New camera...film question

[payn817]

Just got my new system, and just wondering what everyone thinks is the best film for starting out with film. I am thinking Kodak tri x for B&W and Velvia for color. Really not sure what my "style" is or will be yet. Most likely it would mostly be documentary, and landscape.

[Speed]

Just got my new system, and just wondering what everyone thinks is the best film for starting out with film. I am thinking Kodak tri x for B&W and Velvia for color. Really not sure what my "style" is or will be yet. Most likely it would mostly be documentary, and landscape.

For landscapes, and lots of other things for that mattter!

Film choices are really individual choices. Try several and see what you like. Your preference is what matters, not what others think. I suppose we could guide you as to what our favorites are to give you a starting point...

Personally, I prefer Fuji for most of my shooting. Velvia 50, Provia 100, and Sensia 100 in slides, while Superia Xtra 400, Reala and NPH are some of my favorite print films.

Kodak's Porta 160 NC is my favorite portrait film, and their Gold 100 is also good stuff.

It's like the Nikon vs Canon debate. My opinion means nothing; it's which system (or film) fits YOU! (Nikon's fit me) ;-)

BTW, this post is number 1900 for me. :-)

[another view]

Tri-X for documentary and Velvia for landscape are classic choices, no doubt about that.

For slide film, Velvia is a tough one to work with - it won't tolerate exposure errors and can be time consuming to get a good scan from (in my experience). Fuji's Provia 100F is a little easier to work with although any slide film really needs very exact exposure. Provia has very little reciprocity failure to work with, makes most colors (including skin tones to some extent) look good but you'll probably want an 81A and/or 81B filter (warming) because it has a tendancy to be a little blue-ish.

Are you going to develop your own b&w film? It's really not hard if you haven't done it before. Tri-X and Kodak's D-76 developer is an easy combination to use, just do it "by the book". It's a classic look that (again, IMO) doesn't really come across in digital. From there, you can scan the negatives and print yourself or take to a lab. If you're not developing yourself, I'd probably try some of the C41 color process b&w films that are out there. Can't remember what Kodak's latest version of it is, but this type of film usually scans really well. True b&w processing can be a little hard to find at a lab.

[payn817]

Speed, yeah, I just want some ideas. It gives me some things to consider, and one person's experience. As you stated, a starting point. I did look at Superia, is it easier to work with, and will it give me high color saturation like velvia seems to? I know print and slide films are different, but to start, I need something easy to use, but want good color as well.

AV, I have never developed film, for that matter, have only ever shot one roll, and not seriously. I like the idea of developing the negatives though, that has been another thing on my mind for the past 2 months. Many people seem to develop their own B&W, and claim it is simple, so I may give it a go.

Thanks to both of you for your responses.

[mjs1973]

Congrats on the new system. Like everyone else said, you're choice in film will come down to what you like so don't be afraid to experiment. From what you said tho, you might want to stick to print film because it's more forgiving than slides. Kodak has an Ultra Color print film that is pretty decent. I have only shot one roll of it tho, so take that endorsement for what it's worth. I think it called UC or something like that. Buy a roll or two of whatever trips your trigger and see what you like.

One tip I read that made a lot of sence to me was that when you're done shooting a roll of film, load your camera with a different film, and take the same photo that you just took with the last roll. If you do this a few times when you finish a roll, it won't be long till you have quite a few shots to compair the dif. types of film to. So when you finish a roll of Velvia, throw in a roll of Provia and then look at them side by side when you get them back. Good luck!

[Speed]

Speed, yeah, I just want some ideas. It gives me some things to consider, and one person's experience. As you stated, a starting point. I did look at Superia, is it easier to work with, and will it give me high color saturation like velvia seems to? I know print and slide films are different, but to start, I need something easy to use, but want good color as well.

AV, I have never developed film, for that matter, have only ever shot one roll, and not seriously. I like the idea of developing the negatives though, that has been another thing on my mind for the past 2 months. Many people seem to develop their own B&W, and claim it is simple, so I may give it a go.

Thanks to both of you for your responses.

If you shoot Fuji, make sure you shoot Superia Xtra, and not just plain Superia. The Xtra does a much better job with colors.

Superia Xtra 400 is my day to day film, what I usually carry in the camera for shooting whatever comes up. I shoot more Superia Xtra 400 than all the other films combined! Great colors, great details, and fast enough to catch the action, or use indoors. This is the film I used for shooting my first five or six weddings - it's that good. It's easy to use, no special processing or anything, and like Another View pointed out, print film has a wider latitude than slides.

Best of all, you can find the four packs of Superia Xtra 400 at Wal Mart for less than $7. At less than $2 a roll, you can afford plenty of film to practice and experiment with. If you find yourself getting into portraiture, weddings, etc, then you may want to start using something like Porta 160 or NPH. Those run about $5 a roll from B&H, but with some experience, you'll be able to see the differences that make it worth the cost.

For landscapes, Fuji's Reala is hard to beat. It's got the blue/green saturation like Velvia/Provia/Sensia, but being a print film, it has a wider latitude, and any One Hour Photo Lab can process it. Slide film requires special processing (E-6), and unless you live in a fairly large city, you may have to send it off to have it developed. The nearest E-6 lab to me is a hour and half away, and I usually get up that way once or twice a month. I shoot some slides (primararly for landscapes), so it's not a big deal. If I had an E-6 lab in town, I'd probably shoot more though.

Just a few things to consider. Hope this helps get you started on the right track.