best film

electricalperson · May 4, 2009

:thumbup:what company do you pros think makes the best film? i know theres probably a best film depending on the subject or style just tell me what you guys think

photogincollege · May 5, 2009

I really like ilford and fujifilm.

blash · May 5, 2009

Agfapan APX-400 for B&W

Ilford HP5+ or FP4+ for B&W backup

Velvia for color non-portraiture

Portra for portraits and backup for color work

That's pretty much all you need.

bhop · May 5, 2009

I don't think there's such a thing as a best film company. What's best for one person might not be for someone else.

Kodak makes great films (Portra, Ektar, Tri-X) Fuji makes great films (800z, Reala, Provia, Velvia) Ilford makes great b/w films (Delta 3200 is great, HP5+, FP4) Those are the main films I like, but i'm sure other people might like other films.

electricalperson · May 5, 2009

should i buy professional grade film or just the cheap stuff if im learning?

Josh66 · May 5, 2009

Try a little of both. That's the only way you'll really know if the expensive film is worth it or not. Just buy a roll or two to see if you like it.

christopher walrath · May 5, 2009

See, this really depends on whether you are asking a Kodak Pro, a Fuji Pro, an Ilford Pro, a Foma Pro, an Arista Pro, a Polaroid Pro, an Agfa Pro, an Efke Pro. Everyone will have their pill of choice. Best thing to do is to buy it all and kill some photons with it.

electricalperson · May 10, 2009

i bought the 3 pack of the BW400CN film by kodak. i already shot a roll of it but didnt get it developed yet. anybody use this before?

Josh66 · May 10, 2009

Yeah. I like it. As far as c-41 process B&W, it's probably the best you can get.

(Not sure that there really is another C-41 B&W option... Still good film though.)

jonahr · May 10, 2009

Ilford XP2 is C-41 b/w

i haven't shot it in a long time but i remember liking it

kevin_c · May 27, 2009

jonahr said:
Ilford XP2 is C-41 b/w

i haven't shot it in a long time but i remember liking it

XP-2 Super is an excellent film IMO, giving a bit more contrast than the Kodak BW400CN.

There is also Fuji Neopan CN400 - This is actually made by Ilford, although it is NOT the same as XP-2 Super, but a derivative of it made to Fuji's spec.
I believe these are the only three C41 B&W films made.

Josh66 · Jun 13, 2009

Fuji Pro 160S is becoming my new favorite film.

I haven't shot a whole lot of it yet - but I'm really liking it so far.

christopher walrath · Jun 14, 2009

Yes, the BW400CN is a fantastic black and white film for C41 (read: one hour) processing. Just make sure if the prints have a blue tint on them when you pick them up, unless you don't mind the cyanotype look, insist they redo them in 100% greyscale. They can do that just have little opportunity to remember which button to push.

Henry Peach · Jun 14, 2009

electricalperson said:
should i buy professional grade film or just the cheap stuff if im learning?

Buy a well known brand such as Kodak, Fuji, or Ilford. The difference between consumer film and pro film probably isn't what you think. Consumer film is designed to be stored for long periods of time at room temperature without the quality deteriorating. Pro film is designed to peak in quality quickly, and doesn't have as long of a shelf life. Refrigeration extends it's shelf life. Pro film is all tracked by emulsion batches. Emulsion batches are slightly different, which is no big deal for most photogs, but could be important if you need hundreds or thousands of frames of film to print exactly the same.