Teaching begineers- what cheapie film?

[GarageBoy]

So I'm trying to teach a friend photography basics (shutter speed/aperture/ISO etc.) and she wants to learn on color film

What film should I teach her on?
I tried Superia 400, but f16 / 1/500s on sunny days mean I can't really teach her about shallow DOF effects etc.

So I think that Ektar would be better (albeit, $5.50 a roll)
Are there other cheap, "slow" color options I'm missing?

 

[zuikologist]

Ektar can get funny if exposed wrongly. I would suggest perhaps Lomography 100asa film, which last time I looked was a decent price in the UK.

 

[zuikologist]

Alternatively, an ND filter will deal with higher speed film.

 

[alienmeatsack]

I'd use Kodak Gold 100 (hard to find) or 200 (readily available) or Fuji's Super 200. These are the cheapest films that I know of per roll that aren't ridiculously bad quality and produce proper results. Gold is around $2-2.50 a roll USD. I think the Super 200 is the easiest to find as they carry it at Walgreens, Walmart and other places. As well as Amazon, B&H and others online.

You can also put a ND or polarizer on the lens if possible to stop it down more to ensure that she can open the aperture wide open. That would introduce another variable into the (to her currently) confusing world of photography. But would accomplish the task if you have a stock of Superia 400 on hand.

I typically shoot 100 speed films in the sun/summer when I can so I can work in the 1.8-2.5 range with my aperture but I commonly have to use a polarizer to get the aperture wide open. However, I've shot a few rolls of film so it's not a problem as I've learned the stuff already.

If you can find some lightly expired Konica or similar that would work, but she'd have to understand that the color may not be perfect and it may be grainy etc.

Ektar and Portra are not cheap, to me. I only buy them when they are on sale or for special occasions.

 

[alienmeatsack]

Ektar can get funny if exposed wrongly. I would suggest perhaps Lomography 100asa film, which last time I looked was a decent price in the UK.

It looks like the Lomography 35mm 100 ISO color film is $8.90 for a 3/pack. That's around $2.97 a roll before shipping. I think that you can get Fuji Super 200 or Kodak Gold 200 for less per roll from B&H or Adorama or similar.

I'm not sure what make of film is in their cassettes, I know when I bought some last (400 ISO) it was Konica, and had the little dots punched into it like Konica films do.

http://shop.lomography.com/us/films/35mm-film/lomography-color-negative-100-iso-35mm-3-pack

Another option is to look on eBay for some of those lots of 12 exposure "teaching" film, usually expired but can be had cheaply. I've purchased Brooks, Konica, Walmart/Walgreens branded and others that were around $1 a roll. The quality was never that great since it was expired but it was fun to experiment with.

 

[kiss-o-matic]

Try color negative expired less than a few years. Test a roll. If it's okay, go from there.

Conversely:
Wait for the sun to go down a bit or find a slightly shaded area and open up a bit/a lot. It might be a slightly intermediate lesson, but should be an easy one to grasp.

 

[GarageBoy]

If lomography film is Konica, that stuff must be well aged by now, no? B&H does carry Fuji Superia and Gold 200. 12 exp rolls won't save me money with development.

I guess I can bleed off speed with a polarizer or ND, but then I'll have to explain why

 

[jonmanjiro]

If you can find it, I recommend Kodak ProFoto XL 100. Its my cheapie colour negative film of choice now. I can find it locally for 200 yen per roll, which is a bargain compared to anything offered by Fujifilm.

 

[Pioneer]

My grandkids shoot Fuji 200. At my local WalMart I am getting 24 exposure rolls for about $1.65 per roll, which is not bad.

Developing will add to your cost, which is probably unavoidable unless you develop your own. It isn't as bad as it sounds but it is certainly an added hassle if you aren't set up to do it.

I will say this though. If you are teaching someone, don't totally cheap out on the supplies or the process. Consistency is very important, particularly when you are learning a new skill. Later, if you learned right, if you cheap out somewhere and something goes wrong you have a better idea of what went wrong.

Use a decent color film, start with simple steps, use a reliable lab, and don't keep changing things. If you can't do that I would suggest that you consider using digital instead.

 

[kiss-o-matic]

If you can find it, I recommend Kodak ProFoto XL 100. Its my cheapie colour negative film of choice now. I can find it locally for 200 yen per roll,

You found this in a brick & mortar store? AFAIK, it's an East Asian only film, so I guess an import shop could carry it.

I actually have quite a bit of this and am not using it that much. If the OP (or anyone) wants to try a few on -- I think shipping normal airmail to the US 3 rolls fit in somewhere around the $3 mark. 6 rolls (maybe 7) for a bit over $5. Not too bad. It's a decent film.

which is a bargain compared to anything offered by Fujifilm.

Amen to that. I've found basically no deviation (except up) w/ the FujiFilm stuff.

 

[Chris101]

My grocery store (Kroger/Frys/Ralphs) is lousy with Gold 200 and Ultramax 400. It's pretty cheap at $2 and change. Walgreens processing is $4 a roll.

 

[jonmanjiro]

You found this in a brick & mortar store? AFAIK, it's an East Asian only film, so I guess an import shop could carry it.

Yep. Crosspoint Camera in Omori had it. But not any more because I cleaned them out. I suspected it was a SE Asian film. I have no idea where Crosspoint got it, but the guy there said they'll probably get more.

 

[pvdhaar]

So I'm trying to teach a friend photography basics (shutter speed/aperture/ISO etc.) and she wants to learn on color film

What film should I teach her on?
I tried Superia 400, but f16 / 1/500s on sunny days mean I can't really teach her about shallow DOF effects etc.

So I think that Ektar would be better (albeit, $5.50 a roll)
Are there other cheap, "slow" color options I'm missing?

Even with 100 ISO film, you're only getting f8 at 1/500 under similar circumstances. The difference between f16 and f8 is not big enough to show what shallow DOF really is like. Best bet is to go with an ND (at least 5 stops) or cheaper still, go indoors and shoot wide open.

 

[kiss-o-matic]

Yep. Crosspoint Camera in Omori had it. But not any more because I cleaned them out. I suspected it was a SE Asian film. I have no idea where Crosspoint got it, but the guy there said they'll probably get more.

Interesting. Not sure where that camera store is. I wound up buying a 40 pack off of Yahoo Auctions, although I can't find the notification email telling me how much I paid for it. It was quite cheap though, AFAIK. Maybe even cheaper than 200 yen a roll.

It's nice, but I'm kind of giddy that I found a shop (or two actually - one brick & mortar, one online) that sell Rollei B&W films as well as Rodinal. The online one sells them for roughly the same price as macodirect (sans shipping, of course).

 

[GarageBoy]

Hmm, K&M here in NYC carries ProPhotoXL, last time I checked, will ask about the price. The Nikon FE she's using only goes up to 1/1000s

 

[jonmanjiro]

Interesting. Not sure where that camera store is.

Here > 東京都品川区南大井6-13-8-103

The store owner is a really nice guy and drops prices drastically with a bit of negotiating. That's him on the left getting his photo taken out front of the store.

 

[Pete B]

Colour neg should be rated below box speed. I use Portra 160 but rate it at 125 for simplicity. 400 iso I rate at 250. I would rate 100 at 60.

With porta 160 in bright sunlight I would use 1/1000 @ 5.6. You'll see the depth of field with a 50mm focussed close. For 100iso you'd be looking at f4.

Pete

 

[defconfunk]

I'm sure getting the 200 speed of either Kodak Gold or Fuji Superia will fit your needs and wants nicely. I'm partial to Fuji Superia, it makes really nice prints on metalic paper.

Both are $3.50/roll at B&H.

 

[kiss-o-matic]

Here > 東京都品川区南大井6-13-8-103

The store owner is a really nice guy and drops prices drastically with a bit of negotiating. That's him on the left getting his photo taken out front of the store.

Cool, might check it out. Was actually thinking of hitting up Shinagawa soon as I almost never go there. Definitely not my cup of tea, but probably worth walking around one day.

 

[charjohncarter]

If in the US B&H has it for a good price. I used Costco for C-41 processing at $1.59 plus almost 10 percent tax in CA which if you scan yourself is great. But my Costco in stopping C-41 at the first of the year. The easy days are over.