Most affordable approach to film

[philipus]

Thanks very much for the detailed info. I guess the easiest if one wants more frames on a roll is to buy expired 220 film.

 

[nosmok]

Another way to shoot 70mm: buy old 616 cameras and 616 film, and respool newer 70mm film into the old backing paper and film. I have the 70mm stock to do this, but I'm still having fun with the 40 years expired Verichrome I'm starting out with. A couple of vintage Paterson "Major" tanks-- they do 127, 120/620, and 116/616; don't get the Major II which lacks the last -- and a changing bag and you can start. The 616 Kodak Monitors have great lenses but take some fixing because of lousy bellows; they'd be my choice for shooting color. They also have a mechanical wind system so don't need the red window past the first image.

 

[wjlapier]

I am pretty sold on sticking with film, not sure why digital is even coming up. Yes, I digitize my negs with a scanner, that is a must. I just discovered the power of Velvia 50 today, and I am sad to see that much more money out the window, because I am now forced to order many rolls of this beautiful film. I have never seen such crisp, clear detail from film, ever in my life. I've shot many rolls on my RZ, but somehow, never slide film.

I appreciate all of your advice. I have a LOT to read, based on your comments and suggestions. Developing BW negs at home will happen soon. I have some research to do!

I too wouldn't mind scanning myself if I can get awesome results. I saw your lighthouse pic the other day. What scanner are you using and what software? I have a Coolscan V for 35mm which works fantastic for slides. I have an Epson V500 but haven't done a lot of 120 to get a feel for what works.

 

[pbromaghin]

Don't get overwhelmed and weirded out. If you can cook, you can process film - and I mean reheating soup cooking, not gourmet.

I always tell people that if you can make Kraft Mac-n-Cheese, you can develop your own film.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Even though I can scan for 16 bits per color, as soon as I go to crop it gets saved at 8 bits per color. Therefore I only scan for posting and either make my color prints or send them to a film processor who used optical printing.

The ink consumption for print with a stink-jet quickly got very expensive and even with the best inks and photographic stink-jet paper the prints were just not the same. So I bought a used 4"x5" enlarger and drum print dryer.

 

[LMNOP]

I too wouldn't mind scanning myself if I can get awesome results. I saw your lighthouse pic the other day. What scanner are you using and what software? I have a Coolscan V for 35mm which works fantastic for slides. I have an Epson V500 but haven't done a lot of 120 to get a feel for what works.

I started with a V500 - and it worked perfectly for me, even just using the built in Mac application, Image Capture. This summer, I graduated to a Canon 9000F and I use VueScan for the software. This has proven much more effective, and gives me a wider range of options, but honestly the original combo was a quick and dirty way to get great results. I feel stranded on this forum sometimes, because I have so many scanning related things to discuss, and DPUG has never approved a thread of mine, its weird. PM my if you wanna talk scanning! Scanning 120 is so much more fun than 35mm, its like working with Duplos vs. Legos.

 

[shutterlight]

I too wouldn't mind scanning myself if I can get awesome results. I saw your lighthouse pic the other day. What scanner are you using and what software? I have a Coolscan V for 35mm which works fantastic for slides. I have an Epson V500 but haven't done a lot of 120 to get a feel for what works.

I've heavily used four scanners-- Epson V500, V600, V750, and an Imacon Flextight X1. The X1 wins out the clear majority of time, but not always. I know what I'm doing with regard to scanning, and I still prefer what I get from my flatbed sometimes. The X1 wins decisively for underexposed and overexposed images. It just has a lot more dynamic range to work with, and the software is better. Sometimes, though, for reasons I can't really explain, my V750 wins out.

I never could figure out 120 on a V500-- I would get a V600 if you're going to do 120. It has a much longer film holder for 120 negatives.