MF beginner ... which film?

[elekm]

The new Kodak TMax 100 is a nice film, as is Ilford's FP4+. As well, you can buy Rollei Retro, which is like the old Agfapan APX100.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Just takes some determination. Underexpose, agitate constantly and violently and make sure you alternate temperature of your solutions by 20 degrees or so to shock the emulsion. The grain can be squeezed out.

Are we confusing grain with reticulation?

Overexposure and overdevelopment will increase grain.

 

[PhotoJim]

I'm a big fan of trying what you like in 35mm. If you like it in 35mm, you'll like it in 120 also, generally.

I'll give you a slightly wild suggestion: since you're using a tripod so much, give thought to slow films. There is little need for fast shutter speeds for much work that you might do, I suspect. I use a ton of Pan-F Plus in both 35mm and 120. I don't find the slow speed to be much of an impediment for a lot of the work I do, and I like its tonality (especially in PMK developer, but it's nice in a lot of developers).

Pan-F Plus and FP4 Plus are the two films I use the most in black-and-white in 120.

 

[Stregone]

I need my blood-pressure medication, now!

They all take pictures! Using a different film won't make a crappy picture great or vis versa. Same with developers. Unless your process is very fine tuned the difference is unimportant. Just look at this thread, just about every film made has been listed as someone's favorite.

Shoot what you can afford to shoot alot of, its the best and fastest way to improve as a photographer.

 

[Venchka]

Thanks all ... Just arrived back from a quick drive into the city ... Ended up grabbing a couple of rolls of ACROS 100 ... Thinking back to work I've seen here and Flickr, ACROS certainly has a lovely smooth look ... Ralph, hope the hypertention is settling ...
Cheers

Have you practiced loading film? Have you watched the film loading video at YouTube?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

They all take pictures! Using a different film won't make a crappy picture great or vis versa. Same with developers. Unless your process is very fine tuned the difference is unimportant. Just look at this thread, just about every film made has been listed as someone's favorite.

Shoot what you can afford to shoot alot of, its the best and fastest way to improve as a photographer.

You said in post #7:

Get whatever is cheapest. They aren't terribly different really. The more you shoot the better you get.

This is not correct. There are significant differences between films. Also, the OP was not asking for a practice film to learn and get better. He was asking for a very specific application.

You cannot replace quality with quantity. I have seen many people get frustrated and turn away from B&W photography, just because they used mediocre materials with mediocre technique to produce mediocre results. Quality materials do make better pictures and they provide a steeper learning curve.

 

[keithwms]

If only people could afford your book, Ralph, they might learn something and agree with you

~~~

My mentality, when I started film in earnest, was to go for the very best practices first... and then start cutting corners and saving money once I knew what was possible. That included shooting pro-level films, getting them professionally developed, and seeking lots of advice on how to optimize my results. That worked out quite well.

If I were trying to be economical and optimize the results, I think I'd go with the arista.edu films and good old d76.

But any way you slice it, a good education costs money; experimentation costs money (and time). So try a lot of different things, aim for the best results, and have faith that it'll pay off in the end.

 

[Venchka]

Be ready to pounce on quantities of slightly expired, cold stored film for half or less of retail. It's still good.

 

[BetterSense]

Acros is some of the cheapest film out there at $2,89 from freestyle, and in my opinion it's every bit as good as Tmax100, making it a great deal if you like films like that. What I don't understand is why Acros is some of the cheapest 120 film, but some of the most expensive sheet film.

 

[Stregone]

You said in post #7:

Get whatever is cheapest. They aren't terribly different really. The more you shoot the better you get.

This is not correct. There are significant differences between films. Also, the OP was not asking for a practice film to learn and get better. He was asking for a very specific application.

You cannot replace quality with quantity. I have seen many people get frustrated and turn away from B&W photography, just because they used mediocre materials with mediocre technique to produce mediocre results. Quality materials do make better pictures and they provide a steeper learning curve.

Practice makes perfect. As the saying goes. I'm don't mean that mindlessly hitting the shutter release will make you better. You need to go out and take pictures, learn from your successes and mistakes. This goes not only with the taking of the picture but also the process before and after as well.

Personally I would never have bothered with film photography if I didn't have access to the incredibly affordable film at freestyle. I am very grateful of that because I love shooting black and white film.

If money is no object then go for whatever you want. But if you ever don't take a picture because you think about the cost of your film, then you owe it to yourself to try something cheaper (if possible). IMHO anyways They all make a picture with silver halides.

 

[JBrunner]

Since you are familiar with HP5, shoot and develop it for 250 iso. Your negs will be sublime, honest.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Practice makes perfect. As the saying goes. I'm don't mean that mindlessly hitting the shutter release will make you better. You need to go out and take pictures, learn from your successes and mistakes. This goes not only with the taking of the picture but also the process before and after as well.

Personally I would never have bothered with film photography if I didn't have access to the incredibly affordable film at freestyle. I am very grateful of that because I love shooting black and white film.

If money is no object then go for whatever you want. But if you ever don't take a picture because you think about the cost of your film, then you owe it to yourself to try something cheaper (if possible). IMHO anyways They all make a picture with silver halides.

Let's hope Ilford, Kodak and Fuji will survive cheap film makers so they can continue to do their research and provide us with quality products well into the future.