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UER Forum > UE Photography > 35mm Film Suggestions? (Viewed 4207 times)
NotQuiteHuman 


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35mm Film Suggestions?
< on 3/6/2014 5:31 PM >
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So a year ago I dug out my dad's 35mm Nikon FM that he used in Antarctica in the 80s and I've been using the set of AI prime lenses on my D7000 with great results. I have had a lot of fun using these old lenses on digital, but I feeling the urge to give film a try.

I've been doing my research, but I thought it would be helpful to ask here. What kind of film do all you 35mm shooters use? I'm just looking for a few suggestions so I can find something I like.

I mostly shoot in low light, so I do a lot of long exposures and always have a tripod. I also plan on shooting mostly cityscape/skyline style pictures, but also some abandonments. Are any films better suited than others for these different styles?

I picked up a small assortment of film to try out. I'm mostly excited for the tmax 100, but I grabbed the others for comparison purposes.1.






randomesquephoto 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 1 on 3/6/2014 5:44 PM >
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Try ektar




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PorkyMcCaw 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 2 on 3/6/2014 6:05 PM >
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It all depends on your budget and your own style really. If you're tight on cash I recommend shooting any true 35mm film (like Tri-x, Tmax, etc.), buying a developing tank and reel, and start developing at home with caffenol (a mixture of washing soda, instant coffee, and vitamin C). Just a simple Google search can get you started on materials and development for using the caffenol process.

As for color films, ektar is a nice start. You get good exposure latitude with any color negative film. If you want the best colors possible, try shooting a slide film like fujichrome velvia 50. Slide film does cost quite a bit to get developed though. If you have the cash, just try to shoot as many different films as you can afford until you can settle into a few that you really enjoy. I do recommend you send away for your film development as you can get sketchy results with your local drugstore (and they usually don't do slides).

It does get a little frustrating sometimes with shooting film because you have to pay for your mistakes, but it's really worth it. Best of luck on your experience with film!




collectivesoul 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 3 on 3/6/2014 7:22 PM >
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Provia 400x if you can get your hands on it (recently discontinued). The reciprocity failure is very low making it especially suited to long exposures. It scans well, too.

For black and white, anything goes. For nighttime cityscapes I've had good results with Delta 400, Acros 100, and Delta 3200.

Just out of curiosity, was you dad's FM modified in any way for Antarctica?
I've heard stories of mountain climbers having the lubricants in their cameras removed to prevent them from freezing up.




NotQuiteHuman 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 4 on 3/6/2014 7:54 PM >
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Thanks, for the info! This is really helpful, keep it coming. I've heard a lot about velvia 50. I'll probably give that a shot next.

Posted by collectivesoul
Provia 400x if you can get your hands on it (recently discontinued). The reciprocity failure is very low making it especially suited to long exposures. It scans well, too.

For black and white, anything goes. For nighttime cityscapes I've had good results with Delta 400, Acros 100, and Delta 3200.

Just out of curiosity, was you dad's FM modified in any way for Antarctica?
I've heard stories of mountain climbers having the lubricants in their cameras removed to prevent them from freezing up.


Thanks! I think I need to look more into reciprocity failure.

I don't think the FM was modded, but now I'm kind of curious. My dad mostly worked around palmer station and did day and weekend hiking trips occasionally out to glaciers, penguin colonies and such. Not much hardcore mountain climbing. I have over 5000 slides shot on kodachrome in my basement I working on digitizing. It's a long process, but a lot of them are way too spectacular to keep in a box.




Axle 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 5 on 3/6/2014 9:22 PM >
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For Colour...Kodak Portra 400, you can push and pull two stops and develop it as is, no need to push/pull the developing times.

For B&W...my personal favourite is Kodak Tri-X, Ilford HP5 is nice also. For slower speeds, Kodak Tmax 100 and Ilford FP4.




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Sceptic 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 6 on 3/6/2014 10:40 PM >
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Posted by Axle
For Colour...Kodak Portra 400, you can push and pull two stops and develop it as is, no need to push/pull the developing times.

For B&W...my personal favourite is Kodak Tri-X, Ilford HP5 is nice also. For slower speeds, Kodak Tmax 100 and Ilford FP4.



This.

I really love ektar 100

If you get into slide film... Velvia 50!




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Axle 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 7 on 3/7/2014 1:36 AM >
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Posted by Sceptic
I really love ektar 100


Ektar 100 is great! I have a couple boxes of the stuff in 4x5 to shoot this summer!

Posted by Sceptic
If you get into slide film... Velvia 50!


Agreed 100%, shoot it at ASA-64 instead, develop as normal.




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RunkPock 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 8 on 3/7/2014 2:01 AM >
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Like everyone said, ektar 100 is beautiful. For black and white I usually use Ilford delta 100, or hp5 if I want to shoot 400iso.




OwlsFlight 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 9 on 3/7/2014 2:08 AM >
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Posted by NotQuiteHuman

I mostly shoot in low light, so I do a lot of long exposures and always have a tripod. I also plan on shooting mostly cityscape/skyline style pictures, but also some abandonments. Are any films better suited than others for these different styles?

334383.jpg (68 kb, 800x529)
click to view




Have a look at this chart and make adjustments from there. It really makes a difference. Also get to know your meter on the camera and how accurate it really is. I also feel certain subjects lend themselves better to certain types of film, but that could just be me. Try a bunch of different types out and see what you think.





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NotQuiteHuman 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 10 on 3/7/2014 5:09 AM >
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Holy shit, you guys are awesome! This is exactly what I needed. I shot a roll of tmax 100 at an old sugar processing plant today. I mostly just shot what the meter suggested so I can see how accurate it is. Now I just need to find a reputable place to get it developed. Hopefully I don't get too discouraged when I see the results...

edit: oh damn, it's my uer birthday today



[last edit 3/7/2014 5:10 AM by NotQuiteHuman - edited 1 times]

PorkyMcCaw 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 11 on 3/7/2014 5:28 AM >
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The Darkroom does pretty awesome work with developing.

http://thedarkroom.com/

It's a little bit more than your average drugstore but these guys will give you consistently good results because they do it by hand.




supersidalicious 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 12 on 3/7/2014 7:00 AM >
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In my opinion, Illford HP5 plus has always been my go to film.




Pflaumesaft 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 13 on 3/18/2014 12:33 AM >
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Can't go wrong with Tri-x. But I really like the look of Fomapan 100 in Rodinal (I use that for 90% of my B&W shots).

For colour, I'm going off the beaten path and suggest cheap Kodak Gold (100 or 200). Ektar/Fuji Pro may be better films, but Gold scans perfectly with much less post.




splumer 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 14 on 3/25/2014 2:08 PM >
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I'm interested in the caffenol process. I know washing soda is sodium carbonate, but is there a brand name I should be looking for? Or is it sold as washing soda?




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Axle 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 15 on 3/25/2014 2:20 PM >
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Posted by splumer
I'm interested in the caffenol process. I know washing soda is sodium carbonate, but is there a brand name I should be looking for? Or is it sold as washing soda?



Give this a read: http://filmphotogr...enol-cm-experiment

Part II is coming this spring...when I have time to get out and shoot.




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PorkyMcCaw 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 16 on 3/25/2014 6:03 PM >
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For the caffenol you can use any brand for the ingredients as long as they are close to pure. I like to overexpose a little when I shoot with caffenol to ensure I get enough detail but that's just a personal preference. To try something new, I just picked up some kodak d76 for my next batch of tmax400. It was pretty cheap and I intend on using in a 1:1 dilution so it will last a while.




PorkyMcCaw 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 17 on 3/25/2014 6:06 PM >
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Posted by splumer
but is there a brand name I should be looking for? Or is it sold as washing soda?



I use arm and hammer and it works great!




Ogre Battle 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 18 on 3/26/2014 3:03 PM >
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I use Fuji Provia 100F when I dabble in film (used it almost exclusively for years however before going DSLR).




Axle 


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Re: 35mm Film Suggestions?
< Reply # 19 on 3/26/2014 3:06 PM >
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Posted by PorkyMcCaw
To try something new, I just picked up some kodak d76 for my next batch of tmax400. It was pretty cheap and I intend on using in a 1:1 dilution so it will last a while.


I just brought D-76 back into the chemistry mix in my lab. Also +1 for diluting it down, I do that for D-76 and Xtol.




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UER Forum > UE Photography > 35mm Film Suggestions? (Viewed 4207 times)
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