A trip with film

kshapero

kshapero

South Florida Man
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Going to Israel next month, strictly on tour of Holy Sites, etc. Leaning heavily towards bringing my Leica M3 only (well iPhone will be in tow). Thinking of shooting color. Any advice on what film to take? At present I have a bunch of Kodak Gold 400.
 
400 might be Ok for interiors, but wouldn't you want something a bit slower for anything outdoors?

Sounds interesting, and I'd like to see the results.
 
I would be content of using a 400 iso negatve film all round. You have to expose it at ei 250 at most anyway. In bright sun you will be OK with 1/1000 and f8.0.
 
My meter here in Florida tells me to shoot at 1/1000 and f11 with 400 ISO. Really I am more of a B/W shooter but I would think the diversity of people would lend itself to color. And of course I can always make it B/W (I hate doing this) digitally.
 
You can bring an ND4 or ND8 filter as well. Little extra weight, and it will give you some options if it's exceptionally sunny...
 
I guess that makes sense, and keeps it to one film stock. But even I would want to open the aperture sometimes, unless it will all be straight architectural pics.
 
An ND8 filter will drop that 400 film down to iso 50. The only colour film you can buy at that speed is Velvia, not the best film for people shots, imho :)
 
kshapero said:
My meter here in Florida tells me to shoot at 1/1000 and f11 with 400 ISO. Really I am more of a B/W shooter but I would think the diversity of people would lend itself to color. And of course I can always make it B/W (I hate doing this) digitally.
Click to expand...

I would run your 400 as 250 ev. For a sunny day in Florida I would expect 1/250 @ f16 so 1/500 @ f11. 1/1000 sounds too fast to me.

Pete
 
You can make a test with your 400 ISO film before the trip - go out where you find bright light and some shadows, and expose the same scene between EI 32 and 2000 - that is 7 stops difference. I bet that everything up to ISO 250 will be fine, ISO 500 will suck in the shadows, ISO 1000 will only be acceptable where you have well lit bright objects, and iso 2000 will be ok only for light sources. Colour neg film is extremely resistant to overexposure - not so the other way round.
 
About four years ago I went on a 2,000 mile road trip round the US midwest and took only Portra 400 NC. In some cases this was a good choice but in others I was disappointed in the results compared to the Ektar 100 that I had shot on other trips. My suggestion is that if possible you should take another rangefinder camera with you and load it with slower film. The camera will also mean you have that all-important backup.
 
I use Fuji Superia 200 in the deserts and places like Joshua Tree NP here in California. Similar light and subjects to your trip. I meter it at ISO 200, adding my tendency to overexpose a little. Also easy to find in drugstores.
 
I'm writing from 2500 miles from home right now! I actuall couldn't get to buy enough film before I left, but thankfully an RFFer reccomended me a shop where I could buy some. I'm shooting mostly architecture, but went with 400 just for the versatility. Mostly using a red filter during the day, but it's been a lifesaver in evenings. The X100 is my super-low-light backup
I'd say it's your best bet.
 
The latest Kodak 400 is really nice looking film. Close, but not quite up to portrait 400 quality. Personally, I'd probably spring for a 5 pack of portrait 160 in addition and have a pro lab do the dev and scan back home.
 
I will second the Kodak Portra 160 recommendation, I get absolutely gorgeous results from that film in bright sunlight! It is also very easy to scan. Just make sure that it is developed by a reputable lab.
 
Kodak Portra 160 might be perfect, Over/underexposure is ok with Colournegativefilm. Maybe also Kodak Ektar if wanting vivid colours from colourful scenes.
 
Don't think you can go wrong with Portra. I like 160 for 4x5 and any tripod work. For handheld I shoot 400 in 35mm and medium format. 160 is fine handheld if you are ok opening up, but personally I like lots of dof so rarely open up past f11.

For interiors and artificial/mixed lighting I've been trying out CineStill 800 tungsten...so far seems great.
 
kshapero said:
My meter here in Florida tells me to shoot at 1/1000 and f11 with 400 ISO. Really I am more of a B/W shooter but I would think the diversity of people would lend itself to color. And of course I can always make it B/W (I hate doing this) digitally.
Click to expand...
I think 250iso is about right for 400iso C-41 film. Better saturation.
 
Another recommendation for Portra 160/400. I shot portra almost exclusively in Israel this past summer and it worked quite nicely. Still, if you're going into the old city of Jerusalem you'll want at least 400 speed film because it gets pretty dark in the corridors/alleys!
 
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