Found my Film camera.... which film to use?

[kundalini]

I knew it was around the house...... somewhere, but wasn't too bothered to scavenge for. I had thought when I ran across it that it would be nice to shoot some B&W. But I've been out of the loop so long, I really don't have a clue which type / brand / ASA to get.

It is a Canon EOS 500N and I'm also pretty sure the lenses are just kit grade.

What am I planning to shoot?, you ask. Hell if I know. Two things that come to mind are some street photography stuff and long expopsure for star trails.

This just more for the fun of it than anything else.

Thanks.

[Terri]

Are you thinking of color or B&W? Street photography generally looks good to me in B&W, but you could go either way.

You say you have kit lenses, so I'm guessing they're not particularly fast? Street photography can be done with a decent 50mm prime. Your film speed can make up for a slower lens.

I use mostly Ilford films: HP5 or FP4, depending on what film speed you want. Kodak still make excellent products, of course.

Any of the major brands will do you fine, really. Same thing with color film; for slide film I'm more partial to Fuji.

Just go get some and go shoot! :) Would love to see some of your work.

[kundalini]

yes, I do remember that my preference for color (slides) was Fuji. I also shot Ektachrome for prints (I think). But please take into consideration at and during those times, I was pretty much just a consumer rather than a 'phile...... honestly didn't have much of a clue. But I did attempt creative shots with no education. Not much different today now that I think about it.

I'll head out on saturday to a local shop and pick up a couple of rolls and fresh batteries. Between now and then, please feel free to give you opinions.....

Thanks.

[PhotoJet]

I like both of terri's choices... especially for street work. HP5 is faster so you don't have to really worry so much about lighting.
I like slower films... but that's my preference... FP4 is a good, all purpose film and it has boatloads of latitude! Alas, one of my favorite films (APX 100) is much harder to find in 35mm. :gah: But Fuji Acros (iso 100) is also a nice film. The tulip I posted is Acros 100 done with a macro lens.

Will you be developing your own film, too?

[Rolleimaniac]

We had a blast shooting TMAX 3200. It been a while since our last roll but I remember rating @1600 for better shadow detail. Never really experimented all that much with different developers; just stayed with TMAX devo.

I'm gonna get Terri to post a shot or two we did at a wedding some time ago. This film was a huge hit because of the unobtrusive candids we captured. We heard time and time again that folks never knew we shot 'the' picture, never knew we were there.

Have fun with your ‘new’ camera.

Cheers,

[Terri]

Oh, yeah....I did shoot a lot of that for the candids, since we were always in such low-light situations and you were always telling me to be quick.


We heard time and time again that folks never knew we shot 'the' picture, never knew we were there.

I put the ol' Pentax in "stealth" mode. :mrgreen:

I will try to dig some of those up. They certainly had grain, even at 1600, but for some of the candids it added to a nostaligic kind of feel. My feeling was they always contrasted very nicely with your lovely color shots from that yummy Portra film. :love: Our proof books had a nice mix of both in them.

[Terri]

Well, I can't seem to unearth anything I shot with the TMax 3200. I blame it all on our big "reorganization" last summer when we put in new flooring and had to move literally every stick of furniture downstairs. Now I have to face the consequences of my pigeon-holing. :gah:

So kundalini, did you decided on what to buy?

[vicky]

I'm a huuuuuge fan of Ilford 3200 B&W film.

I usually shoot it at 6400 and get the lab to push it two stops for me. The lab and I have just found that works best for my photos. You end up losing a lot of details in the shadows and highlights, but I just love the look of the grain and the contrast.

It might not work so well for street photography though because the lighting is a bit uncontrollable and you might end up with someones head in a shadow and completely lost.

Have fun!

[K_Pugh]

I'm a fan of HP5 at 400 or pushed to 800. I've tried 2 rolls of FP4 so haven't had enough experience to get a real feel for it - At the moment I would still opt for HP5 though. I haven't tried much in the way of B&W film like yourself I'll be experimenting in the near future. I do fancy trying some TMAX though.

[kundalini]

I forgot about this...

I wound up getting a roll of Ilford FP4 and a roll of Fuji Superia X-tra 400.

So far, I've shot half the FP4. It's hard to remember to bring that camera out.

[Terri]

I forgot about this...

I wound up getting a roll of Ilford FP4 and a roll of Fuji Superia X-tra 400.

So far, I've shot half the FP4. It's hard to remember to bring that camera out.
No worries; just keep at it! ;) I've been known to leave some film in a camera for lengthy periods, myself, at times. I do know it's easier to remember your settings and what you were going for when you get it developed in fair order, though. Keep plugging away.

[Chris of Arabia]

I always used to like FP4, with the ISO set to 160 or 200 ASA, then just extend the development time using the graphs on a packet of ID11.

[icassell]

Grrr .... now you made me pull out my old Minolta XD-11 and work the shutter a bunch of times ... guess I'm going to have to drop some film into it and see what happens ...

[Terri]

Grrr .... now you made me pull out my old Minolta XD-11 and work the shutter a bunch of times ... guess I'm going to have to drop some film into it and see what happens ...I hope something wonderful "happens"! :D

[PhotoJet]

Yeah! I still have about half a roll in my Canon, too. Neat thing about it is that when I finish shooting the roll, it's kinda like Christmas when I develop it & see what the heck was on the first part of the roll! :lol:

I made one attemp at putting a roll through the Bolsey, but the way you have to wind it is pretty "persnickety" and I ended up stripping out the sprocket holes. Gr... Then the film tore. But I may give it another shot! Depends on how badly I want to waste a roll of film. :irked:

[Terri]

Yeah! I still have about half a roll in my Canon, too. Neat thing about it is that when I finish shooting the roll, it's kinda like Christmas when I develop it & see what the heck was on the first part of the roll! :lol:

I made one attemp at putting a roll through the Bolsey, but the way you have to wind it is pretty "persnickety" and I ended up stripping out the sprocket holes. Gr... Then the film tore. But I may give it another shot! Depends on how badly I want to waste a roll of film. :irked:bah! I'm sorry that happened, such a cute little cam! Was it CLA'd when you picked it up? Maybe that would help with the winding mechanism....