what 35mm film should I get?

[EastCoastHucker]

Hi..

After few years of Digital I'm going back to film.
Just got for my birthday a Nikon F90X / MB10 camera with a Nikon 28-85mm, 75-300mm lens and SB-25 flash. As you can see very old school.
I don't remember anything about films anymore, 10 years back in Argentina I used to work as a photographer for a local magazine and also in a lab developing photos and after so many years I find myself wondering about what film to get.. shame on me..
What you think it could be a good film to start shotting...
I'm no doing any professional kind of job right now but I want the best result on my photos.
Any suggestion will be well appreciated.

[mjs1973]

Do you want to shoot print film, or slide film, color or B&W? For color slides, I love Fuji Provia 100 & 400,and Velvia 50 and the new 100. For special subjects, I like to grab a few rolls of Kodachrome 64.

For color print film, I have been really happy with Kodak Portra. I am also pretty impressed with the Fuji Superia (I think that's the name) that I get at Wal-mart.

I don't have much experience with B&W films, but I did like T-max and Tri-X when I was taking a photo class.

Others here have a lot more film experiance than I do and can give you some other suggestions.

[Ronnoco]

Well, lab tests indicate that the best colour print film in resolution and colour is Kodak Gold, which beats even the professional films. It certainly has rich colour and good sharpness.

Ronnoco

[EastCoastHucker]

I'm interested in print film and color..
I saw on some adds that along with the prints some labs include a CD with the pictures... I figure that ones I upload the CD into my PC I can edit them as a Digital pic. Is that right?
Thanks a lot for your reply Michael & Ronnoco.

[Ronnoco]

I'm interested in print film and color..
I saw on some adds that along with the prints some labs include a CD with the pictures... I figure that ones I upload the CD into my PC I can edit them as a Digital pic. Is that right?
Thanks a lot for your reply Michael & Ronnoco.

Yes, that is correct. The question I would ask the lab is what resolution is the conversion on the CD.

Ronnoco

[Greg McCary]

I use Fuji 400 and 200 xtra and like it. I use Kodak gold at times but to me, Fuji has a bit more color to it, the greens are almost to green, Take a look at my gallery and see what you think. The labs also scan at a low res, 96. If you do a lot you might want to get a scanner

Another thing you will find is that film equipment is dirt cheap, even if you don't shoot it all of the time, it's still good to have around. If you compare the price of lenses you will be amazed. The last lens that I bought on e-bay I paid $14.00 for and it looks brand new....
Greg

[EastCoastHucker]

Another thing you will find is that film equipment is dirt cheap, even if you don't shoot it all of the time, it's still good to have around. If you compare the price of lenses you will be amazed. The last lens that I bought on e-bay I paid $14.00 for and it looks brand new....
Greg

One thing I really like about this Nikon film camera is that all the lens I get for it also works on the D50,70,80, ect: digital cameras.
I going to get few 12exp. films from Fuji, Kodak and Agfa and go from there..
Thanks a lot again for the inputs.

[another view]

I'd probably go shopping for a lab more than for the film itself. The world of labs has changed a lot as a reaction to digital in the last few years - for one thing, there aren't as many of them out there. The lab I used to work with preferred Kodak Portra films so that's what I used.

Getting the results you want from color neg film involve a combination of shooting the negative how you want (your metering technique plus what ISO setting you use, which may be different than the rated speed), the lab's handling of the negative (good quality control) and how they print (mainly about communication between you and them and their consistency).

My advice would be to find the lab you feel most comfortable with and ask them for advice on which film to use. Try that film (probably a couple of times at least) and go from there, change if necessary.

[EastCoastHucker]

Thanks for the inputs..
After checking most of the films you guys mention here I end up buying a few rolls so let the fun begin..;)

[Greg McCary]

Long live film, everyone else seems to be going digital. I just bought a Canon QL-17 on e-bay. It's kind of hard to use the meter , but one sweet camera, and super fast glass The shutters so quite I thought the camera was broke when I got it. All of the pictures of the old factory in my gallery were taken with a QL-17. This is my second one. Maybe I can finally use iso 100 without a tripod. $35.00 plus shipping...
Greg

[EastCoastHucker]

Long live film, everyone else seems to be going digital. I just bought a Canon QL-17 on e-bay. It's kind of hard to use the meter , but one sweet camera, and super fast glass. This is my second one. Maybe I can finally use iso 100 without a tripod. $35.00 plus shipping...
Greg

Nice camera Greg..
I was thinking on get another Nikon body out of ebay as well (Nikon N2020 or N6006).. they go dirty cheap, same with the lens...
The down side is the cost of film and developing but the final result make things even. :thumbsup:

[EastCoastHucker]

back to 35mm... feedback wanted <<<<< up-date

[mtbbrian]

Welcome back to film!
Everyone else seems to have covered my suggestions.
My favs are Tri X and TMax for black and white.
For color I prefer slide film, Ektachrome 200 and Fujichrome 400.
I do like the Kodak Porta films too though, they are print films.
Brian
Film ROCKS!
:thumbsup:

[EastCoastHucker]

Welcome back to film!
Everyone else seems to have covered my suggestions.
My favs are Tri X and TMax for black and white.
For color I prefer slide film, Ektachrome 200 and Fujichrome 400.
I do like the Kodak Porta films too though, they are print films.
Brian
Film ROCKS!
:thumbsup:

Hey Brian... beside the film suggestion (thanks), what will you recommend to get the photos from film to the PC, I try CVS twice but the second time was even worst than the first, with a 100iso film I got the same amount of grain as with the 400iso and lot of marks in the pictures.. you know any please where I can send my film and get a CD with good results..!!

[Greg McCary]

Look for newer store, They will have a newer and better maintained machine. I almost never have a dust problem.100 iso takes some getting used to. It's much harder to deal with than the higher speeds. Try some 200 first. You'll be happier with it.
Greg

[EastCoastHucker]

Look for newer store, They will have a newer and better maintained machine. I almost never have a dust problem.100 iso takes some getting used to. It's much harder to deal with than the higher speeds. Try some 200 first. You'll be happier with it.
Greg

Thanks Greg..
I think in this case is "you get what you paid" kinda of thing. CVS charge only $2.99 for the CD when B&H in NYC charge over $9.:frown2: :frown2:

[mtbbrian]

Hey Brian... beside the film suggestion (thanks), what will you recommend to get the photos from film to the PC, I try CVS twice but the second time was even worst than the first, with a 100iso film I got the same amount of grain as with the 400iso and lot of marks in the pictures.. you know any please where I can send my film and get a CD with good results..!!

I have a scanner, so I scan them myself.
I have an Epson 4180, its a flatbed type and does both 35mm and 120.
Brian

[Greg McCary]

Another thing you should know, if you miss exposure the the lab will push the scans and this will cause grain. You may never know how bad you missed exposure. When you shot slide missing exposure will show up even more. It's far easier to blow out a sky with slide film. When I shot slide film I tell the labs not to adjust exposure and I deal with it in PhotoShop. It's always best to bracket your shots....
Greg

[EastCoastHucker]

Another thing you should know, if you miss exposure the the lab will push the scans and this will cause grain. You may never know how bad you missed exposure. When you shot slide missing exposure will show up even more. It's far easier to blow out a sky with slide film. When I shot slide film I tell the labs not to adjust exposure and I deal with it in PhotoShop. It's always best to bracket your shots....
Greg

Thanks Greg & Brian

If I keep seeing good review about some of the flat bed scanners I'm looking I may go for one.
The prices are on my budget (under $200 [I know, cheap budget])....
I want to believe that a good scanner is going to give me better result than CVS..

[Greg McCary]

You would be suprised. I have an Olympus ES-10, I gave $30.00 for it on e-bay. There have been times when my scan was better than the labs and it will scan at twice the res of theirs...
Greg

[EastCoastHucker]

You would be suprised. I have an Olympus ES-10, I gave $30.00 for it on e-bay. There have been times when my scan was better than the labs and it will scan at twice the res of theirs...
Greg

Thanks, I'm convince... I gonna make some more research and I'm going to get a scanner...

Thanks again and HAPPY HOLIs