Lomography Film Suggestions?

alexkidd · Feb 21, 2011

Hey!

I recently got a Diana F+ Camera and have taken some pretty rad (Although basic) pictures using just standard 35mm 400 ISO color film.
I'm pretty new to analogue, seeing as i grew up in the digital world haha, and was just wondering if anyone has a similar camera and has any suggestions ideas on what other types of film would be good to try out? I was just gonna go and buy a load of diff types and test but all the shops around me sell the same kind...

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks!

Vautrin · Feb 22, 2011

Because there's no shutter speed to speak of, probably faster film like 400 ISO or 800 ISO will be better. You can shoot 100 ISO but it has to be a really bright day outside, at least in my experience with my holga.

Lomography actually makes some reasonably priced and fun films. I'd try those out...

BAK61 · Mar 11, 2011

lomography.com has film assortments packaged together, 35mm and / or 120........also try fourcornersdark.com.......

Alex_Holland · Mar 12, 2011

Umm...try Revolog Film. It's expensive but some of the models look cool.

Alpha · Mar 12, 2011

No particular color film is going to give you a vintage look, per se. The only thing I can recommend if you're going to use color negative film and develop normally is to overexpose (by up to two stops). Because color neg film tends to have a relatively wide exposure latitude, the density increases faster than the contrast. The Kodak Porta line and Fuji Reala are films I really like. Portra NC performs very nicely with overexposure.

Then there's cross-processing, which is more expensive but you'll get "interesting" looking results no matter what film you shoot.

If you want black and white with a classic grain look, push Tri-X to 800 or 1600. You can also try orthochromatic black and white films, which lack red sensitivity and have a different feel from normal panchromatic films. Most people would never know the difference in look (if they can see it) was the result of using an ortho film.

J.Kendall · Mar 17, 2011

Look at what they have on the Lomography site, and then try to search it on the net and possibly find it cheaper. Worked for me once or twice.

spade0511 · Mar 17, 2011

if you wanna try the lomo effect even if you don't have a lomo camera, check this out:
PHOTOGRAPHY 101: Lomo Effect Tutorial

Alex_Holland · Mar 19, 2011

Hey also, I heard that Lomography Brand Black and White 120 film is just Shanghai GP3 repackaged and with a higher price tag. Try some of that stuff.

photocist · Mar 19, 2011

it appears that lomography is an excuse for bad photography

raphaelaaron · Mar 19, 2011

photocist said:
it appears that lomography is an excuse for bad photography

while i usually would agree with this, i was having a conversation with my brother yesterday about lomography.

yes, they are usually shot by indie hipster kids who want to be artsy, but end up becoming terrible since they realize they know nothing about exposure. yes, the cameras themselves are badly made with cheap russian glass, and controls don't allow you to learn and have control of your shots. yes...yes. it's true.

but the thing i realized is that it's a gateway. sure those kids can start off with bad cameras, but the spark could grow, and they'll want to dig deeper.

for us mainly, it will keep film readily available. and i have no problems with that.

Alex_Holland · Mar 19, 2011

My first camera was a Holga. Got sick of that pretty fast. I DIDN'T know anything about exposure or anything. I was really disappointed when my first roll came back. So I bought a light meter and a Minolta. It really is a gateway to photography that some people take. I think Lomography is just an excuse for light leaks and poor exposure, but it got me interested in quality images. Sucks that some people get stuck in that stuff though. If you've seen one lomo image you've seen them all.

Alpha · Mar 19, 2011

I would not trust the Lomo brand films.

Josh66 · Mar 19, 2011

raphaelaaron said:
for us mainly, it will keep film readily available. and i have no problems with that.

Yes, but which films?

I think most (not all) people into the lomo thing tend to use the cheapest films they can find...

'Pro' film is getting harder and harder to find - Fuji & Kodak both are cutting back on their offerings. ...While the cheap drug store film remains untouched.

I'm sure things are different in NYC, but where I live it is not possible to want into a store and buy a roll of Fuji Pro 160S or Kodak Portra 160NC. You can buy a 3 pack of Kodak Gold anywhere though. B&W film is non-existent locally (though you can occasionally find some Kodak BW400CN, but that's not really the same - I think I would rather shoot color film and process in B&W chems...)

I buy my film in bulk (100' rolls) online. I used to be able to get 160S and Portra 160NC in bulk, not anymore. Actually, I couldn't find any color film in bulk last time I looked. Freestyle still has a decent selection of B&W films in bulk though. I've been buying as much as I can, because it's only a matter of time till that becomes hard to find too...