Very Bright light - advice on film

[jan]

am about to photograph in mediterranean, extremely bright conditions. Any advice on best film (colour and black and white) and use of flash.

 

[Rob A]

if it really really bright, i would use a really slow film, like ISO 100, or even 50. im a beginner so im not sure if you can get slower than that.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

You can get B/W and colour films down to ISO25.

 

[Artemis]

You can get B/W and colour films down to ISO25.

Really? wow...I personally would get a film called Fuji Velvia, its a slide film but it brings out the best in good light, but its ISO is still 50 so if its slightly under kinda bright, then youll need a tripod probably...but you can most likely get away without one through most of it, just keep a watch on that exposure and hope it dont really go below 60

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Hmm. On checking I have found that Kodak have kindly discontinued Kodachrome25 and Agfa have done the same with Agfapan25. Oh well.

 

[ksmattfish]

And I think I heard Fuji just discontinued Velvia 50, continuing to make only the newer Velvia 100.

I would recommend a polarizing filter for bright outdoor shots.

 

[Walt]

...and so it starts.

 

[Unimaxium]

Really? they discontinued velvia 50? I hadn't heard of that. I thought Velvia 50 was supposed to be like everyone's favorite film :\

 

[Kodan_Txips]

Even the brightest light in the Med wont need F22 at 1/1000 of a second, so dont worry about the minimum light tramsmission your setup can deal with.

Worry more about the contrast, and the brightness of the sky or the sand.

Take 50 or 100 ISO film, but also take a couple of rolls of faster stuff, just in case, and for dark nights. In fact it is usually best to take your favourite film, to add a sense of familiarity to a new situation.

Some parts of the Med have very little "light fog" around the towns and cities, so the sky can be lovely, dark and crisp. (With those little white dot things in that they call stars, ) So a fast film can help with night shots, wandering the disco areas, long exposure night landscapes.

Its also a good idea to take 2 different sorts of ND filters, a skylight filter to slightly warm up the blue shadows, a filter system that allows you to use graduated NDs, and a polarising filter for EVERY lens in your ensemble.

If I were to take just one filter type, it would be the polariser - it has an ND role, and it can help in photos even away from water - there is a hell of a lot of light reflecting off the leaves of the trees, for example, so the polariser can enrich the colours even of landscape shots.

Have fun - and can I help you with your luggage?

 

[Hertz van Rental]

Kodachrome25 was the favourite tranny for the discerning user once. The colour saturation was unbelievable and there is nothing else that comes close.
Technical Pan has gone too. Here is Kodak's explanation (I guess it is the same for other films and manufacturers. We are watching the passing of an era)

'KODAK PROFESSIONAL Technical Pan Film is being discontinued due to steadily declining demand over the recent years. Changes in product components and our manufacturing processes make it impractical to continue to support this product at its current low levels.

The last Tech Pan coating was several years ago. Since that time, the old coating room has been shut down, the gels used in the product formulation have become obsolete, and we no longer manufacture the ESTAR support on which the 35*mm product was coated. There would be considerable cost to recreate the product, with no guarantee that it would look and act the same as the Tech Pan Film of old.

Technical Pan Film will continue to be available until the existing inventory has been depleted.

While there is no direct replacement for Tech Pan Film, you may find KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX*100 Film in combination with specific B&W Developers to be a viable alternative for some applications.'

 

[spike000]

Fuji Velvia 50 is definately your best bet and since Fuji have just released a new emulsion for the 50 speed it is not going anywhere for a while!
Kodachrome 64 tends to be better for reds (i.e. skin tones) than Velvia which is more blue/green and so is better for landscapes etc.
Try a few rolls of each before you go and make your own mind up as to which you prefer.

I usually have 20/30 rolls of Velvia, 4 or 5 of KodaChrome or EliteChrome 100 and a whole bunch of Provia 400F or Sensia 200 and 400 for general use.

Definately take some ND's and, if landscapes are your thing, some ND Grads.

For B&W avoid Ilford films as they have gone into administration and their emulsions seem to now be suffering some quality issues. T-Max is probabaly your best bet or Fuji Neopan - again a matter of personal choice so fire some off and see which shots you prefer.

Enjoy your trip and dont let anyone X-Ray your films - exposed or not it will degrade the emulsion.

Spike

 

[selmerdave]

Techpan is still available at most online photo stores (B&H, Adorama etc.). I don't know the explanation as they didn't have it for many months once it was discontinued but now they have it again. Maybe it's been recontinued?

Dave

 

[Rob]

My favourite colour film is Fuji Superia 400 for general conditions, and Kodak 160NC (discontinued) for very bright conditions.

Check your camera's maximum speed - if it's 1/4000th+ then you're probably going to be fine with 400. If, however, you're going to be attempting lots of beach and sunset type shots, 100 is probably better.