Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Film Is Not Dead Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       3       end
  

Archive 2017 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?

  
 
Dustin Gent
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Sold my A7r and picked up a Contax RX, brand new! Coolscan V ED and 4 rolls of Fuji Reala (hard to find). I haven't shot film in several years. I know i am going to pick up Vuescan as the Nikon driver no longer works with newer OS.

I shoot landscapes 99% of the time. I am in the southwest, so lots of desert colors. I state this because i am wanting film that will compliment this landscape.

Films that i am looking at (and from memory i thought they were really good and highly regarded)
Fuji Sensia II
Provia 100F
Fuji Superia 100 (the older stuff)
Fuji Velvia RVP-50 (heard the old stuff from late 90s - 2007? are the best)
Kodak Ektar
Reala (but i picked up everything i could find on eBay last week )
Fuji Acros
Fuji NPC 160PRO (although i can't remember if this is more of a portrait film?)

Most likely i will shoot more C-41 than slide, as a roll of development is $14 versus $3. I would love to hear back from folks that still shoot film. I am sure i missed some good film, and obviously i am not against buying expired.



Oct 24, 2017 at 12:19 PM
Ed Sawyer
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Can't go wrong with any of those choices, I mostly shoot Ektar and Portra (160 and 400) these days.


Oct 24, 2017 at 04:00 PM
chez
Online
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Shoot fuji for the greens and blues and Kodak for the yellows, oranges and reds.

NPS 160 is one of the best colour films for scanning as it holds quite a bit of dynamic range. Stay clear of slide if you plan on scanning.



Oct 24, 2017 at 05:59 PM
AdaptedLenses
Online
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


I’ll agree with chez. Aside from the high cost to buy and process and more limited dynamic range, slide film doesn’t scan as well as color negative film. Personally I prefer Ektar and hate Portra. Don’t mind the pinks for skin tones personally. Need to broaden my horizons though. For B&W I really like Acros. HP5 is good for lower contrast, or shoot it at ISO 1600 and push it if you want high contrast (and grain). I’ve tried some of Ilfords other stocks but they didn’t sway me one way or another.

Also I personally prefer MF film. It’s another experience and look that digital full frame doesn’t provide (not arguing better or worse-just different!) check out a Yashica May 6x6 is you want a low bar to entry, or I really like my ETRS which is another great 645 starting point.

I don’t develop my own unfortunately. I’ll get to it someday, but wife wouldn’t appreciate the chemicals around the house with little ones. Going to get my own scanner though so I can have better control over digitizing and higher quality scans for keepers.

Enjoy, lots more to learn.





Ektar - ETRS 50mm







Ektar - ETRS 50mm







Acros - RB67 90mm




Oct 24, 2017 at 08:14 PM
chouska
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Ektar is an excellent choice like many of the folks mentioned-it gets my vote for my Contax G1.


Oct 24, 2017 at 08:30 PM
IainD
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Kodak Portra 400 and 800 are excellent too.
Nice colours for my taste and good exposure latitude too.
IainD



Oct 25, 2017 at 04:17 AM
Alexluu627
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Ektar is the way I would go for landscapes.
Portra is great since you have a proper film scanner. Wouldn’t recommend portra for people using dslr to scan. Orange tint is hard to remove, just in general Kodak color films.



Oct 25, 2017 at 04:22 AM
roofdweller49
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


I really wouldn't bother with expired films, especially in color; color shifts are annoying and unpredictable

There's not many color films left, try them all.



Oct 25, 2017 at 07:54 AM
arduluth
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Another vote for one of the current Portra films. I'm partial to 400, great film.


Oct 25, 2017 at 08:58 AM
JimUe
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


i found ektar to be very very digital looking


Oct 25, 2017 at 09:19 AM
carlitos
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Luv to scan slide film. Normally use Velvia 100 (35mm) since it is plentiful. Early Velvia 50 is beautiful, but rare & out of date (crap shoot if what you buy has been refrigerated). Early Astia is as good as early Velvia 50.

But recently out of date Velvia's are good. Velvia's have great color saturation. Too much saturation? Slide the scanner saturation slider over.

Velvia's with Nikkor and Zeiss? See Nikon film shots.



Oct 25, 2017 at 12:57 PM
AdaptedLenses
Online
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Truth! I’ve tried and cannot get acceptable results despite spending far too much time on it. Plan to get a V550 and BetterScanning holders to do it.

Alexluu627 wrote:
Ektar is the way I would go for landscapes.
Portra is great since you have a proper film scanner. Wouldn’t recommend portra for people using dslr to scan. Orange tint is hard to remove, just in general Kodak color films.




Oct 25, 2017 at 05:03 PM
AbramG
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Don't knock it but Fuji Superia 200 and 800 are actually quite nice. 800 in particular can push to 1600 really nicely if you're doing lower light work.

I'm typically speaking more of a black and white shooter and I just so happen to have a bunch of Superia 200 (and a super secret 7-pack of Reala 100) which I'd be willing to part ways with.

But really though. Try the Superia films, they're great for color work and pretty reasonably priced.



Oct 25, 2017 at 06:10 PM
Dustin Gent
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


So i JUST picked up yet another roll of Reala 100 (now have 6 rolls!!) and got some Ilford 50 HP+.


Oct 25, 2017 at 07:27 PM
AdaptedLenses
Online
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Y’all have me curious about the Reala now, haven’t crossed paths with it. Who wants to sell me a couple rolls? 135 or 120 is good!

AbramG wrote:
Don't knock it but Fuji Superia 200 and 800 are actually quite nice. 800 in particular can push to 1600 really nicely if you're doing lower light work.

I'm typically speaking more of a black and white shooter and I just so happen to have a bunch of Superia 200 (and a super secret 7-pack of Reala 100) which I'd be willing to part ways with.

But really though. Try the Superia films, they're great for color work and pretty reasonably priced.




Oct 25, 2017 at 07:53 PM
nightscrawler
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


For landscapes, I think Reala is great (especially for the delivery of green color). Personally, I also like the Portra series for more general purpose shooting.

Finally, I think starting from the more basic films is also a good idea.



Oct 26, 2017 at 01:45 AM
philip_pj
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Reala for landscapes; huge saturation, a bright and lively and sharp film. Portra for events. Velvia for inky blacks and good in even light conditions such as overcast. Forget shadow detail and get used to deep, deep greens. Astia is very nice for general shooting. NPH (now Pro 400) was a great ISO 250 film, soft yet stately. Provia I call the blue cast film, sharp but not good in Australia. Forget the cheap films like Superia and Sensia, I never liked NPC, it's a lesser wedding film than Portra. Some like the later Ektar, scans well.

If you not good with a spot meter, I suggest the C41 lot, Reala and Ektar; very nice grain structure. All are way better in 120 roll film. Fuji made great 645 RF cameras, lighter than digital, great quality. One of Astia, out of a Mamiya 7II:







Oct 26, 2017 at 05:10 AM
carlitos
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Astia is my favorite, but, unfortunately, no longer made. Even the remaining out of date rolls are pretty expensive. And if not refrigerated can tend to look pink.


Oct 26, 2017 at 11:22 AM
Gunzorro
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


Dustin Gent wrote:
So i JUST picked up yet another roll of Reala 100 (now have 6 rolls!!) and got some Ilford 50 HP+.


Good for you, Dustin! Reala 120, ISO 100 is my favorite, over even the Ektar. Ektar is too contrasty for my taste.

Fuji 160S is another great medium format film, as is the 400.

As long as the film has been refrigerated or frozen, have no fear buying out of date film. I've got stuff 15-20 years old in my freezer.



Oct 26, 2017 at 12:57 PM
Dustin Gent
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Just picked up film gear! - what film should i try?


I WANT to go medium format SO BAD!!! The Contax 645 is wicked expensive, and so are the lenses. However if i get great results with my Contax + C/Y 35-70 and 80-200, i may end up that route!


Oct 26, 2017 at 06:22 PM
1
       2       3       end




FM Forums | Film Is Not Dead Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       3       end
    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.