Hello from Poland

[Pseudodionizy]

Hi there, an analog photography newbie from Poland here. A few years ago I tried my hand at taking some b&w photos with my old medium format camera but I wasn't very satisfied with the results and I'm pretty easy to get discouraged, so I kinda gave up on it. Now that I look at these photos they seem pretty good to me haha, so I thought I might revisit this hobby and try to get into it again. This time though, I'm planning to dabble more in colour photography, most likely 35mm. Let's hope I won't get so easily discouraged again! Right now I'm just considering what sorts of film to buy, and I'm mainly joining the forum to get some advice, so I will appreciate your help!

 

[loccdor]

Welcome and hello from a Polish American. A cheap C-41 film like Kodak Gold is fine for your first few rolls. I prefer Portra in general to Gold but it is more expensive. I don't like Ultramax at all. I like Ektar, but it can be tricky for a beginner. Try to avoid shooting expired film when you are just beginning because it will confuse your ability to get the correct exposure because it has lost its sensitivity. With most color negative, your results will look better if you give +1 stop exposure instead of shooting it at box speed.

 

[koraks]

Welcome aboard @Pseudodionizy ! I hope the photography virus catches you this time - it's fun!

 

[Sirius Glass]

Welcome to Photrio!

 

[Romanko]

Welcome to the forum! As @loccdor said Kodak Gold is the best choice for beginners. In Poland you should have access to a lot of inexpensive 35 mm cameras from East Germany (Prakticas) and the USSR (Zorki/Fed, Zenit etc.). With a bit of luck you can find a camera that still works and is reliable. The lenses on these cameras are pretty good.
Kodak Gold is more forgiving for over-exposures then under-exposures so rating it at EI 160 or even EI 100 might be a good idea.
If you can find a good lab that can process your negatives and make prints I would highly recommend using it. This will eliminate a lot of unknowns and you can focus on taking images and improving your photography skills. You can always return to your old negatives later and reprint them to your liking.
Good luck and report your progress here.

 

[mshchem]

Welcome to Photrio!!

Yes, there's several color films available. Kodak Gold or Portra is a good place to start.

Again, Welcome!

 

[Pseudodionizy]

Thank you all for your welcome and tips! I will have to think yet about choosing the film, but yeah I will likely have to choose something basic. As for managing exposure, the last time I did a pretty good job with it, but I understand that with colour negatives it might be different.

@Romanko , I already have a functioning Praktica MTL5! I'm not 100% sure about its reliability haha, but I think it's decent enough for starters. As processing, I'm not sure if the lab in my town is good or not, but I think I'm gonna stick with it for the time being since doing it myself seems like a lot of hassle when I'm just a beginner.