film to use

[lumpy]

I love the internet always a forum that can help.

Just got my first non point and shoot, Canon Elan 7E. I also purchased a Canon 28-105 lens and based on the reveiws in on this site am about to purchase a Sigma 70-300 DL Macro Super II. My wife and I are about to take our delayed honeymoon to Hawaii. I have been using Fuji 800 based on a recemmondation from a friend of a friend. I am curious if there is another film I should consider for the Hawaiian landscape and telephoto lens. I also enjoy shooting people, okay maybe I need to re-phrase that, I enjoy photographs of people.

Thanks for any help

[Speed]

I love the internet always a forum that can help.

Just got my first non point and shoot, Canon Elan 7E. I also purchased a Canon 28-105 lens and based on the reveiws in on this site am about to purchase a Sigma 70-300 DL Macro Super II. My wife and I are about to take our delayed honeymoon to Hawaii. I have been using Fuji 800 based on a recemmondation from a friend of a friend. I am curious if there is another film I should consider for the Hawaiian landscape and telephoto lens. I also enjoy shooting people, okay maybe I need to re-phrase that, I enjoy photographs of people.

Thanks for any help

That will come with experience. When I got my first SLR, I shot a lot of Kodak Gold 100. Great film, and it came in four packs at Wal Mart for a reasonable price. Wal Mart no longer carries it, much to my dismay. I tried Kodak Max, but I don't care much for it. I'm not real keen on Fuji's Super HQ either.

What I use for my everyday film, is Fuji Superia Xtra 400. It's less than $7.00 for a four pack at Wal Mart. It works very well for low light situations and high speed (read sports) situations. Great color and detail - so much so that it is what I use to shoot weddings with.

For Landscapes I would highly recommend Fuji Reala (it's 100 speed). It is very fine grained and is saturated in the blue/green end of the spectrum. For Portraits, I love Kodak Porta 160 NC. Makes for beautiful portraits. Check B&H Photo - www.bhphotovideo.com - They have some of the best prices around.

Like I said, it's a personal choice. After you've shot enough different films, you'll get an idea of what you like. Definitely start with print film - it has a wider lattitude than slide film. Move on to slides later if you wish. And save the 800 speed film for night/low light work.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your vacation in Hawaii. And be sure to post some of those images when you get back.

BTW, I have the Quantaray (made by Sigma) 70-300mm LDO Macro and I love it. Great lens for the price.

[megan]

And the film I used worked perfectly for the beautiful colors. I used Kodak Portra VC - 400. UC is very good too, although a bit more expensive than the VC. Both are pro grade films, so try to find a cheap place like B&H to buy it from - it is more expensive than the consumer grade films.

Have fun!
Post the good ones here!

Megan

[Charles Hess]

Film brands and types are very personal choices, but I would recommend an ISO 400 to be your primary film, with some 100 & 800 in your bag for those bright and less-bright moments. I prefer Fuji film over Kodak, but you'll get people that think totally opposite from me, and that's fine, you really can't go wrong with either brand.

[lumpy]

Thanks for the help

We have bought some Fuji Reala, Superia Xtra 400 and 800, 23 rolls in all.

I will likely pick up a few rolls of black and white also, any recommendations?

How should I try to load for the different occasions (i.e. sunrise landscape, mid-day landscapes and waterfalls, surfers/windsurfers, nighttime luaus)? The camera doesn't allow us to trade out mid roll, at least not that I am aware.

Thanks again.

[another view]

I will likely pick up a few rolls of black and white also, any recommendations?

How should I try to load for the different occasions (i.e. sunrise landscape, mid-day landscapes and waterfalls, surfers/windsurfers, nighttime luaus)? The camera doesn't allow us to trade out mid roll, at least not that I am aware.

Thanks again.

B&W is a whole different world... It's almost a specialty process (at least at one-hour places) to use real black and white films like Kodak Tri-X which has been around for 50 years. Great film, but you'll have to take it to a good lab to get the results from it - or do it yourself if you're interested at some point.

Another option would be the black and white films that get developed in regular color process chemestry. Sometimes the prints can have a color cast to them, but done right they look great. Kodak T400CN is my favorite of this type, but I think it's recently been discontinued.

Generally, you want to use the slowest film that you can for a situation to keep the grain under control. On the other hand, it can be a pain to do it that way because you wind up with 8 shots on a roll of 36 and then you decide you want to change film... Like Charles said, you might want to stick mainly with 400 which should do a good job in most situations. Sunsets and waterfalls would probably be best with 100 speed - but only if you're using a tripod.