# Favorite film?



## jowensphoto (Mar 29, 2013)

What is your favorite film and why?

also, I'm new to this, but if you have any suggestions: I like grain, a lot. A bit washed out and perhaps magenta hued (though not so much as lomo. I know the "wash out" is partly due to exposure and the magenta is usually caused by the lens. But if there's anything you think I'd like, I'd love to hear. For BW, grain is always good. Lol


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## BrianV (Mar 29, 2013)

Tri-X is always a goos starting point, and if you like grain- push process it to ISO 1600.

I tended to be "Panatomic-X in Microdol". So the absolute opposite...


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## Mully (Mar 29, 2013)

Kodak tri-x...Asa 400.. This is a nice sharp grain film..... Used it for years but not sure they still make it


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## jowensphoto (Mar 29, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm so excited. I don't plan on developing myself. Any suggestions in that regard


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## Light Guru (Mar 29, 2013)

jowensphoto said:


> Thanks for the suggestions!
> 
> I'm so excited. I don't plan on developing myself. Any suggestions in that regard



Developing is easy and much cheeper if you continue to shoot your own film.


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## jowensphoto (Mar 29, 2013)

^it seems so complicated! It's my understanding that bw is less complicated than color?


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## Light Guru (Mar 29, 2013)

jowensphoto said:


> ^it seems so complicated! It's my understanding that bw is less complicated than color?



Well so far the only recommended film here is Tri-X and that is B&W.  Color film is just as easy to develop as B&W film in my opinion.  

I use Kodak TMX-100 in my 4x5 camera.


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## dxqcanada (Mar 29, 2013)

The only colour film I like is Fuji Velvia or Kodak Kodachrome ... I never got into any particular colour print film.

B&W was Kodak Panatomic-X and HIE ... currently it is Ilford Pan F-plus, Delta's or anything Infrared.

Developing B&W is easy.
I just use my bathroom as a developing area ... the only effort it takes is spending time turning over a container.
Probably the most difficult part is loading the reels, which is not all that difficult.


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## KenC (Mar 29, 2013)

Yes, there's not much to developing B&W - I'm sure you can find some tutorials on it.  Of course any basic B&W photography book will tell you how to do it, but no one seems to read actual books anymore.

The important thing about developing is that you are in total control of density, contrast, etc.  If you want more grain, you can make that happen, or less for that matter.

When I last shot B&W film, the TMax films in TMax developer were my standard.  TMax 3200 is amazing.  You can shoot it anywhere from 800-6400 (within reason - anything else is possible, but ...) and if I remember the instructions from Kodak gave times/temperatures for the whole range.  It has different grain than Tri-X so in your grain quest you may find you prefer the "look" of one or the other.  The TMax grain is smaller and more even in size.


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## cgw (Mar 29, 2013)

For colour: Kodak Portra 400--120: beautiful contrast/saturation balance; easily scanned.

For b&w: Kodak Tmax400(TMY-2)--120: looks like ISO100 35mm; gorgeous tonal range.

Shoot digital for Instagram color shifts or scan and get the look thru post=processing.


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## Josh66 (Mar 29, 2013)

Color - Fuji Pro 160S (discontinued, I need to find a new favorite...)

B&W - Fuji Acros


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## Josh66 (Mar 29, 2013)

jowensphoto said:


> ^it seems so complicated! It's my understanding that bw is less complicated than color?



IMO, color is easier.

There is only one variable with color - temperature.  Once you figure out how to control that (a hot water bath works great), the rest is easy.

With B&W, everything is a variable.  Developer, film, what you rated the film at, temperature, dilution...

If you like grain, try Kentemere 400.  There is not much data on it online (as far as dev times and such) - but I use a ****load of it (edit- that means that if you have questions, there's a good chance that I know the answer).  Develop it in Rodinal if you _love_ grain.  It's also a very pushable film, which I like.  TMax Dev gives the least amount of grain, IMO (with K400).


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## timor (Mar 29, 2013)

jowensphoto said:


> Thanks for the suggestions!
> 
> I'm so excited. I don't plan on developing myself.


Can you tell me why ? Who gonna do it for you ? Nowadays you shoot Tri-X, you develop it.:salute:


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## vintagesnaps (Mar 30, 2013)

I'd usually get color film developed and prints made, and with B&W would get the film developed and maybe have a contact or proof sheet done, then I'd make my own prints, but that was when I was using a community darkroom at a local university (which is in a building now being remodeled). I like Kodak TMAX and Ilford B&W films.

There are fewer options locally so I started sending out - just started using The Darkroom in San Francisco, flat rate is $10 per roll developed and scanned with other options for prints etc. There are other places you can send film, send me a PM if you want some resources. You could try looking up the Film Photography Project too. 

If you like magenta and want something interesting, Rollei's been marketing some unusual films, Blackbird, Redbird, Nightbird etc. - I think the last one is supposed to have a magenta hue. 

Lomography is going to be coming out with 'purple' film. It's similar to Kodak aerochrome (which I'd never heard of) and I don't think the new film will be truly infrared as the original was, but it is supposed to have a look similar to color IR, red is green (or vice versa? I forget).


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## Sw1tchFX (Mar 30, 2013)

jowensphoto said:


> What is your favorite film and why?
> 
> also, I'm new to this, but if you have any suggestions: I like grain, a lot. A bit washed out and perhaps magenta hued (though not so much as lomo. I know the "wash out" is partly due to exposure and the magenta is usually caused by the lens. But if there's anything you think I'd like, I'd love to hear. For BW, grain is always good. Lol


Try shooting some 400H, overexpose the crap out of it, and have RPL scan it on their Frontier's.


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## gsgary (Mar 30, 2013)

I have a few favourites but Fomapan 400 would be good for what you want and its cheap but you can also get some lovely rich tones, you could also ask round for out of date film i keep getting bags of it free because people think its no good, i also picked up 100 feet of Kodalith Ortho that is intersting
Heres HP5 30 years out of date


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## gsgary (Mar 30, 2013)

3 Rolls Fomapan 400 Film 35mm 135 36 Black White | eBay


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## Wyler (Mar 30, 2013)

I've found that one of my favorites is also the B&W - Fuji Acros.


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## peter27 (Mar 30, 2013)

Kodak for colour negative - I like the hues (nice pastel colours)
Agfa for colour slide - sharp, crisp, nice (and not too warm)
Kodak and Ilford for B&W (I only use negative here). I really like the tones of the T-max films from Kodak and also the BW400CN, which is a C41 process film.


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## jowensphoto (Mar 30, 2013)

Costco by me still develops slides, a friend did just the other week.


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## terri (Mar 30, 2013)

Slight thread hijack:  gsgary, I am in love with that crazy shot!   :heart:   This is a perfect demonstration of why I think film is so damn fun!!    Film that's 30 years expired and you get this surreal, high contrast image...it's like what your brain might see in the middle of a strange dream.   Smitten.....    !
/hijack      :razz:



> ^it seems so complicated!


Fear not!   Let me put it to you this way: have you ever followed a recipe to successful completion?   -baking, roasting, anything?       If you have, then I tell you without reservation you can develop B&W film.   It's the same part of your brain that lines up any measuring cups, mixes, pours, and pays attention to temperature and takes the muffins out on time.     The ONLY thing you have to teach yourself is loading the film onto the reel, and getting used to doing it.     Once you've done it a few times, you just don't worry about it anymore.   

You don't need a darkroom to develop film, just the right tools (like you have in the kitchen), a dark room (like a bedroom closet at night) to load the film and put it into the tank.   Then you can stand at your kitchen sink and develop it in the daytime - you'll have negatives in twenty minutes or less.   

Just sayin'.        Using film costs pennies when you develop at home.   Don't listen to anyone who argues otherwise; it's just not true.


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## BlackSheep (Mar 30, 2013)

What Terri said is very true! Actually, I sometimes have a really hard time following a recipe, but can develop my own film just fine. It's just a matter of following the instructions.

My favourite films were always Ilford Delta and Kodak infrared for B&W, and Fuji Reala for colour negs, but I'm not sure if the Reala is around anymore.


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## Derrel (Mar 30, 2013)

Tri-X 400, developed in HC-110, dilution B. Ample grain, yes, but simply lovely tonality. One of Kodak's most popular B&W emulsions, it's readily available most places that sell B&W film. Tri-X i's simply a great, fast B&W film.


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## jake337 (Mar 30, 2013)

So far I've liked kodak portra 800 the most.

These were taken with it.

The Abstracted - a set on Flickr


It's not to spendy, for me at least.

Like $4 bucks a roll to develop and $5 to scan them all.  Maybe $20 for two rolls printed standard size(one copy).

If you develop, scan, or print yourself it's pretty much the cost of the film plus change.


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## timor (Mar 30, 2013)

^^^^ Like it and support what Terri said. What I always say, there are infinite ways to develop film and the fun is to do it own way.


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## gsgary (Mar 30, 2013)

terri said:


> Slight thread hijack:  gsgary, I am in love with that crazy shot!   :heart:   This is a perfect demonstration of why I think film is so damn fun!!    Film that's 30 years expired and you get this surreal, high contrast image...it's like what your brain might see in the middle of a strange dream.   Smitten.....    !
> /hijack      :razz:
> 
> 
> ...



Thankyou so much Terri, i have shot hardly any digital for 6 months i still have 2 rolls of HP5 that came with the roll that shot came from
This shot is totally different 26 years out of date TriX


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## terri (Mar 30, 2013)

This is terrific!    
Clean up the dust off his poor face, you slacker and you could get a wonderful print from this!   I can hardly believe you are getting such nice results with this old film (oldest I've ever used was 9 years out of date).    I'm a sucker for this high contrast shots.   And the grain!


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## Josh66 (Mar 30, 2013)

Derrel said:


> Tri-X 400, developed in HC-110, dilution B. Ample grain, yes, but simply lovely tonality. One of Kodak's most popular B&W emulsions, it's readily available most places that sell B&W film. Tri-X i's simply a great, fast B&W film.



They still sell it at my local CVS.  Granted, it costs like 3 times what I can get it for online - but it's good to know I can get it in an emergency.


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## manaheim (Mar 30, 2013)

I like the stuff that forms on the top of cream when you leave it about.


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## terri (Mar 30, 2013)

manaheim said:


> I like the stuff that forms on the top of cream when you leave it about.


Scram, rabbit!


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## manaheim (Mar 30, 2013)

terri said:


> Scram, rabbit!



You no likey?


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## gsgary (Mar 30, 2013)

terri said:


> This is terrific!
> Clean up the dust off his poor face, you slacker and you could get a wonderful print from this!   I can hardly believe you are getting such nice results with this old film (oldest I've ever used was 9 years out of date).    I'm a sucker for this high contrast shots.   And the grain!



Thankyou again but you need much older film


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## jowensphoto (Mar 31, 2013)

It's funny having this conversation with non-photographers (well, similar conversation).

"But all the film is EXPIRED AND WON'T WORK!"

LOL I'll have to pass this thread on to said person.

Gary, love the shots you posted. Really like the second.
Jake, that's a great set. The colors are nice and realistic, but still have that dreamy quality.


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## hfb (Apr 1, 2013)

An nother TriX 400 vote. Also for self development. HC110. If you are shooting 35mm, putting the film on the spool for developing takes a little practice.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Apr 1, 2013)

timor said:


> jowensphoto said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for the suggestions!
> ...



?????????


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## timor (Apr 1, 2013)

2WheelPhoto said:


> timor said:
> 
> 
> > jowensphoto said:
> ...


Of course for someone who never developed film it may seems a strange idea. But there is a strong connection between exposure and development and one should not trust own negatives to anyone else. Not to mention that development is 1/3 of the fun of shooting BW film.


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## Josh66 (Apr 1, 2013)

The developer you use is a pretty big factor in the "look" of a given film.  If you send it out, they're probably going to put it in D-76, but really, you have no idea...

If you don't like the results, you'll have no idea why.  You'll just think that particular film sucks, even if they just randomly chose to develop it in the worst possible choice for that film.


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## vintagesnaps (Apr 1, 2013)

I think there are options; you don't necessarily need to develop your own film, you can instead use a lab with knowledgeable staff. When I was using a shared darkroom my time there was limited so I usually had film developed and then did my own prints (B&W). I agree with the earlier post too that spooling the film takes some practice.


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## terri (Apr 1, 2013)

gsgary said:


> terri said:
> 
> 
> > This is terrific!
> ...



But it was Polaroid!     If you count that like in dog years, probably just as old!


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## timor (Apr 1, 2013)

O|||||||O said:


> The developer you use is a pretty big factor in the "look" of a given film.  If you send it out, they're probably going to put it in D-76, but really, you have no idea...
> 
> If you don't like the results, you'll have no idea why.  You'll just think that particular film sucks, even if they just randomly chose to develop it in the worst possible choice for that film.


Not only that, my development regime varies with every combo: <film, camera, light meter, projected contrast>. Sounds complicated, but in fact is not.
I agree with Sharon that everything takes practice, spooling too. Since we talking about favored film mine is Eastman Double-X Negative (motion picture film: Project Double-X | About) which comes in minimum 400 feet rolls. How about handling that...No worries, it's easy, extremely.


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## djacobox372 (Apr 2, 2013)

When comparing developing color to b+w the biggest difference to me is savings.  Color chemicals are more expensive and don't store as well, so you don't save nearly as much $$ as u do developing b+w film.  Especially if u consider time=$, since color film takes much longer to develop as well. Color has multiple dev stages + bleach, with lots of washing in between; b+w is just dev,stop,fix,wash.


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## WhiteRaven22 (Apr 7, 2013)

jowensphoto said:


> What is your favorite film and why?



Kodak Ektar 100 and Fujifilm Velvia 100 for punchy, vibrant colors.


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## The_Traveler (Apr 7, 2013)

I can't believe this thread, 42 responses and no one has mentioned Casablanca.


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## WhiteRaven22 (Apr 7, 2013)

The_Traveler said:


> I can't believe this thread, 42 responses and no one has mentioned Casablanca.



I get it.   Took me a minute.
I've actually never seen Casablanca.  There's something to add to my empty netflix queue...


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## gsgary (Apr 7, 2013)

The_Traveler said:


> I can't believe this thread, 42 responses and no one has mentioned Casablanca.



Never heard of Kodak Casablanca what speed was it


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## timor (Apr 7, 2013)

gsgary said:


> Never heard of Kodak Casablanca what speed was it


Dangerous, very dangerous.


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## ktan7 (Apr 27, 2013)

Loving the fuji 400h - rate the film 1/2 the film speed and everything looks pastel.


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## peter27 (Apr 28, 2013)

About a year ago I loaded Portra 160 in of my SLR cameras for the first time, and two weeks ago I finally came to the end of the roll. I picked it up from the lab at the beginning of this week - WOW! I love the colour rendition and beautiful skin tones. I also like using Ektar but find the skin tones can come out a bit warm by comparison. I'll be buying a roll of Portra 400 tomorrow......


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## timor (Apr 28, 2013)

peter27 said:


> I also like using Ektar but find the skin tones can come out a bit warm by comparison. I'll be buying a roll of Portra 400 tomorrow......


Every film is "trying" to deliver something else. Ektar is good at something different, actually Kodak didn't specifically recommended it for portraits.


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