Special subminiature film ?

[Red Robin]

My two 1/2 frames, a Minolta Repo and a Olympus-Pen EE, s. Lenses, 30mm 1:2.8 and also a 1:2.8 f=3 cm respectively. I shoot outdoors mostly these are back-up bodies for my bags Is there a rule of thumb as to the best kind of film to use? Brand? Speed? A roll stays in the camera a long time. Maybe some of you oldtimers know if there's a "best use", or perhaps it doesn't matter. Thanks for your time. RED

 

[02Pilot]

"Best" is very subjective. My choice for half-frames, based on a bit of experimentation, is to use very finely-grained films; I use TMax 100 for B&W and Ektar for color. I arrived at these selections based upon several factors: image quality with both traditional-grained B&W and consumer color emulsions was not satisfactory to me; the per-frame cost is very low, offsetting the higher cost of the professional-grade films; and the greater depth-of-field offered by short focal length half-frame lenses allows for slower films to be used in a broader range of conditions without forcing undue compromises between aperture and shutter speed.

 

[Red Robin]

Thanks 02PILOT, that's what I meant to ask. Red Any other views?

 

[Faintandfuzzy]

I went all in and purchased a couple of Pentax Auto 110 cameras with the full sets of lenses. They are a blast to use if you like small and grainy....which I love!

 

[Dwig]

Back in the day when I shot film and occasionally with a 1/2 frame camera, my preferences were similar to 02Pilot's. I generally stayed with slower, finer grained films. When I shot with true subminiature* cameras (Minolta-16, Steky, Minox), mostly back in the '60s, I did often use faster films, mostly Tri-X, as the cameras were often used indoors in modest light and no flash.
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* "Subminiature" is generally used only to describe formats using film significantly smaller than 35mm. 35mm cameras, both full and half frame, are traditionally classed as "miniature" cameras. Traditionally, subminiatures were those shooting 16mm and smaller film.