provides to the final result, because I know it will be good enough. It is so nice to just grab a camera, knowing what film it's loaded with, and fire away without having to think about how it's going to behave. That means a lot to me.

markbarendt · Oct 30, 2015

Thomas Bertilsson said:
Now I'm relaxed about grain, resolution, and all that stuff that I these days find rather meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I just simply use Ilford HP5+ all the time, and don't worry about the film and what it provides to the final result, because I know it will be good enough. It is so nice to just grab a camera, knowing what film it's loaded with, and fire away without having to think about how it's going to behave. That means a lot to me.

I feel myself moving this same way. Then I feel the pull of Portra 400...

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 30, 2015

markbarendt said:
I feel myself moving this same way. Then I feel the pull of Portra 400...

Yes. I do shoot color film too, but I use it for snapshots only. Often I use different films on purpose just so there's a sense of adventure attached to it. I basically don't care how the pictures come out. They are documentation from trips and such. I just need something to come out.
Just today I placed an order of every Lomo color film I could find, in the smallest quantity possible. LOL. I know I'm not the norm here.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Vaughn · Oct 30, 2015

No I do not. I lean towards certain films (FP4+ especially), but will use what ever comes my way.

Mick Fagan · Oct 30, 2015

Standardising does help when you are working under pressure. I have just returned from a 3 month trip where I was shooting FP4+ for mostly everything. Having used this film for the last 5 years in 4x5 format I was already very familiar with it. A couple of times when driving along through a desert area we came across some scenes where the light was not going to be there for much longer.

Being very familiar with the film and the four lenses I was travelling with and knowing exposure settings off the top of your head, certainly does wonders for speedy work. Once on the trip I quickly set up, exposed then stood back and measured the settings I used with a light meter. Using negative film and being within ¼ of a stop, no further adjustment or shooting was required.

I took some new Bergger Panchro 400 on this trip, after developing and printing this film I am of the firm belief that this may be my next standard 4x5 film; only about 750 sheets of FP4+ to go through first.

Mick.

Luis-F-S · Oct 30, 2015

For the last 25 years or more all my B&W work has been with Tri-X. I feel I'm just beginning to understand it. L

do you standardize your film?

Membership Council

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency