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Film recommendations for a newbie?
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 8:45 am    Post subject: Film recommendations for a newbie? Reply with quote
Hey guys,

I've gotten a strong wish to try out film photography for the first time in my life. I've never shoot film, only digital, so please bear with me and my newbie questions. Smile

Yesterday I won a Yashica Electro 35 GS with the flash on ebay. Pretty cheap I think (Click here to see on Ebay) and I ordered a new a32px battery for it.

I only need some advice on which film to shoot with. I just want to try with b&w first and I'll most likely won't be developing it myself (at least until I decide if I like shooting film in general).
Which are good and cheap b&w films? Is it best to buy them on ebay or somewhere else? Any general advice? Thanks. Very Happy


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
BW. Well depends.
If you want to get it cheap then you gotta go for c41 bw-s, that means that every photostore that develops ordinary negatives will be able to develop those too.
I think there are only 3 c41 BW-s available.
Ilford 400 XP2 and Kodak BW400 and Fuji Neopan 400CN.
Ive use mostly Ilford, but have fooled around with Kodak too.
And I can tell you, they are VERY different. Kodak is actually a desaturated negative film, but ilfords base is clear (not with the negative brownish tone).

If you are using shooting everything manually then I would recommend the Ilford, because I find its dynamic range a little bigger. I find Ilford not a bw film, but a grey film, there alot of different tones of grey, but Kodak is alot more contrasty and sometimes seems it only has BLACK and WHITE.

Heres a picture with Kodak 400BW. No PP. When you look at the eyes, you can see how contrasty it is. Goes straight from black to white.

And also this.


So now the Ilford. You cant find 100% BLACK.

Another one



BUT ! I have had one really bad experience with Ilford. I once bought a bunch of Ilfords and one went over its date and after that the hole film looked like this.



To sum it up. They are both very good films, but totally different. I prefer Ilford, I really like smoother results, but some of my friends like Kodak more. I recommend to try them both and pick your poison.


(As I work in a photostore that develops C41 films, I havent used regulard BWs at all. Here the C41 development cost 35 and true b/w around 60.)


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks Joosep, much appreciated advice! Wink Lovely images also, I prefer Kodak from those samples, but I guess some experimenting and time can tell for definately. Looking forward to it!

cheers!


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you want really cheap film, buy expired one what was stored in freezer. You can buy them about 1 USD each, try to pickup 'pro' films.


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I can recomend lford delta 100 it's a nice traditional BW negative film with lots of tones and lays flat when processed. I'm doing BW at home it's quite easy and always fun.

You can order films and chemicals at macodirect.de


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 5:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Electro GS is a great camera, with a very good lens. Auto exposure of course... The C-41 films are what you'll want for convenience etc. at least to start with. Honestly? Pick which ever one is available and cheaper. Later you can try the other one.

But I'd recommend your very first film through the camera is the cheapest color film, ASA 200 or 400, that you can find, 24 exposures. Run that through, get it developed and scanned to CD, and see what you have. Light leaks, exposure correct, etc etc. Why waste the slightly more expensive B&W film for this?

The Kodak and Ilford don't get the full b&w flavor, as their response characteristics are a bit more like color print film... so if you do end up liking b&w work, and have a scanner that can do 35mm film, the best and cheapest way forward will be to do your own developing. It isn't difficult and soon enough you'll be talking developers and film formulations with the best of em Wink


PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nesster wrote:
But I'd recommend your very first film through the camera is the cheapest color film, ASA 200 or 400, that you can find, 24 exposures. Run that through, get it developed and scanned to CD, and see what you have. Light leaks, exposure correct, etc etc. Why waste the slightly more expensive B&W film for this?
Absolutely.

I would also suggest taking a notepad & pen with you when you shoot that roll, and making notes of what shots you have taken and at what settings. In particular, you can take shots that are useful for diagnosis... for example, take the same shot 5 times... once at the metered reading, then the exact same shot at +1, +2, -1, -2. That way, when you get the film back, instead of a whole roll that came out poorly (which tells you the metering is off), you instead get a roll that tells you how much the metering is off. Cool You could do the same thing for focus, to check the rangefinder calibration.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
With this Yashica, the way to check metering/shutter speed is by varying the ISO speed. Perhaps just check the meter reading vs. a digital camera. Easier that way.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
For slow film, I like Ilford Pan F developed in 1:50 Rodinal.

Medium fims I like Ilford FP4+ and Fomapan also developed in 1:50 Rodinal

Fast film is usually Ilford HP5, usually developed in 1:50 Rodinal if I pull process otherwise Ilfotec DDX at 400iso & above.

I have tried Ilford Delta 3200 but I get serious under exposure with that film (about 3 stops) so I need to experiment more (or switch films).


PostPosted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 7:32 am    Post subject: Re: Film recommendations for a newbie? Reply with quote
symphonic wrote:
I only need some advice on which film to shoot with. I just want to try with b&w first and I'll most likely won't be developing it myself (at least until I decide if I like shooting film in general).

B&W is more expensive all round these days, both to buy and to process if you're not doing it yourself. You don't say what your reasons are for wanting B&W, but if it's just for testing the camera, colour film is a better option here, if only from the point of economics and practicality.

The 35GS is equipped with a very good lens, and it's an aperture priority auto exposure electronically controlled shutter where there's no indication of what speed it's using ; you can only set the aperture. You can work it out fairly easily because the over/under exposure lamps come on when the shutter speed is 500 or 30, and if you note the aperture at which that happens, you can interpolate to get a shutter speed estimate for your chosen aperture.

You've been advised to try chromogenic films (like XP2) for B&W as they are processed in the standard C41 colour film chemicals. As it happens, I like XP2, but just be aware that negatives are not archival like ordinary B&W, they do fade within about a decade. My favourite photograph of my daughter when she was aged only three now exists only in a print ; the negative is unusable.

At this stage, you're only checking for obvious problems, like exposure being of the right order, light leaks, that sort of thing. Vertical yellow/orange bands on colour pictures are a dead giveaway of light leaks, and given the age of the Yashica Electro series, this is a high probability. Fortunately, fixing light leaks is a very easy, if merely tedious, job, though it's one that can be very satisfying. The hardest part is cleaning out the old seals, which have usually turned to sticky tar. A cheap black mousemat and a craft cutting knife will keep you in light seal strips for the next forty years. If you do find light leaks, or just want to do it anyway, pop a note here and I'll post easy to follow instructions.

If B&W is what you're really after, processing is easy at home, and just requires an initial expense for processing kit, like a developing tank, thermometer, and a changing bag to let you get the film out and loaded into the dev tank in total darkness with yourself still in daylight. Any classic B&W will do, for which you've already had recommendations. I've been an Ilford man all my life, using mostly PanF, FP4, and HP5, all developed in Kodak D76, the classic film developer of all time. I strongly recommend sticking to one developer until you know it inside out, and can then experiment with others, like Rodinal, which gives films a rather different look. Just be aware that once you've developed your own film, you may get a buzz from it that will never go away. I developed my first film in 1962, and I still can't give it up.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I concur with chromogenic BW film choice (see Joosep post) since any minilab is able to process it at reasonable price and even make prints (though of questionable quality). Regular BW had to go through a pro chain with more expense and less availability on the territory, plus the prints I'm afraid will cost an arm and a leg.
All in all my advice is to start as said and at later stage, if you decide you like film, I would strongly encourage to start home development .

Cheers, M.
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