Film reccomendation for beginer.

[NDP_2010]

Hello I am seeking some advice for some film. I have shot with digital and would like to take some pictures with film. I have eos 300 with various lenses, however have no idea about film.
I would like to purchase colour film to start off, for just general pictures and landscape. I have previously found that during the day that the iso400 film that i was using was too fast and my camera can only do 1/2000s, so i am after film that will let me shoot my lenses wide open when need be.
I am looking on eby and have found this: would these be a good choice for my intended purpose ? : Fujichrome Provia 100 asa. 36 exp.

Thankyou for your time.

 

[Halford]

Hi and welcome to APUG!

I would suggest that you get hold of a general-purpose colour negative film like Ektar 100 or Portra 160 (VC for a fairly saturated colour palette and NC for a softer, more neutral one).

Provia is a transparency (slide) film, which tend to be less forgiving when it comes to exposure than colour negative films. Additionally, it is much easier to find places which will process a colour negative film, which is handy when you're getting your bearings in the film world.

I hope you enjoy the adventure!
Hal

 

[markbarendt]

The easiest to shoot is C-41 films, it's also called print or negative film.

160 ISO is about the slowest available but these tolerate overexposure well, they are very workable shot at an EI (exposure index/camera setting) of 80 or even 40. This doesn't even require special processing and just about anybody that develops film can process it.

Anything Kodak and Fuji offers is going to get nice results. They each have a personality, but so do you and I.

Try bracketing a few rolls with these alternate EI's to see what you get.

FYI the Provia you asked about is a gorgeous film but not tolerant of exposure errors and the processing is not available at every lab.

 

[2F/2F]

Welcome to A.P.U.G.

Provia is a great choice if you want a transparency for projection, lithographic printing, or an expensive (Ilfochrome) print, and are technically skilled enough to be able to work with a medium that has limited room for technical "errors."

A color negative film would be a better choice if you want more affordable (RA) prints and/or more "wiggle room" in a technical sense, as well as cheaper film, cheaper processing, and processing that is available at many more locations.

Both can be scanned with excellent results. For details, visit www.HybridPhoto.com.

 

[Slixtiesix]

Hi

Provia is a slide or "reversal" film. I don´t know if one should recommend slide film to a beginner. However, as you´re already experienced with digital, I think you should have no problems. Slide film needs to be exactly exposed, otherwise your highlights will blow out, just as it is the case with digital. Slide film is great, because the lab cannot mess up with the colours. The only drawback is that it can be difficult/expensive to make prints from slides. Provia is a suitable film for Landscape, but you can also try Velvia 50 or 100. It will give you extremly vivid colours, while Provia delivers more realistic colour saturation. You can also try Velvia 100F, which is somewhere between these two.
However, if you want to drop your film at the lab and get a bunch of paper prints back you should go for a colour negative film like Kodak Ektar or Portra.

Best Regards, Benjamin

 

[NDP_2010]

Thankyou for these replies. I see the difference now between the slide film and colour negative, and it is probably best to get the colour negative at this stage, as not many places develop film these days, so the colour negative is probably the best way to go at the moment.

I took some shots with the only film i could find in Kmart, it is kodak ultra max 400. I found that the shots did not have a great deal of contrast, however this may have been my ineptitude in proper picture taking.

 

[2F/2F]

Any film sold nowadays should be able to provide enough contrast to satisfy anybody if it is exposed, processed, and printed well. The most important determinant of contrast in the picture is going to be the light in which you took the picture. If you took pictures in low-contrast light, you are going to have low-contrast pictures, in other words.

 

[NDP_2010]

I see. I may just be desensitised by over contrasty pictures that coem off the digital camera

 

[onepuff]

Hi there.

Colour print film generally has less contrast than colour slide or black and white film. Have you considered trying black and white print film? If you do, I would recommend something like Ilford FP4 to start with. Shooting in black and white means you need to think in tones rather than colours and I have found it to be very satisfying. There are a number of good companies who can develop your film and print a contact sheet. As black and white hand printing is relatively expensive now, getting a contact sheet would allow you to chose your best shots to send off for enlargement. If you enjoy shooting in black and white you may even consider developing and printing at home. It is fairly easy and inexpensive to get a basic darkroom going if you have a spare room. Processing your own film is an almost magical experience and would open up a completely new world of photography to you.

 

[M.A.Longmore]

.
Hi NDP_2010,

Welcome To APUG.

I hope that you will be using a lot of Kodak Ektar 100 !


Ron

From The Long Island Of New York,
And The Macro Management, and Long Island @ Large Format APUG Groups
.

 

[NDP_2010]

.
Hi NDP_2010,

Welcome To APUG.

I hope that you will be using a lot of Kodak Ektar 100 !


Ron

From The Long Island Of New York,
And The Macro Management, and Long Island @ Large Format APUG Groups
.

do you sell this particular film do you haha


one puff, this sounds like a nice idea, i do have spare area undernether my house which is a small room, with no windows. If i were to develop the film, is it possible to make a print from this at home, i have never fully understood how this works. Thanks.

 

[M.A.Longmore]

.
Just one New Yorker, looking out for another.
I'm not even sure if their film is manufactured in NY, or even the USA.
I've never asked, I would hate to have my feelings hurt by Kodak.
I'm still trying to deal with the Kodachrome situation,
I was able to buy four rolls this week.
Hopefully that will help, or it's back to my therapist.


Ron

From The Long Island Of New York,
And The Macro Management, and Long Island @ Large Format APUG Groups
.

 

[NDP_2010]

I see I have found 'kodka Pro Image 100' where i can purchase 5 rolls for $20 Australian dollar. WOuld this be a suitable film at a good price?

 

[M.A.Longmore]

.
That's a great price for 5 rolls, now I'm jealous.
Personally I like a slow film, I usually use 64, 100, 125.
Depending on the situation, of course.
And I usually have my tripod for those slow sessions.
Get some film, get a tripod, and a light meter (Sekonic L-398 ?).
No, I don't sell Sekonic meters, but I've been using mine for 30 years.

And Enjoy The Analog Adventure !


Ron

From The Long Island Of New York,
And The Macro Management, and Long Island @ Large Format APUG Groups
.

 

[jamesgignac]

NDP_2010, Welcome to APUG!

Provia 100 is definitely worth trying - you have to shoot colour reversal at least once early on to see what you think of it - it could easily become a favourite and is definitely the medium to work with in certain situations. Yes, exposure is very important but with a little care and a half a dozen rolls you're bound to hit the right spot eventually. Colour negative film is best for printing so it depends on what you want to do with your work. If you were planning on doing some scanning of your film then I would recommend Provia to start if you want to print then yes something like Portra 160 NC is also a very nice film to work with.

Best of luck with wherever you go with this!

 

[bblhed]

I like Kodak so guess what brand I will talk about? If you want to go really slow in color negative there is Ektar 100, Portra 160 (in either NC or VC) I recommend 160NC to start out, there is also Kodak Gold 200 that you can find on the shelf in CVS Pharmacies. let me just tell you that you are lucky that your local Kmart even has film because where I live It is either CVS for Kodak, or Rite Aid for Fuji and my local camera shops are WAY overpriced. If you have a negative scanner, most Pharmacies with a minilab will process (and scratch) the film for you for quite a small fee. It does not give the best idea of what you are doing, but the results will be passable. All films shoot a little different from each other, and you will have to find the one that you like best for what you want to shoot so plan on shooting a lot of film, and keeping several different kinds around so you have what you want when you need it.

Here is something that few people will tell you when you start shooting a lot of film. Learn to read a negative and use that to learn how to adjust your camera for proper exposure before spending a lot of money on slide film. Minilabs that print photos and Scanners lie and will only inflate your ego, You should in the middle of a roll of film (so the young lady that works the minilab doesn't cut it off and toss it) intensionally overexpose and underexpose some shots so you can see what they look like on the negative. this is not wasting film, it is sacrificing a few frames so that others may have a better chance. Overexposed will produce a dark negative, underexposed a light looking negative, but I will bet you that the scanned or printed photos of those frames will look like all the other frames on the roll trust me, it is better to find this out with negative film that can be saved in the print process than slide film. Knowing this will help you figure out what you are doing wrong when you expose incorrectly and the color looks "a little funny".

Question: Not to sound rude but I am wondering what the problem is so I can avoid it.
You can't shoot 400 in daylight? Are you shooting the sun directly? I shoot 400 in daylight a lot with a Kodak Brownie that has 4 apertures ranging from 64 to 16 and two speeds, 1/50 and 1/25 and it sucks, but i can do it, my Pentax 6X7 only goes to 1/1000 and I have shot that at f/2.8 in mid day sun as well. What are you trying to do that 400 is too fast for?

 

[NDP_2010]

Hi bbled, thanks for the great info. I have a question, what is film scratching?
Also, how do i know what the correct exposure is if the camera is metering for me? Is it just experience as to what part of the frame to expose?

The times i found iso400 too fast I was at the beach and wanted to use f/4 but i was generally between f/5.6-7.1 as it was middle of the day. I also would like to shoot at a wide aperture with my f/1.4 lens , however even at iso100 in daylight 1/2000s is not enough, but i have no chance at iso400.
Today i was shooting birds at the beach in afternoon sun f/2.8 was too fast for the film again.
When i am shooting digital at the beach, i am usually shooting at iso100 f/4 between 1/2000s-1/3200. The camera i have here is fairly entry level with only 1/2000s shutter speed. Maybe i need to purchase something more advance that will allow for 1/8000s for more flexibility?

 

[NDP_2010]

NDP_2010, Welcome to APUG!

Provia 100 is definitely worth trying - you have to shoot colour reversal at least once early on to see what you think of it - it could easily become a favourite and is definitely the medium to work with in certain situations. Yes, exposure is very important but with a little care and a half a dozen rolls you're bound to hit the right spot eventually. Colour negative film is best for printing so it depends on what you want to do with your work. If you were planning on doing some scanning of your film then I would recommend Provia to start if you want to print then yes something like Portra 160 NC is also a very nice film to work with.

Best of luck with wherever you go with this!

Hi, how do you scan film? I have never heard of this before.

thanks.

 

[Erik Petersson]

If you recieved unsatisfactory copies, it might be the lab, not you. Try to have them printed again. Show the copies that you recieved and explain what you want. Any competent lab should be able to deliver contrasty copies.

 

[Erik Petersson]

Hi bbled, thanks for the great info. I have a question, what is film scratching?
Also, how do i know what the correct exposure is if the camera is metering for me? Is it just experience as to what part of the frame to expose?

The times i found iso400 too fast I was at the beach and wanted to use f/4 but i was generally between f/5.6-7.1 as it was middle of the day. I also would like to shoot at a wide aperture with my f/1.4 lens , however even at iso100 in daylight 1/2000s is not enough, but i have no chance at iso400.
Today i was shooting birds at the beach in afternoon sun f/2.8 was too fast for the film again.
When i am shooting digital at the beach, i am usually shooting at iso100 f/4 between 1/2000s-1/3200. The camera i have here is fairly entry level with only 1/2000s shutter speed. Maybe i need to purchase something more advance that will allow for 1/8000s for more flexibility?

Film scratching is when the surface of the film is physically damaged. Such damage will show on the print if not touched up.

 

[Ektagraphic]

Welcome to APUG! I'd start things out by giving some Kodak Gold 200 or Ultra Max 400 a try. They are both outstanding films.

 

[Erik Petersson]

if you want to check if your camera is exposing consistently and correctly, you might use slide film, such as Provia as slide film is much more sensitive to exposure error. If your camera is fully automatic just try to expose the film under several different conditions, including indoors, outdoors, midday and evening/morning, backlight etc.

 

[fotch]

Hello NDP_2010, and welcome to APUG.

 

[NDP_2010]

thanks for these suggestions. I have purchased soem kodka pro image 100 and will go through these rolls to get a bit more experience.

Thanks again.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to APUG

Steve