Is arista really a learning film?

shead said:

I have used a good amount of Arista Edu 100 and 400 in 35mm and 120. The results are so-so, and it is not the best film. I think of products targeting students as sub-par, and they actually hinder the learning process. For example, I am also a watercolor painter and student grade paint is actually quite miserable to use - it is cheap because they skimp on the pigment, it breaks up too quickly and doesn't have the brilliance a good paint has. How can you learn when you have poorly made materials to work with? I learned as a painter quickly and joyfully when I upgraded my paint. I would imagine for photography, after learning the basic darkroom mechanics with cheap film (like loading a spool, developing film, getting that first image to appear) a student would want to use the best film they could afford.

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Bill Burk said:

I don’t know if I shared this thought …

When you learn on a film that’s reputedly a “learning film” and you stumble, you can always say the problem was with the film.

That will preserve your ego from some damage.

You don’t have to admit what an idiot you were.

Then you go get the good film.

Now you build confidence and never have to re-evaluate whether the “Arista Edu” was really bad in the first place.

Click to expand...

shead said:

I have used a good amount of Arista Edu 100 and 400 in 35mm and 120. The results are so-so, and it is not the best film. I think of products targeting students as sub-par, and they actually hinder the learning process. For example, I am also a watercolor painter and student grade paint is actually quite miserable to use - it is cheap because they skimp on the pigment, it breaks up too quickly and doesn't have the brilliance a good paint has. How can you learn when you have poorly made materials to work with? I learned as a painter quickly and joyfully when I upgraded my paint. I would imagine for photography, after learning the basic darkroom mechanics with cheap film (like loading a spool, developing film, getting that first image to appear) a student would want to use the best film they could afford.

Click to expand...

Bill Burk said:

I don’t know if I shared this thought …

When you learn on a film that’s reputedly a “learning film” and you stumble, you can always say the problem was with the film.

That will preserve your ego from some damage.

You don’t have to admit what an idiot you were.

Then you go get the good film.

Now you build confidence and never have to re-evaluate whether the “Arista Edu” was really bad in the first place.

Click to expand...