Film Choice

[yashica4life]

I do mostly mountain biking and landscape photos, and some pets and things.

Right now IM usin fuji superia 400 film and I just got a roll of tmax 400 B&W.

Im wonderin if theres anything that'd be better suited for this type of photography

Also, does anyone know of a good place to buy wholesale cases of film?

Thanks in advance

-Jared

 

[Mitica100]

I do mostly mountain biking and landscape photos, and some pets and things.

Right now IM usin fuji superia 400 film and I just got a roll of tmax 400 B&W.

Im wonderin if theres anything that'd be better suited for this type of photography

Also, does anyone know of a good place to buy wholesale cases of film?

Thanks in advance

-Jared

There are other films you might want to consider. 400 ASA usually has some grain visible in the prints. If that's what you want, then continue with 400 ASA. Otherwise, for a better saturation you might want to look at Fuji Velvia, also the Ilford B/W films, all in 100 ASA. Have you ever tried Kodak's 400 ASA BW film that requires C-41 (color negative) chemistry?

As for wholesale film, I'd check E-bay. They have a lot of films, both in cases or individual.

Good luck.

 

[ksmattfish]

ISO 400 is a good all around choice, particularly for the biking. As far as brand goes it's sort of like soda flavors, one person swears by a particular brand, the next guy likes the exact opposite, and a third photographer drinks them all. The best way to learn a film is to choose one and stick with it for a while.

I think any Fuji color film is a good choice; the NPH400 is amazing, although I usually only use it when shooting for clients because of the expense. For what little color I shoot I just usually look for the Fuji consumer stuff. Poor color is more likely a lab issue than a film issue. I've shot a lot of Kodak Gold 200 (because it can be found almost anywhere for $2 a roll); I think it looks great coming out of the local pro-lab.

I used to shoot a lot of Tmax 400. Then I decided that I didn't like it (I don't even think I can explain why), and I've switched to Ilford HP5. Definately a different look, but I seem to prefer it. I also feel that the HP5 is much more versatile as it handles over and under exposure better.

There's nothing wrong with trying out a cheap brand, and seeing if it works for you. It's worked for me. I dev/print my own stuff, so I'm biased, but I think that what goes on in the lab is ten times more important than film choice. These days most of them are really good.

 

[terri]

I dev/print my own stuff, so I'm biased, but I think that what goes on in the lab is ten times more important than film choice. These days most of them are really good.

Hear, hear. I will only add to this by saying it's going to be just as important that you find a good lab once you find some film you're comfortable with. You might run the same rolls and see different results; don't be too quick to blame the film until you try a different lab or two.

Have fun with it! It's all about exploration.

 

[thebigbillybob]

yea might i suggest u stear clear of target photo labs unless ur sending it out to qualex then its kinda a luck thing... i work for target i wouldnt ever trust it to do my film except i work there and do it for free and i cant control more but the idiots hire ne one there just walking onto the one where i live theres a freakish lez that has half her hair shaved and like 30 piercings in her face its like yea i trust u with my film but whatever... i would also strongly suggest avoiding any photo place inside a store i e target, save on, albertsons all of em horrible! i would only recomend goin to a pro local privately owned lab thats actually gracious for ur business not a coprate place... also theres a lower volume goin through those so the chemicals will be more consistent where as target they flucuate soooo much all day its that away with qualex to... just find a local lab you trust and stick to them is what im trying to say i geuss

as for film just experiment with as much as u can and find a film that fits what your trying to acomplish with your style and stick with it dude... thats about it...

 

[thebigbillybob]

oh yea if you shoot a lot i suggest getting a bulk rolling setup mine costed me like a lil more than 70 bucks with a 100' roll of tri x which translates into about 18 rolls of film where for 20 rolls on ebay it woulda cost me like 60 but now all i have to pay is 25 a 100' imported roll thats esentially the same as the 50 dollar american version from bhphoto.com they got a lotta import film with that kinda pricing....