do you standardize your film?

[BetterSense]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[gone]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I use whatever film is available.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[Mick Fagan]

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]

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