What is your all-time favorite type of 35mm film to shoot? Why?

Sirius Glass · Jul 28, 2015

All time Ektachrome 64, 100, and 200; Panatomic-X, Verichrome Pan.

narsuitus · Jul 28, 2015

FoidPoosening said:
There are so many types of 35mm film out there. What's your favorite and why?

JW PHOTO said:
Simple for me! It's Kodak VerichromePan B&W film.

JW: Kodak Verichrome Pan was also my favorite black & white film, but as far as I remember, Verichrome was available only in medium format; not 35mm.

Sirius Glass · Jul 28, 2015

narsuitus said:
JW: Kodak Verichrome Pan was also my favorite black & white film, but as far as I remember, Verichrome was available only in medium format; not 35mm.

Yes, you are right. I used it in my Kodak Brownie Hawkeye which was my precursor to the Hasselblad.

JW PHOTO · Jul 28, 2015

narsuitus said:
JW: Kodak Verichrome Pan was also my favorite black & white film, but as far as I remember, Verichrome was available only in medium format; not 35mm.

Yes, I forgot the OP wanted 35mm and not 120 or medium format. Verichrome Pan is still my favorite, but APX100 in 35mm almost tied with Plus-X. The first roll of Verichome I ever used was in an old family Kodak 1A w/Rapid Rectilinear lens. The pictures were amazing and I was hooked. Maybe that's why medium format and Verichrome Pan are still my favorites. Now, I use Acros in 35mm, but I also like UltraFine Xtreme 100 in the bulk 100' spools too. John W

destroya · Jul 28, 2015

for color I love velvia 50. would still be shooting provia 400x if it was available as new, not at ebay crazy prices.

for B&W i have been shooting lots of rollei retro 80s. I love using filters with my b&w shots, especially orange and red. with the retro 80s you can get the nice cloud/sky separation using the filters but because of the infrared latitude the green foliage does not go dark and has a nice sparkle to it, also its cheap (when bought from germany). and I am getting 16x20 enlargements from 35mm film that is sharp and does not have objectionable grain, looks like a med format enlargement.

Sirius Glass · Jul 28, 2015

Plus X

John Bragg · Jul 28, 2015

HP5+ all the way for me. Holds shadow detail and highlights very well, even in harsh light. Grain is just right for my tastes.

Boat trip, Mevagissey. by John Bragg, on Flickr

cuthbert · Jul 28, 2015

John Bragg said:
HP5+ all the way for me. Holds shadow detail and highlights very well, even in harsh light. Grain is just right for my tastes.

Boat trip, Mevagissey. by John Bragg, on Flickr

Nice shot, even if for me HP5 is a little too grainy and I prefer Delta 400 because it's as smooth as velvet:

HP5+:

Delta 400:

Both processed and scanned by Ilfordlab.

MattKing · Jul 28, 2015

Kodachrome 64, just to be contrary!

And Plus-X, to be contrary again!

But to be realistic, TMY-2 is fantastic, and so much better than the 400 ASA black and white film I was shooting 40+ years ago.

Maurizio · Jul 28, 2015

Colour film: Kodachrome.
B&W don´t have a favourite yet, surely as slide film Agfa Scala, when it could be processed with the factory process.
I also like very much the Ilford Fp4.

Alan Gales · Jul 28, 2015

I used to love shooting Kodachrome 25 and making 8x10 Cibachrome prints.

MartinCrabtree · Jul 28, 2015

Kodachrome 25.

There is no more direct from slide paper anymore is there?

Nathan King · Jul 29, 2015

Kodak T-Max 400. I love the tonal response and seem to have an easy time getting getting 10x enlargements that I can't always get with other film stock.

Too old to care · Jul 29, 2015

Kodachrome and Plus X for 35. I have one roll of Plus X that I am saving for something special. For medium format I only shoot B&W now, still miss Plus X, but Tri X does the job.

BradS · Jul 29, 2015

My all time favorite 35mm film?...for me, it would have to be Kodak Tri-X . Tmax400 would be a very close second.

blockend · Jul 29, 2015

Fuji Pro400H in 120 has great colours, but it's too expensive to shoot on a regular basis. I have two boxes left then that'll probably be it. In B&W it's harder to say because it's mostly about getting the right developer and processing nailed. I find Tri-X film base too thin for scanning and have moved to HP5+ for fast film.

All time fave would have to be Agfapan 25. It made 35mm look like medium format and 120 look like 5 x 4. In good light it had a timeless ethereal quality. It's hard to believe so many great films are gone never to return.

ME Super · Jul 29, 2015

All time-favorite B&W: HP5+. All-time favorite color is not so easy - it's a toss-up between Kodachrome 64 and Ektachrome 200. K64 made all the world a sunny day when you could get the exposure right; E200 just had a lovely color palette. Currently produced color: A toss-up between Provia100F and Velvia 50, depending on subject matter. Ektar is a close 3rd.

nosmok · Jul 29, 2015

Panatomic X. It's the best 32, 64, or 125asa BW film I've ever shot. And I didn't start shooting it until it had been discontinued for 20 years.

PatTrent · Jul 29, 2015

Tri-X for the tonality and consistency

Nokton48 · Jul 29, 2015

Eastman 5222 XX in 35mm

Sirius Glass · Jul 29, 2015

Ektachrome has the color skies that one remembers. Kodachrome made muddy skies and Agfa put black soot in the sky.

nsouto · Jul 29, 2015

Depends.

Slide: Fuji Astia, Fuji Provia 100 : easiest best colours when scanning.

Colour: Fuji Xtra400, Xtra800, Kodak Ekta : Fuji's are purrfect for scanning, Ekta works a treat with soft lenses.

B&W: Ilford Pan-F and XP2 Super, Efke 25, Kodak Tech Pan: Love slow b&w film in either Rodinal no-ag or Technidol and equivalents for the amazing clarity and definition. XP2 Super is the most convenient for scanning.

(yes, I know that Tech is gone. The question said "all-time", didn't it? )

Russ - SVP · Jul 30, 2015

Neopan 400, Delta 100, Portra 400, Velvia 50, Kodachrome 25.

gzhuang · Jul 30, 2015

Ektachrome for warm hues and neutral night scenes.

flavio81 · Jul 30, 2015

I think my new favorite is ILFORD Delta 100, it has overall the "best" image quality i've gotten on film. All is good - tonality, grain, speed and sharpness.

For Color my old favorite was Fuji Superia 1600, which has nice, visible but nice, grain, and a super fast 1600 speed.

What is your all-time favorite type of 35mm film to shoot? Why?

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