What film to choose?

[Microcosm]

So I just got a hold of an old Nikon EM film camera. I shot film in a photo class a few years ago, but most of my life has been digital. That said, I'm pretty excited for playing around with this camera.

What film do you prefer for more general all around pictures?

I'm using some 200 speed pretty generic film right now, but maybe 400 would have been a better idea. Also, pretty weird.. I was taking pictures the other day, it was getting darker but there was still a decent amount of light. At f/1.8 and ISO 200 I was getting very low shutter speeds. Judging by the usual metering of my XTi and my general knowledge of metering this was way off. Any comments? Unfortunately I didn't have my Canon 50 to test at the time.

[laurielozano]

I've been using Ilford iso 400 bw film and get pretty decent shutter speeds in low light. ISO 200 may have been just a tad slow for your lighting conditions, even with the 1.8 aperture.

[RTP]

The Nikon EM has centre-weighted metering, which could explain why the meter wasn't reading how you thought it should.

For general all-round use I tend to find ISO400 more useable (I'm currently using Kodak TMax because that's the only b&w film the local camera shop stocks).

[PhotosGuy]

At f/1.8 and ISO 200 I was getting very low shutter speeds. Judging by the usual metering of my XTi and my general knowledge of metering this was way off. Make the cam do what you want it to do? ;)

This shows how the subject can affect the exposure & why manual keeps me worry free:
Post #47 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5191658&postcount=47)
Click the "Thread: Need an exposure crutch?" link at the top-right if you'd like more info on exposure.

[Wilt]

. Also, pretty weird.. I was taking pictures the other day, it was getting darker but there was still a decent amount of light. At f/1.8 and ISO 200 I was getting very low shutter speeds. Judging by the usual metering of my XTi and my general knowledge of metering this was way off. Any comments? Unfortunately I didn't have my Canon 50 to test at the time.


A film camera does not inherently respond any different than a digital camera, in terms of exposure....that is why a single handheld meter works for both, without the need for a switch position for 'digital' vs for 'film'!:)

[DrPablo]

As to the question of what film to choose for all around shooting if ISO 200 seems too slow --

The three 400-speed color films I'd recommend to you are:

Kodak Portra 400 NC
Fuji 400 Pro-H (also known as NPH)
Fuji Provia 400X

The first two are negative films, the last is a slide film. All three have very modern technology in their emulsions, so the grain is small for the ISO speed. Both Portra 400NC and Fuji Pro-H are relatively low saturation, so they're good for portraits and for pastel colors. They also have ridiculous dynamic range, and it's basically impossible to overexpose them. You can easily rate the film at ISO 640 or 800 and ask the lab to push a stop.

If you want a more saturated 400-speed negative film, you could get Kodak Portra 400 VC or 400 UC.

Provia 400X is one of Fuji's majestic slide films, but it's the only one faster than ISO 100. Provia is a beautiful all around slide film, best suited for landscapes and cityscapes, but unlike the more famous Velvia, it's also usable for portraits. Provia has moderately high contrast, meaning it's got a tighter dynamic range and should be handled more or less like you'd handle a DSLR, i.e. be careful not to blow highlights. With hostile lighting, you'd do better with the negative film in which you basically can't blow highlights.

Finally, keep in mind that 1) negative film is easier to get developed (more labs do it), and a lot easier to scan, and 2) slide film tends to have incomparably beautiful color and finer grain for the same ISO speed.


As for black and white films, there are a million opinions out there. You might just pick Ilford XP2 Super (ISO 400) which is developed like a regular old negative film. It's got fine grain, great dynamic range, and a nice curve. But hey, you would not go wrong with ANY of these traditional "true" black and white films -- Kodak Tmax 400, Kodak TriX 320 (but can easily be pushed to ISO 800), Fuji Neopan 400,or Ilford HP5+ 400, or the wonderful (but grainy) Ilford Delta 3200.

[René Damkot]

manual

Nikon EM is Av only ;)
It does have a button for "backlit scene", adjusting exposure by 1 or 2 stops or so, but that's about all you can do to influence the meter. Except setting the wrong ISO.

[bsaber]

I second Kodak Portra 400NC or VC. I've been using VC and loving the results.

[Microcosm]

Thank you for all the replies so far, they've been very helpful. Yes, I shoot manual on my XTi, but the EM, as mentioned above, is pretty much Av. You can however control the shutter speed a bit by telling the camera you have a different speed film! So the control is there, to an extent. I wanted to make sure the camera was indeed metering properly (and no different than a digital as well) because it hasn't been used in a good ten years!

The center weighted metering explains it! I had assumed it was more of a general metering. I shot a roll and had it developed yesterday to get a feel for the camera and how it meters. I'm feeling more comfortable in that regard, being that there's no instant feedback as with digital.


DrPablo: Thanks for all the information! I'll have to look into all of these, and I'm feeling 400 is the way to go. The closest camera shop is still a good drive away, do you order online at all? Or where for the best pricing? I',m really interested in the slide films. I'll go with one, or all, of the negative films you mentioned for now, then use slides how and again when I'm feeling confident enough with the camera.

[DrPablo]

The closest camera shop is still a good drive away, do you order online at all? Or where for the best pricing? I',m really interested in the slide films. I'll go with one, or all, of the negative films you mentioned for now, then use slides how and again when I'm feeling confident enough with the camera.When I lived in Boston I'd usually buy locally. Now that I'm in North Carolina, and the nearest comprehensive camera store is 90 minutes away, I mostly order online. A place I LOVE is http://www.freestylephoto.biz, because they're really all-things film and very comprehensive. But I order a lot from http://www.bhphoto.com, http://www.calumetphoto.com, and http://www.adorama.com.

Another good option is to look on E-bay. There is a LOT of film for sale there, including some that's a few years expired so less expensive.

With Kodak's Portra 400NC, they have a new emulsion that they released this year so that may be one where you'd like to get a brand new one -- it makes a difference in 35mm film, where the grain gets enlarged a lot. For medium and esp large format grain is basically a nonissue.

[GarrettB]

A film camera does not inherently respond any different than a digital camera, in terms of exposure....that is why a single handheld meter works for both, without the need for a switch position for 'digital' vs for 'film'!:)

Not true actually. Especially for long exposures. After a couple seconds you have take into account reciprocity failure, which means you have to add extra time because the chemicals start to get slower. And film and a digital sensor will record light in the day a bit differently. But you could use the same meter because color negative film has such a latitude that a slight over/under exposure won't matter much.

[Wilt]

Not true actually. Especially for long exposures. After a couple seconds you have take into account reciprocity failure, which means you have to add extra time because the chemicals start to get slower. And film and a digital sensor will record light in the day a bit differently. But you could use the same meter because color negative film has such a latitude that a slight over/under exposure won't matter much.

Always a wise guy in the crowd! ;) To be technical, the meter does not respond differently, the camera does not respond differently, only the capture media (film) responds differently than digital, due to the reciprocity failure. And it is not chemical exhaustion, it is the silver's accumulation of photons that happens to have a very flat part of the curve 'at the toe' of the response curve, which accounts for that.

As for film tolerance (latitude), color neg handles about 4 stops of overexposure quite well, but gets very muddy with 2 stops of underexposure, so the conventional wisdom is to give MORE exposure to color neg and avoid less exposure to color neg, if you are going to err.

[René Damkot]

the reciprocity failure.

Different for each film, as you probably know.
Just to make things more interesting ;)