Which 35mm film would you recommend?

[Verti]

As I'm new to photography I've picked up 2 rolls each of Kentmere Pan 100 / Pan 200 for B&W and 2 rolls of Kodak Ultramax 400 to try some colour snaps. I selected these based on the assumption that I would probably fuck up along the way, and ruining a roll of film that costs £6 will sting less than some of the more expensive varieties that the bods on utube and blogs rave about.

Web searching gives all kinds of results on which film is "best" or "best on a budget" so for those of you that explore and take photos using film what do you use and why?

 

[wormster]

Ilford FP4 for black and white, and, Fugi chrome for colour. I always felt that the Fugi film gave better colour density over Kodak colour film of the same ASA.

Plus the Ilford FP4 you can "bump" from say 100asa out to1600asa quite easily for really dark shots.

Hope this helps somewhat

 

[Mikeymutt]

Film is definitely making a massive come back. It’s something I would like to try, but like you say the price of film is mental now. So I have no experience in film apart from my film camera when I was a kid. I have a Fuji camera and you can get Fuji film recipes which give you film simulations of all the main film makes. You just have to adjust all the settings in the camera from the recipe. Had my first go with it just recently, but bet it’s still not the same as film.

 

[Bugsuperstar]

I personally use Kodak ultramax 400 or Fuji Superia X-tra 400 however I do love to shoot with AGFA Vista 200 too although I’ve found it can be quite grainy in lower light situations.

I rarely use B&W but would recommend FP4.

Just have a play and find what you personally like.

 

[wormster]

The beauty of FP4 is that with a few basic tools you can develop the film at home, then scan the negatives into a pc for further "development and "printing"" using your familiar photo software!!

Not something I have done since the kids were micro!!, I sold all my kit off (full darkroom years ago)

 

[Wastelandr]

Kentmere I believe is a really budget option, dunno if its much good. The B&W film I use is Ilford XP2 as it still uses the regular C41 processing meaning you can get it developed at all the usual places and don't need to send it off.

Ultramax 400 is good but its grainier and pricier than Kodak Gold and ColourPlus. All are decent though.

I did shoot a lot of Fujicolour C200 originally as its nice and cheap, but it always looked a bit sort of greenish and orrible.

 

[Verti]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm glad that after a few replies several other film varieties have been mentioned.

It didn't occur to me to 'bump' the ISO as wormster said. I assume this is fiddling with the dial on the camera and lying to it so you get some wacky exposures. Could be big.

 

[Bugsuperstar]

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm glad that after a few replies several other film varieties have been mentioned.

It didn't occur to me to 'bump' the ISO as wormster said. I assume this is fiddling with the dial on the camera and lying to it so you get some wacky exposures. Could be big.

Here’s a fairly good rundown of pushing/pulling film

- Pushing and Pulling Film - A Complete Guide from The Darkroom

 

[wormster]

You got it, bump the Film speed - widest appatute and play with the shutterspeed. Can be fun with remote flashes etc

 

[HughieD]

Ilford FP4 for black and white, and, Fugi chrome for colour. I always felt that the Fugi film gave better colour density over Kodak colour film of the same ASA.

Plus the Ilford FP4 you can "bump" from say 100asa out to1600asa quite easily for really dark shots.

Hope this helps somewhat

Haven't done any film shooting for some time but when I did, these were my go to B+W and colour films too...

 

[Wastelandr]

Never tried the whole pushing/bumping thing, always been scared off by the uncertainty but seems like a popular technique worth a try. Does it have to be kept more steady?

 

[wormster]

Oh yes a decent tripod is required

 

[Bikin Glynn]

I wouldnt, the 1980s are over man!

 

[Down and beyond]

I wouldnt, the 1980s are over man!

The age of the iPhone is here

 

[slayaaaa]

Any film is good to be honest and part of the fun is trying everything in different environments. If you're looking for more refined results, smoother grain and crisp colours, shoot portra/ektar or even consider slide film (e6). But if you want more exciting and unpredictable results purchase a selection of old expired film on Ebay and you never know what you're going to get! Tends to be a bit cheaper too but remember to expose your film one extra stop for every decade it has been expired. Always worth using an independent photolab as well, if you're going to spend the money on the film, its worth spending the extra few quid getting it dev'd by people that care and know what they're doing as opposed to the high street chains. Show us some pics!