so now...film choosing...

[back alley]

i was planning to pop a roll of ilford xp2 into my soon to arrive canon f1...but then i started looking around and giving it some thought. xp2 is a great film for those without a darkroom and an opposition to sniffing potent chemicals in small spaces. i also discovered that i can buy acros (sp?) locally along with mostly colour films.
colour would be a good choice as i can get quick processing and scanning and then process as either colour or b&w images.

for those of you occasional film shooters, what is your poison?

 

[FrankS]

Doesn't look like I can help. My film choice is Ilford HP5+ or Kodak TriX. Period.

 

[nongfuspring]

My all time favorite C41 colour film is Fuji C200 weirdly enough. Went through a phase of trying the expensive pro emulsions but I came to realize I like C200 best of all.

I find BW prices and availability fluctuate a lot depending on location. Foma/APX 100 in when I'm in Europe, T-Max in the U.S., Acros in Asia, Lucky when in China.

 

[rfaspen]

Not a personal fan of the C-41 B+W films. But I understand their utility.

Acros (real Acros 100) is phenomenal film. I've come to appreciate it for its near total lack of reciprocity failure. So its great for night photography (you know, the classic desert landscape on a moon-less night with star trails). Aside from that , Acros seems a pretty good film all-round. I have but one roll of the stuff left in the fridge. How'd that happen?

I suppose best film is determined by what you want to photograph. That, and cost.

 

[Lauffray]

My favourite film is Ilford HP5+ and the few remaining expired Neopan 400 in my fridge. I'm not a fan of C41 type BW films

 

[lawrence]

xp2 is a great film for those without a darkroom and an opposition to sniffing potent chemicals in small spaces. i also discovered that i can buy acros (sp?) locally along with mostly colour films...for those of you occasional film shooters, what is your poison?

I develop my own film but it's many years since I had a darkroom. All you need is a changing bag, a film tank, a thermometer, a timer, a pair of scissors, a measure, the chemicals and somewhere to dry the film (a shower cubicle is ideal). So, no need to sniff potent chemicals in small spaces and no excuse not to take control and develop film yourself.

As far as film choice goes, there are still plenty out there and very few that I personally dislike. Why not try them all?

 

[taemo]

I've decided to stick to B&W for film as scanning color neg and getting the right color is a PITA.
I prefer tradional B&W than C-41 XP2 as I can process them myself easily at home at a lower cost than a store lab.

Finally, I've realized that I prefer HP5+ over Neopan 400 and Tri-X 400 simply because HP5+ doesnt curl and bend unlike the other 2.
Have 80 rolls of Neopan 400 that I'm on the fence selling now or trade for HP5+

For slow 100, I have Acros 100 and Legacy Pro 100.

Lastly, I like to have some Provia 100F and Velvia 50 for the moments I feel like shooting E-6 as nothing beats seeing and holding a strip of positive film.

 

[Mackinaw]

I personally don’t like C-41 B&W films, but that’s just me.

As for B&W film, you can’t go wrong with Tri-X. And sniffing chemicals is no biggie, at least for me. The small tank I use and the small amount of chemicals needed to process B&W film just aren’t that big a deal.

I tried Acros years back but wasn’t impressed. I’m sure other folks may like it.

Jim B.

 

[rfaspen]

BTW, I no longer have a darkroom, but thoroughly enjoy developing B+W film at the kitchen sink. (the chemical police are coming now for sure)

I load reels/tanks in darkness of the hall closet -- day or night, but often night just out of precaution. I like HC-110 or caffenol for developer. Neither particularly odorous or toxic (don't drink the stuff of course). I use a very small amount of cooking vinegar in distilled water for stop bath. Again, not very smelly or toxic. I don't find my fixer to be very smelly, and its not particularly toxic until it accumulates a lot of free silver. And once that happens, its not exactly an immediate danger (but you want to dispose of it properly; there are several ways). Nearly all U.S. sewage and septic systems can easily handle small-scale (1-4 roll tank), infrequent film developing. Very easily. Again, I think the biggest issue there would be silver in exhausted fix, and not the organics used in most developers.

In other words. Maybe ya ought ta try some home film developing. Its not so bad, and makes you feel closer to your work, saves money, and I'm told it impresses the ladies 🙂

 

[jja]

TMAX 400 @ 400 or 800 (same development times)
HC-110 (keeps forever) 1 +31 or 1 + 63
Photographer's Formulary T5 Archival Fix

Easy and beautiful results.

 

[back alley]

i did my own darkroom work for over 30 years and i'm pretty much done with it.
i no longer have a scanner and don't intend to buy one.
the 'potent smell of chemicals' was a bit of dramatic license...

 

[jsrockit]

Kodak Portra, Ektar, Tri-X
Fujifilm Provia / Velvia

 

[jja]

i did my own darkroom work for over 30 years and i'm pretty much done with it.
i no longer have a scanner and don't intend to buy one.
the 'potent smell of chemicals' was a bit of dramatic license...

Oh, I see. Since you mentioned trying Fuji Acros, I thought you intended to develop at home.

For color, the Ektar suggestion is a good one.

 

[taemo]

i did my own darkroom work for over 30 years and i'm pretty much done with it.
i no longer have a scanner and don't intend to buy one.
the 'potent smell of chemicals' was a bit of dramatic license...

on the other hand, I never got to experience it so my plan with film is to darkroom print them before showing to anyone.

btw, if you own an Iphone, download FilmScanner Lite.
It allows you to review and take pictures of B&W, color neg and color positive from an IOS device.

For testing, I 'scanned' a page of 35mm sleeve

 

[John Bragg]

Hi Joe, surely a Canon F1 needs to be fed a steady diet of classic B&W photojournalist film such as Tri-X or HP5+ ? Have fun with it regardless of who does the development and scanning.

 

[Spanik]

I like slides and mostly use provia and velvia. Haven't found my favorite b&w yet. For the moment I like Neopan 400NC most, lots and lots of grey with that one.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

Favourite B&W? Well, FP3, then FP4 and nowadays FP4 Plus and the Fomapan 200 now and then. (And, once upon a time, Agfa Dia Direct for B&W slides.)

As for colour negatives, I'm happy with Fuji's C200 and the dirt cheap Agfa Vista Plus but everyone says the Agfa is Fuji's C200. Anyway, the Agfa is dirt cheap and works well.

For technical reasons due to the camera's design, the 400 ASA Fuji in the Olympus XA1.

Regards, David

 

[Roger Hicks]

I like XP2 so much that I sometimes consider standardizing on that and processing at home because I'm 15 miles from the nearest mini-lab and maybe 60 miles from the nearest pro lab. Acros 100 on the other hand I found to be very finicky for exposure, developer, development time and possibly even the phase of the moon. Great results under perfect conditions but I'd never use it again.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Leica All Day]

Kodak Pro Image 100 , I absolutely love everything about it

 

[lynnb]

Mostly I'm driven by cost so APX100 and Fomapan 200 have been recent favourites. However when cheap film isn't available I like FP4+ when I want detail, and HP5+ at 400 or 800 when I want speed. Tri-X is also a favourite but it's too expensive.

For colour, Portra and Ektar.