Bought a film camera! Looking for tips with infrared and b/w film

[Don Komarechka]

Hey all!

I just purchased a Canon EOS 1n to compliment my digital EOS setup. My main reason is to have some fun and experiment with some infrared photography, as well as black & white.

Ok, before I go any further, I'll say it: I haven't shot a roll of film in my life.

I've been looking at the Efke IR820 infrared film, but I have a few questions for those that might have used this or something similar. My questions are more about the filter and metering.
1) on the B&H product page for this film, it recommends you use an R72 filter (which I have) with an ISO set for 25 in the camera. My question is do I meter for the camera with the filter off? Its pretty much opaque and wouldn't do a whole lot to meter with the filter on. So, I set if the shot and settings, then throw on the filter for the pic?

2) Is that the best film to use? I understand that Kodak's HIE is no longer in production, so thats not an option anymore. There are other films, one I cam across by ilford as well. Any suggestions?

3) Any tips or general suggestions anyone can give using this type of film? :)


Black & White film... I have seen a variety of different types available. Some can be C-41 processed, others require special processing. Are the differences in the resulting images notable? I want to take extremely sharp and detailed B&Ws, mostly of architecture and urban decay. Any recommendations will be considered!

As I said, this is all new to me. Please be kind.
- Don

[Iversonperspective]

Well i must say, I love film. I just purchased an XT after having a Nikon N70 for some time. I don't know a whole lot about black and white (i just got some rolls for Christmas) but i do know that the kind i got is not C-41 i believe. My local photo stores weren't able to process one of my B&W rolls locally, they had to ship it out to another store and i would get it back in a few days. In my situation, I had Harold's Photo send out my roll and just have the negatives developed. That's about 5 bucks and then I will take my negatives to the Lewis Drug camera store and print them off there. The B&W film i have is Kodak T400 i think. Kodak is the first film i got into to so i just stuck with it. In black and white, you're going to want a lot of contrast in your pictures to get them to look good. Varying black and whites, not grays. I hope that helps at all. Good luck with your film!

[Picture North Carolina]

Well, one thing to consider. Because IR film has it's unique sensitivity, I always used to use a changing bag to load the film into the camera... if they still make those things.

[Spacemunkie]

Efke is your best bet for IR. Ilford don't make any true IR film any more. SFX200 is more sensitive to red and will produce IR-like results. You can stack R72s and go for massive exposures to get similar results to IR at a push.

Focus in maual with the filter off, then meter with the filter ON.

I use film to exploit the nuances that make it different to digital: speed/grain, IR, cross-processing etc and the fact I can use it in truly rubbish cameras for artistic effect :)

Try Ilford Pan F and FP4 if you're after low-grain/sharpness.

Consider processing your own film as well. All you need is a tank, chemicals and a changing bag. It's a piece of cake!

[Don Komarechka]

Spacemunkie:
Are you sure I should meter with the filter on? The filter is pretty much completely opaque to the eye, I would think that the metering would set the camera for something like a 30 second exposure because its not detecting any light. I would assume that this would over-expose the image.

On the B&H page reference ( http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/597068-REG/Efke_192368_IR820_35mm_Black_and.html ) it states to use the camera with an ISO setting of 25. This was just my initial assumption, but I thought that setting the camera to expose for 25 ISO (assumed without the filter) was to compensate for the darkness that the filter would add once it was in place.

Care to clarify? :)

I will look at the Ilford films you recommend and see what works. I'm not about to process my own film however, that's a bit of a big step considering I haven't shot a roll of film before :) Maybe in the future, though! :D

[Spacemunkie]

Efke is massively more sensitive to visible light than it is to IR. I'm finding it reacts best to long exposures and it's almost best to overexpose than to go under.

Probably best to slap a film through and take some notes. Bracketing is always recommended too...

[cbh76]

Hi Don-
It's been a while since I shot Infrared, sorry to hear about the Kodak HIE. That was my favorite. I might be able to scare up a spare changing bag for you, I will PM you if I find one.

[Don Komarechka]

Hi cbh76,

I am still a little unsure why exactly I would need to use a changing bag? Remember, I'm quite new to film :) Doesn't the film canister itself shield the film while loading/unloading?

I won't be processing it myself, I'll probably bring it to a pro lab in Toronto.

[cbh76]

Well, depending on how sensitive the film is to IR, taking it out of the black canister to load the camera will fog the whole roll. This was the case with the Kodak HIE anyway. I don't know how sensitive the other brands are. I even put black electrician's tape over the little film window on the back of my EOS 630. I will try to do some research on the Efke and see if this is even neccessary.

[bjordan]

This article looks good: http://www.vividlight.com/Articles/2915.htm

He really stresses loading in absolute darkness, to the point of using a changing bag in the darkroom to load film. Let us know how it goes!

[jblaschke]

Infrared film is a beast rapidly nearing extinction. Good luck to you on your efforts, but everything I've read about it makes IR film sound so temperamental to use that I'll gladly stick with digital IR.

Still, if you're looking to speak with folks who have extensive infrared experience, this is probably your best bet:
http://irphotocom.proboards.com/index.cgi

[nickpontin]

Ok I'm a little new to this and just wanted to know why you need to use a changing bag when the film is inside a casing. Again I'm new to photography and am trying to get into it.

Thanks.
Nick

The http://weightwoo.com/fat-burning-furnace page is good for learning about the fat burning furnace system.

[Picture North Carolina]

Well, it's been years and years and years since I shot IR film, but if I remember correctly, it's because there was a possibility that IR light could leak past the felt of the opening of the film cart. Now whether carts are made differently / better nowadays, I don't know.

[raven4ns]

A B&W film I used and liked a lot was Ilford XP2 Super. It is a chromogenic film which means that any color lab can process it just like a roll of color film. Another nice feature is that you can change the ISO of the film on a shot by shot basis without any special processing needed. In other words, you can take a shot at ISO 400 then another at ISO 200 and another at ISO 800 without special developing times. It is a little more contrasty then kodak's chromo film but that is what I liked about it as well. Hope this helps.

Tim