What kind of 120 film should I get? (slide, B&W, and negative)

Treymac · Jul 15, 2008

Hey guys. So my ETRSi just arrived today, and I've already dropped the focusing screen on the floor after taking the prism off (and now it's all dusty and finger printy). But anyways, what I wanted to get an idea of was what kind of film I should buy for it.

I'm going to be shooting with it down in Arizona so it will be quite bright most of the time. And I have 3 backs. One is for black and white, the other is for slide film, and the other is for negative film. And this is where I get a little lost.

What is the best slide film that I should use? Same for B&W, what is the best, and also for negative film.

Thanks a lot.

doobs · Jul 15, 2008

It's all up to your personal tastes. Shoot 35mm film already? Take your favorites and just buy 'em in 120.

Personally, I like Provia and most Ektachromes in slide, Portra or Agfa Vista in Neg, and for Black and White, I'll mostly pick up FP4+ or PAN F (HP5+ if I need the speed). I'll also occasionally shoot Ilford Delta, Fuji Neopan and Lucky-brand films (cause they're extremely cheap). For night time/indoor/high speed, it's Kodak T-Max P3200.

christopher walrath · Jul 15, 2008

I would vote for Velvia/Provia for the slides. B&W I have always prefered the TMax films. Color films, Fujifilm has always treated me well.

myopia · Jul 16, 2008

each film has its own purpose because each one is different. i shoot provia almost exclusively however- in both 35mm + 120 because it has great colors (without the over-saturated look of velvia), good skin tones, fine grain, and can be pushed easily. also, for long exposures, it has barely any reciprocity error. it is slide film by the way. for color negative film, it does not make much difference to me. as for black and white, i like them all, but find that i like the slightly grainy look of iso 400 film (120) when printed to 11x14. i also like agfa scala 200x in 120 and ilford pan-f 50 in 120 if i want fine grain.

epatsellis · Jul 16, 2008

I prefer color negative film, and have been stockpiling quite a bit of 120/220 film lately. (the entire freezer is full, only 6 bricks of NPS/NPH and the rest is 120/220 film, ~500 or so rolls. The 4x5 and 8x10 film had to get moved to the chest freezer, the wife hasn't noticed yet, I'm sure I'll get a few harsh comments.

Anyway, I prefer negative film for color work, typically NPS, or the 800 version of it, NPZ, I think? Other films I use a lot of are: Kodak Portra 160 and 400 VC, some E100G (mostly for cross processing work) and lots of B&W film, typically Efke R100, HP5 or Efke 25.

I was surprised by the 160VC, here's a couple I shot a few months ago, no color tweaking at all, straight off the scanner:

erie