Film selection: Japan in March

[Mute-on]

Hi All,

I'm traveling to Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto) in late March 2016, and seeking recommendations for film selection.

I'm taking M2 and MP with 35/2.8 Summaron and 50 Summicron (sliding hood), possibly a 28/2.8 asph if I pick one up before leaving.

I'm considering an all purpose B&W (400), a faster colour neg (400) for shaded areas and early evening, and a slower colour neg (100-200) for open daylight.

Looking forward to your experiences and suggestions.

Cheers

J

 

[rscheffler]

If there is a place where film photography is still alive and kicking, it's Japan. In other words, it should be easy to supplement whatever you bring in case you find yourself needing more or something different.

That said, definitely do some price comparisons. IIRC, film prices have gone up a fair amount in Japan the last couple years. I.e. Portra 400 5-pack is about $37 from B&H vs. $55 from Yodobashi. Tri-X or HP5 is about $8/roll in Japan vs. about $5 in the US....

Heck, if you know any film photographers in Japan, they'd probably be grateful if you brought extra for them!

As for your actual question... I was there in early May and lucked out with great weather. But it can get dark in the shadows of buildings, etc... I'd think 400 is pretty safe all-around. And you can push the B&W as needed, too. Not sure how gloomy it is there in March vs. May...

 

[znapper]

If you plan on shooting Kodak, prices may be lower where you are
http://www.yodobashi.com/ec/category/index.html?cate=&word=tri-x&ginput=

I would probably (bring) tri-x, (buy) Fuji 400H or (bring) Porta 400 and (bring) Porta 160.
- Fuji has all but stopped film production, stupid and sad really....

In any case, you will probably have a look in Yodobashi camera or Bic camera, they may have some good old Fuji 100 ISO color films lying around still, if you see some, grab some ^^

 

[shimokita]

My favorite films that I use here in Tokyo are Neopan 100 and Kodak Gold 200, obviously a personal choice. I do have a bunch of Neopan 400 in the fridge so that's my other B&W choice. Bring what you are comfortable with...

One point that visitors sometimes overlook is that Japan does not have daylight savings so it gets dark early.... for example March 17, 2016 has 12 hours of daylight, however...

Tokyo: 17-March-2016
------------------------
05:24 - Twilight Starts
05:49 - Sunrise
11:50 - Solar Noon
17:50 - Sunset
18:16 - Twilight Ends

Have a good trip...
Casey

 

[Peter_S]

Agreed, you have a really good selection in Japan. I can recommend Fuji Natura 1600, which you can only get there.

 

[fixbones]

Hi there,

I was in Japan 1 month ago and also went to Kyoto and Tokyo.
What a beautiful country.
Kyoto is magical. Could just spend days wondering around the city.
I went over with only Kodak Portra 400 and found it really well suited.
Used 2 rolls of Kodak Portra 800 which I purchased there when I went for hikes in Kumano Kodo because it was a little shaded under the foliage.
Shot a roll of Natura 1600 in Tsukiji market.

My suggestion is stick with ISO 400 B & W and colour and forget about the slower speeds.

I brought my M4 and a 35mm summicron.

 

[Mute-on]

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions so far. I'll probably bring most of my film from Australia and add more or different (e.g. Natura 1600) in Japan.

We'll be visiting many gardens, temples and shrines, as well as wandering through the city streets, so I'm interested in suggestions for both environments and purposes. Something like Ektar for gardens in open sunlight and Portra 400 for street?

Your further insights and experiences are most welcome!

Many thanks,

J

 

[Colin Corneau]

I was there last year in April. Honestly, considering film quality nowadays you really can't go wrong with 400 speed for colour and B&W -- HP5/TriX/TMY or Portra 400 (which has a really wonderful character to it).

You can push a stop for colour if need be (doubtful) or a stop or two for B&W (again, doubtful)...

 

[Mute-on]

Thanks Colin. My only concern with 400 is that with a max shutter speed of 1/1000 (nominally), f11 or 16 gives me no DoF control in open sun or clear sky.

Perhaps a ND filter is useful, although I'd rather spend the money on film 🙂

Cheers

J

 

[Tom A]

We go to Japan at least once a year. Standard film is a 400 iso bl/w (TriX, Neopan) and I usually bring some along and pick up what I need at Yodabashi Camera in Akihabara. It might be more expensive now than in Oz or North America, but t still cheap considering air line tickets , hotels etc. Never scrimp n film! Tokyo "eats" film - wherever you turn there is something to take pictures of. Koyoto is pretty special - though you get "templed" out after a while. I would stick to one speed and modern 400 iso is pretty well as good as you need. Light in Tokyo can go from bright sun to rather dark and gloomy streets.
Japan still has camera stores that stock film - maybe not in huge quantity - but Fuji is pretty well everywhere, even with their reduced line of films. You can also get good,quick and cheap processing just about everywhere (colour). For Japan I usually take at least 2-3 rolls/day per camera. Some days more.
Your lens choice is good, particularly if you get the 28 - streets are narrow and sometimes the 35 feels too "long".
Have a great time and shoot your heart out.
Key equipment is good shoes - you walk a lot both in Tokyo and Kyoto. Don't overload with equipment - it gets heaver as the day goes on! The "locals" are friendly and helpful and the food is great. Tokyo has the best transit system that I know off. All right, you do get lost sometimes - but that is part of the trip and usually results in better pictures anyway. Don't try to do too much - be prepared for some "down time" to take it easy.

 

[Mute-on]

Tom, thank you so much for weighing in with your thoughtful comments and suggestions. Since we're going straight to Kyoto, I'll take along at least enough to get started.

Still looking for comfy shoes. A lesson well learnt!!

Cheers

J

 

[harvester]

Kyoto blew my tiny mind.
And lots of my film stash.

We were in Japan for our first visit a month ago and i shot handrolled HP5 ( and a few Tri x ) at 1600 in the cities all day and all night. I also shot some Ektar in the outdoors and yes, some Natura 1600 ( it's easy to find and is around AU$30 for a three pack )

I found Tri X there pretty easily for about AU$9 or $10 to replenish my supply.

Tom makes a good point re the tightness of the streets in Japan, some big cities, but with tight corners where the interesting stuff happens.

These shots are all with an M5 and a CV color skopar 35mm.
I also took along a Canon LTM 50mm 1.4 and alternated the two pretty much half and half.

cheers, AP

* pls. excuse the thread bombing, but i'm just scanning & sorting thru these rolls now and already want to head back there.

 

[Mute-on]

Hi AP,

Great shots. Bomb away!

Seems like I'll need Tri X or HP5 and a range of colour neg. I'm not aware of a 400 colour neg that likes to be pushed.

Anyone with experience pushing Portra 400 or Pro 400H?

Cheers

J

 

[maddoc]

Late March might be just the start of cherry-blossom (usually about March 27th ~ 31th in Kanto region) so be prepared for some nice colors and many crowded places, especially in Kyoto. Therefore I would reduce daily luggage to the bare minimum and bring an Iphone or similar smart-phone with halfway decent camera as my back-up camera and for the quick snap-shot in between.

400ISO film should do the trick under almost all conditions here in Japan.

 

[shimokita]

I have shot both Fujifilm PRO400H and PRO400...
I prefer PRO400, shot and developed at box

Casey

 

[FalseDigital]

I recommend buying some 5 packs of Fujifilm Superia 400 while you're there. You can get them at pretty much any Yodobashi store in Japan.

HERE

I think the price is quite reasonable and although it's not as good as Pro 400H it's still quite a nice film.

 

[android]

My advice would be to take little and top up once there. That way you avoid the damage of airport scans (at least on the way out). As others have said, picking up film in Japan is pretty straightforward.

Andy

 

[kiss-o-matic]

Umm... what subjects will you be shooting? I've shot several thousand street photos at 400. If you're going to do sakura photos (which you might hit) then something slower (and color) would be beneficial.

Kodak is cheaper in the US, despite the weak yen. If you want to buy Provia it's no doubt cheaper there.

My advice would be to take little and top up once there. That way you avoid the damage of airport scans (at least on the way out). As others have said, picking up film in Japan is pretty straightforward.

Why not just get it hand-checked?

 

[kiss-o-matic]

Also note you're not going to have a ton of daylight in March. It can make for some interesting shadows but the fact that there are only 8 sets of parallel streets in all of Tokyo means the shadows cast from the abundance of buildings can be a challenge.

 

[SuperUJ]

If you will be there during cherry blossom (late March), why not positive film like Velvia. This site or similar one provide pretty accurate forecast.

John