What to take.

[neea]

Hey all,

I will be going to Mexico soon (14 days) and was wondering about different types of film.
I usually use 100-400 iso (very rarely 400 though).

I will be taking some pictures of my friends wedding and probably quite a few of the bride and groom. Also, lots of 'travel' pictures of water and waterfalls, beaches etc.

As for some of the wedding pictures, I'm not sure what film would be best for this. I know I want some black and whites. Some grainy pictures wouldnt hurt. As well as some really soft ones.

Keep in mind that film is limited around here. If it's not Kodak.. good luck. Anything else requires a 2 hour drive, which I'll most likely have to take anyways as I'd like to get some filters.

I read once that different brands of film are better for certain colors. Example: Kodak is good for golds and warm colors where as Fuji (i believe) is good for blues and greens.
Is this true? If so it'd definatley help in deciding which films to use for which scene.

Thanx in advance.

 

[Alpha]

For color, I would shoot Kodak Portra 160 VC. It's a great mid-speed film with good color saturation and accurate skin tone, plus it's easy to expose. If you really want your colors to pop, Provia would be my film of choice. But be mindful that it is slide, and therefore your exposure needs to be pretty dead on. In black and white, Neopan400 would be my 400-speed film of choice. I think that it's clearly better than TMax, less grainy than HP5, and has a lot more punch than Delta 400 (which tends to be rather flat). In 100 speed, I would go with Fuji Acros, hands down. If you like grain, shoot FP4 (which is rated at ISO 125. If you absolutely need a 200 speed film, SFX is the way to go. Foma 200 would also work well, but is hard to come by. If you're shooting in bright sun and can slow down a little, in my mind, Ilford PanF (ISO 50) has the most fantastic contrast, and would be absolutely ideal for wedding shots.

Ideally, my overall suggestion would be to shoot Kodak Portra 400VC for color and Fuji Neopan 400 for black and white, with a vari-ND filter so that you could open up under direct sun. But I think that singh-ray is the only company that makes a vari-ND, and it's vari-expensive (get it?). But then again, if you're doing most of your shooting outside, then you should be fine with Portra 160, and some 100 speed b&w.

 

[neea]

wow. sounds like you know alot about film.
the only thing I know is that I could not possibly purchase a single thing you listened in my town.
My next question of course would be developing... anything other than c41 would need to be sent away (like you dont wait long enough to see the results of film).
To be quite honest I've only ever used what was readily available, which isn't much.
I will definatley have to do some shopping this weekend!!!
Film, filters, maybe a new tripod.. I'm so excited.

 

[Alpha]

I dunno what stores are around in canada, but Ritz/Wolf camera sells proper film. CVS pharmacy sells 24exp rolls of TMax for some reason.

If you've got time, order good film.

 

[myopia]

fujichrome provia-f looks amazing with reds and blues (mexico), and it comes in both 100 and 400 speed.
-but kodak only, i can only say 400NC, etc...

edit: wait, has anyone mentioned Kodakrome/kodachrome whatever it is? the 64rated stuff found in cvs and those places... ?

 

[neea]

Can all these films you've mentioned be developed in c41?
This will be a huge deciding factor as I'd have to send any 'specialty' film away.

thanx for the input so far. I will definatley write them all down and keep them handy when I'm shopping around.

 

[Alpha]

Look, don't take this the wrong way, but you can shoot whatever you want. But you were just begging for some real film suggestions here. If you want to shoot supermarket C-41, then more power to ya. Will it look good? Probably not.

It can be a pain in the ass, but you're going to a different country, and taking photos at a wedding. Is convenience really your greatest concern? Will you be able to develop true black and white or slide film at the corner store? No, of course not. But trust me, it's worth it to go the extra mile on this one. The films that I suggested are all easy to work with (though you might want to bracket a stop with Provia in tricky lighting), especially the black and white ones. Suck it up, order some film from freestyle or B&H, take it to mexico and shoot your little heart out. Then send it away to be developed. I'm tellin you, you're gonna be kicking yourself for shooting this in C-41. Do it right, you won't be disappointed with the results.

 

[neea]

I was only concerned about the developing because I never feel comfortable sending pictures away.
I've had them lost and gone missing before. I would really prefer to work with people who I've worked with before and I know I'll get them back.

I went to two stores in my search for new goodies. Both were impressed with my list of film that you had suggested.
I can't remember exactly what I got but I'm very excited to see the results.
Only 4 days left!!!