I want to try film, need some advice or guidance

[yesaroos]

If you do home development, buy only the best tank & reel.. especially the reel..
I use stainless Kindermann tank & Hewes reel for 135mm, it demand some practices, but it'll load your film faster & easier than any plastic reel if you get used too.. imo

 

[Sid836]

Try with fresh film with a wide exposure latitude to avoid first time disappointment from unexpected results.

 

[Nr90]

If you do home development, buy only the best tank & reel.. especially the reel..
I use stainless Kindermann tank & Hewes reel for 135mm, it demand some practices, but it'll load your film faster & easier than any plastic reel if you get used too.. imo

To be fair I've never even seen a steel reel, however I find it very easy to load both 35 and 120 film in a paterson plastic reel. As long as the reel is dry it's pretty much impossible to screw up.
Imo the paterson tanks and reels are great. I'm not saying others are bad, I just don't think spending a lot is needed.

 

[yesaroos]

To be fair I've never even seen a steel reel, however I find it very easy to load both 35 and 120 film in a paterson plastic reel. As long as the reel is dry it's pretty much impossible to screw up.
Imo the paterson tanks and reels are great. I'm not saying others are bad, I just don't think spending a lot is needed.

I often fridge my exposed film, plastic reel doesn't suit me well because I hate to wait the film completely thawed & dry..
Those particular brand I mentioned better than another stainless in many aspect imo..

What I mean by the best is the one that well known/recommended by many others & well suit your workflow.. good tank & reel is one time investment if you take care of them, I don't think invest little more on them is unwise..

 

[JChrome]

I often fridge my exposed film, plastic reel doesn't suit me well because I hate to wait the film completely thawed & dry.. Those particular brand I mentioned better than another stainless in many aspect imo.. What I mean by the best is the one that well known/recommended by many others & well suit your workflow.. good tank & reel is one time investment if you take care of them, I don't think invest little more on them is unwise..

If you look on Craigslist you can find them for next to nothing. I bought a bunch of development gear for 60$, dark bag, 15 different steel reels, 4 tanks etc. I bet I paid less than the plastic ones.

 

[shadowfox]

Secondly, I'm actually considering doing the developing and printing at some point. Is this a practicable thing to consider? I do have a room which is dark and has sink.

Thanks !

Then you are 70% there.
Craigslist is good for finding working enlargers, easels, darkroom timers and lights, and developing trays. And if you have one nearby, visit a college town to find camera lab or shop who supplies the photography classes to get the chemicals and paper for the first time.

After you know what you like or when it's time to try something else, use Freestyle (online photo supply) or B&H.

Next take a look at this thread: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130772

to get some inspirations and talk to some of the people who are printing today.

See you around.

 

[jschrader]

I started developing b&w film again 2 years ago, but I had done it in younger days, so my (re)-start was easy. But rewarding.

Wet printing is very time consuming, so if you have it, then do it. I just scan and use PS, and a digital printer.

Many say that you spend as much time with PS as you need in the lab for wet printing. I cannot believe that.
But, probably, I do not get all out of my files with PS today.
Anyhow, that is nothing new. I am sure I did not get all out of my negatives when I was wet printing.

 

[Manuel Patino]

Question

Question

I have an easy way to get very high quality negatives using traditional silver halide films on my web site www.zonesimple.net. There are free downloads and lots of examples of student work as well as my own.

I shoot film and scan great negatives to print digitally. It's the best of both worlds.

Good luck,

Charlie

Charlie, thanks a lot for the link. Very nice information and advise. I would like to ask you one question. If I decide to send my B&W out for development, can I still use the zone simple recipes for exposure? I just received my 5 rolls of Kodak TX400 and I'm itching to go out and shoot even in this dark and wet day 😀

 

[MCTuomey]

The OP shoots often in dark dance halls and clubs and, as I recall, needs iso 3200-6400 to get good shots. I'm in a similar boat, except I shoot live music, not dancers. Once in awhile I'll load some delta 3200 into my only 35mm film camera and shoot a roll or two at a club. I like the results personally, but wouldn't make a habit of it. I prefer digital results for this work, so do the people who occasionally buy a file or print. I much prefer using film to give what my digital cameras can't, stuff like long exposures on Tmax 100, portraits on delta 100.

I have several medium format cameras pretty much always on a tripod - wouldn't even try to shoot them in a club setting. Too slow to focus, to keep steady, to compose, etc. But that's me, ymmv.

 

[Manuel Patino]

The OP shoots often in dark dance halls and clubs and, as I recall, needs iso 3200-6400 to get good shots. I'm in a similar boat, except I shoot live music, not dancers. Once in awhile I'll load some delta 3200 into my only 35mm film camera and shoot a roll or two at a club. I like the results personally, but wouldn't make a habit of it. I prefer digital results for this work, so do the people who occasionally buy a file or print. I much prefer using film to give what my digital cameras can't, stuff like long exposures on Tmax 100, portraits on delta 100.

I have several medium format cameras pretty much always on a tripod - wouldn't even try to shoot them in a club setting. Too slow to focus, to keep steady, to compose, etc. But that's me, ymmv.

Obviously, shooting with film is going to be quite different from shooting with the digital cameras. Even shooting portraits or relatively slow action shots are going to be challenging in less than good light. I just looked through a box full of negatives from my film days of 30+ years ago and several things came to my attention right away.
All my best shots were of people sitting for the camera or landscapes. Also, many of my shots with the 35mm Konica were out of focus... Quite disheartening actually. Some were quite nicely focused and accidentally well composed 😉. Still, I can see that the re-learning curve might be a bit steep.
My guess is that my shooting with film is going to involve a lot of still life shots and landscapes. I will say that many of the old ektachrome 64 slides look really nice. The negatives also look pretty good even though I shot a number of them inside the house with just the ambient light. Strange thing that the TLR shots were generally better composed and exposed than the 35mm percentage wise.
I don't have any illusions about getting great results right away. But I do think it might be useful to do film shooting in order to gain more insight into what I really want to shoot and to be more careful, deliberate if you will with the camera. Anyway, for now it's sparked my interest. Lets see how it all turns out.

 

[JChrome]

If you get a Nikon F6, some good autofocus glass (and Fast!) and some 3200iso film, you should be fine in a club.

Medium Format is a lot tougher. The larger the format, the slower you work. Which is too bad because I love the look of larger format.

 

[Charlie Lemay]

You would need to use the HP5 developing times for Tri-x , or find a lab that is willing to custom process. The tendency is to batch process with compensating developer, but that won't do. If you can't find a lab that will custom process, you may find another film photographer in your area who would be willing to try it. Who knows, they might even want to adopt the technique,

 

[Manuel Patino]

Good ideas all. Thanks !

 

[Drago]

Get some delta 3200. It's amazing film in 120 format. And then you can use TLR in really dark places 🙂 It's low contrast film intent for pushing ( true speed about 1000-1200 ) in most developers. A lot like pushing Tri-X, but for me after 800 it gets contrasty and punchy. Not everyone cup of tea