Posted by Kelly Rowe on August 30, 2006 at 5:52 PM
I'm not sure why, but I saw a used EOS 3 on the B&H used equipment page and bought it. Basically it looks and acts like a brand new camera (B&H rated it a 9). Now I need some suggestions for landscape films; both color and black and white. I like a little grain in black and white, and a good deal of saturation in color without much grain being evident. What brands, products, ISO's, etc. should I start experimenting with?
This is going to be fun...
Kelly
Posted by Kent Staubus on August 30, 2006 at 6:06 PM
B&W--Ilford HP5.
Color Film--Kodak 400UC.
Slide film--Fuji Velvia 100
I'm rarely happy with prints made with color film.
Velvia is renowned for its color saturation, especially greens. Before the digital revolution, I used to shoot Provia 100 because it has a greater dynamic range than Velvia and was a stop faster than Velvia 50. Now with Velvia 100, one of my reasons for having chosen Provia over Velvia is moot. Provia performed very well when pushed to ISO 200.
Considering that you're working with 35mm and desire to do landscape, I would shoot the finest grain available - Meaning that 100iso films are probably what you want.
For B&W I would turn to Ilford Pan F 50, Tmax 100 or Fuji Acros 100. The main reason to go with Tmax or Acros being reciprocity traits more than the stop of additional speed gained (a stop and a third many would argue). All that being said, your development of the B&W film will have a great deal of impact on your results. If you don't find those films to be grainy enough, Ilford HP5+ or Kodak Tri-X would fit the bill.
Color film is an interesting topic. I personally use different films as contrast controls in the exposure process rather than choosing them simply for their native rendering traits. In other words I will use whatever film brings be closest to whatever final result I desire without blocking up or blowing out regions of the image. Digital processing is the great equalizer here, and one film can easily be made to "look" like another in print if you know where you want to take it. Since I shoot 4x5 I have the ability to change films on the fly, so I use a number of flavors and just choose what I want. Here's a basic summery of what I carry with me:
Fuji Pro 160S - A very low contrast color negative film, I can capture scenes with 8-9 stops of range without compromising tonal values and use this film whenever a scene that has dynamic lighting that can't be controlled through other filtration methods. It's relatively fine grained and scans extremely well. Grain is rated the same as Fuji's 100iso Reala, Neat Image or Noise Ninja work well to reduce grain in undesired areas when needed. All said, really great stuff. The reason most people avoid color neg films is because of the color correction and work needed when scanning. While they are more difficult to deal with than slide films, I personally find it to be very doable and the results to well be worth it.
Fuji Astia 100f - A relatively color neutral slide film that renders whites very cleanly. It's about as forgiving of a slide film as you can find and retains highlight values very well. I like this film for snow and water scenes where the white values don't need any form of color shift. It scans well and allows a lot of room in post processing as it generally retains subtle color passages very well. The reciprocity characteristics are excellent and works very well for long exposures. If I had to choose just one film to carry with me full time, this would probably be it.
Fuji Provia 100f - I really like provia in certain instances. I will choose it over Astia when I want to render shaded area's of a scene as having a blue cast. This can be really beautiful effect or really ugly depending on the scene. It also has a tendency to shift the whites in water or snow towards the blue spectrum which I sometimes find appealing. Its a bit more contrasty in the highlights than Astia however. The reciprocity characteristics are excellent and works very well for long exposures. As mentioned Provia pushes a stop quite well and holds up nicely with 2 stops even, though the grain in shadow regions will increase. While generally contrast and saturation are lower, the color balance of the film is actually quite close to velvia.
Fuji Velvia 100 Pro (non F) - This is a special use film for me. I find that its generally to contrasty for my tastes and generally requires that you shoot in very low/soft light that allows you to keep the tonalities in check. In the right situation however it can be a very effective capture medium and can really pull subtle colors so you don't have to do it later in the post processing. I carry a couple sheets with me generally for this reason, but more often than not I find Astia or Provia to be much better suited for my "real world" shooting. However, when I find scenes that are under 4 stops of tonal range, it brings me closer to my endpoint than the other choices.
There's a lot more to be said, and its hard to know what style of images you make or your preferences. Much of it comes down to what you want to see out of a film. Kodak films are very good as well, I just happen not to prefer their color balances. Best of luck!
Posted by Cliff Beittel on August 30, 2006 at 7:42 PM
"Now I need some suggestions for landscape films; both color and black and white. I like a little grain in black and white, and a good deal of saturation in color without much grain being evident."
When I think of great 35mm landscape film shooters (Rowell, Wolfe, Shaw, etc.) I think of Velvia (RVP). It's supposedly being discontinued, though it's still available. As someone who shoots far more wildlife than landscapes, I've switched to the new RVP100 (not RVP100F). I can't say the color quite matches RVP, but it's very good. In addition to the greater speed (it may actually be an ISO 125 film, which is how I shoot it), grain is reduced. It pushes a stop (250) as well as Provia does to 200 (hard to tell it's been pushed at all), and it did very well for me pushed two stops (400) last winter with wildlife in a heavy snowstorm.
I previously used Provia when I needed more speed than Velvia gave pushed a stop to 80). Provia is nice overall, often looking much like Velvia, unless you shot the same subject with both films at nearly the same time, in which case Velvia always looked better. With the demise of RVP, I'm happily down to shooting just one film, RVP100, at speeds ranging from 125 to 400. If the light is too harsh for RVP100 (I don't think Provia was really much better in this regard), I'd rather make the image another time in better light. The light counts as much or more than the subject, especially for landscapes, for which flash isn't an option.
Velvia is your best bet based on your specs, but it's a very contrasty film. Astia or NPS are better choices (Joel covered the film choices well - at least Fuji's ) . Tmax and Acros are fine grained films, so I would either push the speed for more grain or shoot Tri-X or a faster Ilford.
Discussion
5 repliesThis is going to be fun...
Kelly
Color Film--Kodak 400UC.
Slide film--Fuji Velvia 100
I'm rarely happy with prints made with color film.
Kent in SD
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For B&W I would turn to Ilford Pan F 50, Tmax 100 or Fuji Acros 100. The main reason to go with Tmax or Acros being reciprocity traits more than the stop of additional speed gained (a stop and a third many would argue). All that being said, your development of the B&W film will have a great deal of impact on your results. If you don't find those films to be grainy enough, Ilford HP5+ or Kodak Tri-X would fit the bill.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Color film is an interesting topic. I personally use different films as contrast controls in the exposure process rather than choosing them simply for their native rendering traits. In other words I will use whatever film brings be closest to whatever final result I desire without blocking up or blowing out regions of the image. Digital processing is the great equalizer here, and one film can easily be made to "look" like another in print if you know where you want to take it. Since I shoot 4x5 I have the ability to change films on the fly, so I use a number of flavors and just choose what I want. Here's a basic summery of what I carry with me:
Fuji Pro 160S - A very low contrast color negative film, I can capture scenes with 8-9 stops of range without compromising tonal values and use this film whenever a scene that has dynamic lighting that can't be controlled through other filtration methods. It's relatively fine grained and scans extremely well. Grain is rated the same as Fuji's 100iso Reala, Neat Image or Noise Ninja work well to reduce grain in undesired areas when needed. All said, really great stuff. The reason most people avoid color neg films is because of the color correction and work needed when scanning. While they are more difficult to deal with than slide films, I personally find it to be very doable and the results to well be worth it.
Fuji Astia 100f - A relatively color neutral slide film that renders whites very cleanly. It's about as forgiving of a slide film as you can find and retains highlight values very well. I like this film for snow and water scenes where the white values don't need any form of color shift. It scans well and allows a lot of room in post processing as it generally retains subtle color passages very well. The reciprocity characteristics are excellent and works very well for long exposures. If I had to choose just one film to carry with me full time, this would probably be it.
Fuji Provia 100f - I really like provia in certain instances. I will choose it over Astia when I want to render shaded area's of a scene as having a blue cast. This can be really beautiful effect or really ugly depending on the scene. It also has a tendency to shift the whites in water or snow towards the blue spectrum which I sometimes find appealing. Its a bit more contrasty in the highlights than Astia however. The reciprocity characteristics are excellent and works very well for long exposures. As mentioned Provia pushes a stop quite well and holds up nicely with 2 stops even, though the grain in shadow regions will increase. While generally contrast and saturation are lower, the color balance of the film is actually quite close to velvia.
Fuji Velvia 100 Pro (non F) - This is a special use film for me. I find that its generally to contrasty for my tastes and generally requires that you shoot in very low/soft light that allows you to keep the tonalities in check. In the right situation however it can be a very effective capture medium and can really pull subtle colors so you don't have to do it later in the post processing. I carry a couple sheets with me generally for this reason, but more often than not I find Astia or Provia to be much better suited for my "real world" shooting. However, when I find scenes that are under 4 stops of tonal range, it brings me closer to my endpoint than the other choices.
There's a lot more to be said, and its hard to know what style of images you make or your preferences. Much of it comes down to what you want to see out of a film. Kodak films are very good as well, I just happen not to prefer their color balances. Best of luck!
When I think of great 35mm landscape film shooters (Rowell, Wolfe, Shaw, etc.) I think of Velvia (RVP). It's supposedly being discontinued, though it's still available. As someone who shoots far more wildlife than landscapes, I've switched to the new RVP100 (not RVP100F). I can't say the color quite matches RVP, but it's very good. In addition to the greater speed (it may actually be an ISO 125 film, which is how I shoot it), grain is reduced. It pushes a stop (250) as well as Provia does to 200 (hard to tell it's been pushed at all), and it did very well for me pushed two stops (400) last winter with wildlife in a heavy snowstorm.
I previously used Provia when I needed more speed than Velvia gave pushed a stop to 80). Provia is nice overall, often looking much like Velvia, unless you shot the same subject with both films at nearly the same time, in which case Velvia always looked better. With the demise of RVP, I'm happily down to shooting just one film, RVP100, at speeds ranging from 125 to 400. If the light is too harsh for RVP100 (I don't think Provia was really much better in this regard), I'd rather make the image another time in better light. The light counts as much or more than the subject, especially for landscapes, for which flash isn't an option.