Whats the difference between 'slide' and 'print'?

[lasershot]

I feel dumb asking this but what is the difference?

I'm shooting film until christmas when I'll buy a Digital camera because the one I had broke.

Also, any film recommendations? My signature has the camera I'm using in it..

 

[Alpha]

Slide/Reversal/Positive films make positive color images. They're slides, basically, like the ones you would put in a slide projector. The development process is called E6.

Print film is color negative. The process is C41.

In slide, I'm partial to Fuji Provia and Kodak Ektachrome Plus (EPP).

In color negative, Kodak Portra VC is killer (VC stands for vivid color). Portra NC is nice as well, but doesn't really shine except under really great lighting.

 

[lasershot]

But which is better?

 

[Alpha]

Slide has a narrower exposure range, but is much higher resolution. As such, it can be a poor choice for tricky lighting situations. It can also be a poor choice for close-up portraits because every skin imperfection will show up. It is, however, of incomparable quality for landscape work under normal lighting conditions, and any other situation where you can control your light really well or it's falling evenly. My recent critique post was shot on slide (Fuji Provia).

Color neg, on the other hand, has a few advantages. The exposure latitude is much wider, the processing is cheaper, the film itself is cheaper. It's generally better suited to situations where a wide exposure range is necessary, and it's really nice for portraits. It's also easier for scanners to scan well than slide.

 

[ann]

another thing to consider. with a slide, you need a projector if you want to share the images within a group, altho , prints can be made from a slide.

A negative will give one a print without an additional step.

Slides are usually considered to be "true color" as uless the processor screws up the chemisty the colors will be consist.
with negatives, who ever is making the printing decision can make the colors change in hue and saturation.

 

[Flash Harry]

Or you can scan them to digital files. H

 

[ann]

of course