What kind of film do you use in your "take everywhere" camera

[dmr]

Uh {blush} for my current carry-everywhere camera, SD cards. (Ducking, running, looking for a place to hide.)

 

[baachitraka]

HP5+ in Medium Format
APX 100 (available in drug store) & Fomapan 200 in 35mm

 

[Trond]

Silvermax or Tmax 400.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Uh {blush} for my current carry-everywhere camera, SD cards. (Ducking, running, looking for a place to hide.)

What are those SD cards of which you speak?

 

[Eric Rose]

For film my go to if I need to cover everything is Ilford Xp2.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Pretty hard to keep my 8x10 in the glove box... but when I go out that's my go to format (and 4x5)... usually holders loaded with HP5, FP4, Acros, Efke IR, Efke 25, Rollei IR, Kodak IR, Xray, Shanghai...

 

[summicron1]

Uh {blush} for my current carry-everywhere camera, SD cards. (Ducking, running, looking for a place to hide.)

You meant to say "Tri-X" right?

RIGHT?????

 

[tomfrh]

35mm TMAX 400

 

[dmr]

What are those SD cards of which you speak?

Well you see, to make a long story long ...

Up until a few years ago, like before same-day DO/CD C41 processing disappeared, I usually carried an Olympus Stylus Zoom with me, usually loaded with plain vanilla drugstore Fuji or Kodak 200 or 400. When I had a roll done I wold drop it off over lunch and then pick it up on the way home. Easy-peesy and very convenient! Then the shops that did film went **POOF** but we still had one real photo shop that gave you either same or next day C41. Well, that slipped more and more and is now up to a three-day turnaround, and I admit I'm impatient. I want immediate (or at least same day) gratification!

So, I started shooting less film and more {d-word} stuff, just because the processing was such a hassle. (Keep reading, this may be changing!)

The straw that broke the camel's back was when I returned from a trip on Sunday, took the film in bright and early Monday, and was told that it would be FRIDAY (WTF!) when it would be ready.

Now back in college (decades ago, I'm now approaching retirement age) I **DID** learn how to develop film, kinda. Assisting and observing would be more like it, but I did learn such things as how to load the film on the metal reel, tempering, agitation and even some B&W enlarger printing. I never really got into that, and never really enjoyed that part of it. I enjoyed going out and shooting far more than playing in the darkroom.

I realized that the only way I could shoot film and get it processed when I need it is to do it myself, which I was confident I could do. I figured I could actually develop a roll of C41 in less time than it would take for two trips to the photo shop. I started making a list of what I would need, ordering stuff, and I did some sanity-check questions here and on RFF. All set, or so I thought ...

Then the stars aligned! I was able to get a used (well, not used for many years) Jobo machine! It was dirty and grungy but everything was there and it worked after some cleaning and TLC. (The image below shows it post-cleaning.)

For my very first roll, I did it manually in the tank, using the Jobo only as a big kitty litter pan to keep everything at the right temperature, mainly to prove that I could do it, and to be able to say I could do it. Then the same evening I did two more rolls using the Jobo. All three came out much better than expected!

Anyway, I'm finding myself shooting more film, and I may just go back to carrying one of the smaller film cameras with me again.

 

[brent8927]

Delta 400. I guess I'm an oddball as I don't think anyone else has mentioned the Delta films (other than a brief mention of Delta 3200), but I prefer the tonality of Delta 400 to HP5. It might just be because I started shooting with Tmax in high school and got used to that look, but I guess none of us really need to justify what film we shoot with (or why we still shoot film!)-- just that it's what we prefer.

 

[Ces1um]

I don't have a "take everywhere" camera. I think I'm missing out on something here. But, I use ISO 100 in all my film cameras. That's both roll-film & sheet film. I really have no need for other film speeds, except when using plates or paper. They are inherently slow, not really part of the discussion.

That's really interesting that you only use 100 speed film. I actually find I'm the polar opposite to you. I really like 1600 iso film because it allows me low light shooting with fast shutter speeds and small apertures for depth of field. Now that being said, most of my photos are shot in the woods where there's not a lot of light.

 

[Jeff Bradford]

HP5+ is the film most likely to be in any of my cameras.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

I carry both black and white and color. In the summer more likely to use ISO 100 color because of the better light & in winter ISO 400 color & black & white. The weather and time of year and of course subject matter dictate what film to use.

 

[TerryMcC]

Ilford XP2. Have put a couple of rolls through an Olympus XA2 and a Leica iiif. Minimal grain, great indoors or out, beaches and shopping centre indoors equally good. The camera shop owner says it is good at 200 ISO and great from 400 to 1600ISO all on the same roll. Great flexibility for an everyday camera. If I want more grain for effect I use HP5.

 

[Jerome Lim]

Also living in Florida my suggestion : regardless of what film you use, don't leave your film (in camera or not) in the glove compartment of your car. The temperature can easily go well above 100F.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
http://www.sculptureandphotography.com/

I second that!

 

[jim10219]

It all depends on the camera. With different cameras, I'll shoot different subjects. With my 35mm SLR's, Fuji X-Tra 400 is my regular don't know what to use film. It's never stunning, but always acceptable. With my rangefinders, I tend to go with Tri-x 400. I use them more for street photography type of stuff. With my LF, I use TMax 100. I don't need the speed since I'll be using a tripod and tiny apertures anyway. Plus, that's the film I have the most experience with and feel the most comfortable with. Each camera excels at certain things and suffers at others. So I generally try to shoot subjects that work best with the camera in hand, or select the camera with a subject in mind.

Though I have to say, if we're talking about a shoot anything and everything type of day, I'll probably just use my digital. I love film, but its versatility pales in comparison to the sensor.

I'm surprised to not see more color negative film on here. They tend to do better than B&W when it comes to over or under exposures due to wild light condition fluctuations. Something like Portra gives you crazy latitude for all kinds of conditions. I recently shot half a roll of Portra 160 at 1600 by mistake, and then switched to 160 for the second half. Surprisingly enough, I got useable shots from both halves after being developed normally! I was prepared to throw that first half away, but no need! It just required a bit more care to print (though some shots were indeed ruined).

Though my favorite films are Velvia 50 and Extar 100. So I generally try to use them whenever possible. They're just not as friendly or forgiving as some of the others.

 

[mark l]

tri-x in an Olympus xa4 in the centre console of the 4wd.
tri-x in everything for that matter.........35mm, 120, 4x5

 

[Arbitrarium]

Never been a fan of anything faster than 200. I tend to use cheap 100 speed B+W like Kentmere or Fomapan in my everyday camera (A Kodak Retina II)

 

[locutus]

I'm thinking of standardizing on Pancro 400 as my 'go everywhere' film, its exposure latitude is massive and its beautiful.

 

[YamanoteE235]

I'm just getting into film so I'm playing with everything I can!

Pentax 6x7 - Fuji Acros 100
Olympus OM-4T - Some run of the mill Fujifilm 400
Konica Auto S3 - Ilford HP5+

I bought a roll of Ektar and some Portra but have yet to load those in the 6x7. I'm excited (maybe overly excited) to try all of these out and see which ones I like best. It's been fun so far, taking my time lining up shots or thinking about my photo and how I'll arrive at the end product. It's a much more conscious process for sure. With my digital camera I just fire away in full manual but without too much care about the process.

So far, I'm having a lot of fun.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Vademecumchrome.

 

[Svenedin]

In Autumn/Winter a 400 film, usually HP5, Delta or TMax. In Spring/Summer, a 100/125 film usually FP4. There just isn't enough light in the UK Winter for me to reliably use anything slower than 400. If it had to be one film all the time then HP5.

 

[Patrick Robert James]

5222 right now since I ran out of Neopan 400 and I have over a thousand feet of the 5222.

For color I still have a stash left of Agfa Optima III 100. What a film! If I have any I will also use Fuji Superia 800. Works fine for small pictures.

I don't keep cameras in glove boxes though. I have a bunch of point and shoots and just grab one on the way out. Usually a Contax TVS.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Interesting old thread...
If I feel like focusing, I expose TX at 250, and HP5+/TMY at 320 for best image structure, using Perceptol. Both for MF and 35mm cameras without tripod. But even though this is my preferred look, that's what I do only very few times... It's doing ocassionally -for fast film- what I do with ISO100/50 films for tripod work. Correct exposure and development.
Instead of that, for carry everywhere cameras, and for prefocusing, I found I prefer to use fast film at EI800 for 35mm and MF routinely, because that one stop gain in DOF and shutter speed is relevant, decisive for fast photography in both formats when light isn't really bright.
I prefer undiluted standard developers for that. The slight underexposure isn't problematic at all with common soft light scenes, as those have no real shadows, and the very small push means nothing to those scenes either, as whites in soft light reach only medium density values on negative. I use EI800 because only a very minimal part of my handheld photography is done under direct sunlight.
For such unusual sunny cases, even at EI800 I expose the shadows generously: I mean I prefer rich shadows to convey the way we see that type of scene contrast (sunny days with clean shadows) so I don't fear the unacademic point of hurting the highest highlights just a little bit... Done carefully, the very bright weather look is retained, without too visibly washed highlights. To me that looks close to reality, and a lot better than sunny f/16 and other tales from slide film metering and exposure procedures that lead to gross underexposure, blocked shadows and coldish general mood.
There are two films I prefer for EI800, of course because of their design, real speed, open tone and detailed, rich shadows: HP5+ and TMY. I find they allow me to use EI800 with better results than TX and films like Kentmere400 and Foma400.
So, because of their grain, for MF HP5+ and TMY, and for 35mm TMY, both formats at EI800 when handholding.

 

[rulnacco]

Almost always HP5+, hand-rolled. You can still get 100-foot rolls of it in 35mm for a reasonable price (unlike Tri-X, which I'd like to use more often). And usually, for 120 (in the Hasselblad or Rolleiflex), it's also HP5+. It's really probably the most versatile film out there in black and white, and it's almost impossible to screw up.