A few more questions...

[Snoopydance]

For one, I couldn't find a topic about this, but I was wondering...where do you guys buy your film? I have a feeling that a lot of places not devoted to photography overcharge for film a lot and don't have too great a selection. I think the film I'm going to try first is Fujifilm Superia 200. How much should I be paying for a pack of 4 rolls of it? Where would you recommend I buy it? Would you recommend another film instead, for that matter?

Another question I have is, do people use overexposure and underexposure for effect sometimes, or is it frowned upon? For instance, if you're going for a dreamy, memory-like tone, is it wrong to purposely overexpose an image?

I guess I was also just wondering what the consensus seemed to be on Post-Processing. First of all, if I'm shooting with film and not developing or printing myself, should I even do any? The only digital images will be scans of prints, and it'd seem kind of silly to just alter the scans and leave the prints unchanged. But anyway, just talking about digital, it just seems kind of odd to me to completely change the color scheme and look of an image, but I think I'll probably get over it.

Thanks
-Chris

[Xia_Ke]

For one, I couldn't find a topic about this, but I was wondering...where do you guys buy your film? I have a feeling that a lot of places not devoted to photography overcharge for film a lot and don't have too great a selection. I think the film I'm going to try first is Fujifilm Superia 200. How much should I be paying for a pack of 4 rolls of it? Where would you recommend I buy it? Would you recommend another film instead, for that matter?...

I usually purchase most of my film in lots of expired film from Ebay. Keep in mind though that I shoot B&W and that B&W stores much better color film and you don't have to worry about color shifts, etc. For all of my other supplies I order from Freestyle Photo. They have one of the best selections of film out there, great prices, and the customer service is top notch.

...Another question I have is, do people use overexposure and underexposure for effect sometimes, or is it frowned upon? For instance, if you're going for a dreamy, memory-like tone, is it wrong to purposely overexpose an image?...

Yes and it is not frowned upon. I would stick more with straight exposures for the time being while you're learning. Over/under exposure is subjective though. You will start to get a feel for how you want to expose as time goes on.

...I guess I was also just wondering what the consensus seemed to be on Post-Processing. First of all, if I'm shooting with film and not developing or printing myself, should I even do any? The only digital images will be scans of prints, and it'd seem kind of silly to just alter the scans and leave the prints unchanged. But anyway, just talking about digital, it just seems kind of odd to me to completely change the color scheme and look of an image, but I think I'll probably get over it...

It all comes down to preference. Some do, some don't. It's not about film vs. digital, it's about doing what you need to do to get the outcome you want. When you start pp'ing photos, you would send those files off for printing rather than using the original negatives. Nothing wrong with that at all. It's your art, do what you need to do to get the print you want.

Hope this helps a little,
Aaron

[Snoopydance]

Thanks very much for taking the time to read and answer

Great answers, very helpful.

[Snoopydance]

Oh also, if anybody would like to see any of the photos I've taken already, I do have a flickr account. The pictures that are up now are from my polaroid camera.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/forgett/

I actually have another question, too! What is it about black and white film that differs from color film, only in terms of processing the film? I mean, is it just developing the film? If I get the roll of negatives developed somewhere, like at my school, for instance, can I take...whatever's left (not too sure after taking a cursory glance at an article about it) to a place that does color film prints and get 'traditional' prints still?

Thanks again

[brmill26]

You can also buy film from B&H www.bhphotovideo.com and Adorama www.adorama.com Both of them are among the top professional camera stores.

I'll let Aaron answer your developing question, as that's his expertise, but as for "what's left," that is called developed film. Depending on the type of film, you will have either a negative (most common), or a positive, usually called a slide. Either way, yes, you can take the B&W negatives to a place that normally prints color. I think there are some photo papers that are B&W specific, but that's probably not a concern for your day to day work.

[Xia_Ke]

...I actually have another question, too! What is it about black and white film that differs from color film, only in terms of processing the film? I mean, is it just developing the film? If I get the roll of negatives developed somewhere, like at my school, for instance, can I take...whatever's left (not too sure after taking a cursory glance at an article about it) to a place that does color film prints and get 'traditional' prints still...

Hmmm, let me see if I can a simplified explanation...

Black and white contains silver halides. When a shot is taken, than the silver halides are exposed, to varying degrees, to light. During the development process, the developer turns the silver halides into metallic silver creating a negative image. The more light a section of a negative receives, the more silver halide that is exposed, meaning the more metallic silver in that given area of the negative, so when you look at the negative, the more light that was present in the original scene, the darker that part of the negative will be. The reason that B&W is much more popular for home development is that it is a very forgiving medium. The chemicals aren't anymore toxic than most home cleaners. Also, you can play a lot with the development to adjust contrast and you don't need a precise development time at an exact temperature. Generally you just develop at room temperature and adjust development time for every degree or two you are off from 68 degrees (standard development temp).

Color negative and C-41 black and white work by using dye layers. Instead of using converted silver halides to form the negative, like in traditional b&w film, in C-41 the dye in the film will turn the opposite of the given color/tone in a scene. The chemicals in the process are more toxic than regular B&W and if your development times or temperatures are off, you will get color shifts and under/over development.

Slide film (E-6), in basic terms, is kind of a hybrid of the 2. The developing process turns the dye layers into their actual colors in a scene as opposed to negatives like C-41. Slides also contain metallic silver for contrast. As with C-41, the chemicals are going to be much harsher than traditional B&W and you must also maintain exact temps and developing times.

To get an idea of the steps involved, CLICK HERE for a page on Kodak's site.

I hope that all makes sense, I'm just getting the morning coffee into me now...LOL

[drg]

Chris,

Aaron has as usual provided great information to your answer.

I'd add that if you want to shoot film economically, another consideration is to buy film in bricks or in bulk. Bricks are generally professional packs of twenty rolls (35mm). Other sizes will come in packs of 5,10, 12 rolls and are often better priced.

Superia 200 in 135-24 (24 exposures of 35mm) should run no more than $2.00 per roll plus tax. Give or take a bit depending upon where you geographically. 36 exposures may run up to $3.00 a roll depending upon the source. Online it will be less and probably fresher film. 135-36 or CA-36 (Fuji speak for Superia 200) in bulk the last time I looked was about $2.00 per roll.