Ive been trying different films lately.There is no one within two hrs.of where I live to process slide film.What film would you recomend .I use a 200-500 Tamaron (6.3@500mm. IT IS the lense that I can afford at this time.Im wondering if any 400 pro film has great detail for this asaMost of my shooting is avian and fauna. Thank You for your input John
Posted by Kent Staubus on January 5, 2007 at 10:41 PM
You should certainly go to your nearest Walmart and buy a three pack of Kodak Ultra Color 400 and give it a shot. It comes in a black box and is usually on the right lower side of the film modular ("modular" is what Walmart calls their plan-a-grams.) Nothing wrong with the lens, it is decent.
My preference would be to use Fuji Provia 100F, expose at ISO 320 and push 2 stops in development. You can buy pre-paid mailers for a variety of places (like A&I in Los Angeles) to send your film in for professional development. It's very efficient and not too time consuming. You can even buy the mailers online from places like B&H.
Guy
Posted by Gary Gulash on January 6, 2007 at 2:27 AM
Have you consider switching to digital, many have done so quite happily (like ME). I know this isn't exactly what you asked, but consider the camera's sensor as reusable "film". Digital lends itself to avian nicely as you can shoot profusely and not worry about the cost. You also benefit from the crop factor at the telephoto end, flexibility in iso, the ability to review your results instantaneously and adjust as needed, yada, yada, yada.... There are many excellent choices in camera bodies by an increasing number of manufacturers at various price points. If you shoot weekly you will quickly recoup your camera purchase cost by eliminating film and film processing costs.
Posted by Robert Helms on January 6, 2007 at 10:30 AM
John, I would recommend the Provia 100F that Guy suggested, or Provia 400F. I believe the Provia 400F received some improvements from Fuji. I know that I read this, but I haven't checked to see if it is listed anywhere. The Provia would be my suggestion for a slide film, however, I think the 400 is a little pricey though.
Also, you don't mention where you live, but a lot of us order gear from B&H (bhphotovideo.com) they are a very reputable company and their prices are better than I can receive locally.
If your looking for a place to develope slide film there are many places that you can mail your film to that are reasonably priced. I personallly use Denver Digital Imaging aka The Slideprinter.
You can also push process Astia 100F, using the same guidelines that Guy suggests. Astia has a more neutral color pallet. I have pushed this film a full stop in 4x5 and the quality has been excellent. My processing is done by A&I in Los Angeles; highly recommended.
As with any push process, contrast will build a bit, so particular attention needs to paid to ensuring you have good exposure in the low values.
Although I am a confirmed 'film nut', Gary's comments regarding a switch to digital may be a good route for you. It is certainly worth exploring.
-PB
Posted by Kent Staubus on January 7, 2007 at 12:05 AM
Gary--
Since buying a D80 back in November, I'm finding that digital is the most expensive system I own. The costs never seem to end either. There doesn't seem to be ANY cost advantage to it from my POV, but there is cleaner capture and increased convenience.
With the Tamron lens, the biggest problem is the somewhat slow aperature. You're instincts to stay with ISO 400 are probably correct. I have pushed Provia 100 two stops and it works. Otherwise, for slide film, I really liked the Provia 400. A bit more expensive but by the time you add a couple of dollars for push processing an ISO 100 the difference isn't that great.
Shooting print film only works for me if I'm scanning my negatives or if I tell the lab to turn off all the auto-compensating features on their printer. Otherwise small adjustments you make in exposure will not appear as they should in the prints.
Discussion
7 repliesKent in SD
Guy
Also, you don't mention where you live, but a lot of us order gear from B&H (bhphotovideo.com) they are a very reputable company and their prices are better than I can receive locally.
If your looking for a place to develope slide film there are many places that you can mail your film to that are reasonably priced. I personallly use Denver Digital Imaging aka The Slideprinter.
You can also push process Astia 100F, using the same guidelines that Guy suggests. Astia has a more neutral color pallet. I have pushed this film a full stop in 4x5 and the quality has been excellent. My processing is done by A&I in Los Angeles; highly recommended.
As with any push process, contrast will build a bit, so particular attention needs to paid to ensuring you have good exposure in the low values.
Although I am a confirmed 'film nut', Gary's comments regarding a switch to digital may be a good route for you. It is certainly worth exploring.
-PB
Since buying a D80 back in November, I'm finding that digital is the most expensive system I own. The costs never seem to end either. There doesn't seem to be ANY cost advantage to it from my POV, but there is cleaner capture and increased convenience.
With the Tamron lens, the biggest problem is the somewhat slow aperature. You're instincts to stay with ISO 400 are probably correct. I have pushed Provia 100 two stops and it works. Otherwise, for slide film, I really liked the Provia 400. A bit more expensive but by the time you add a couple of dollars for push processing an ISO 100 the difference isn't that great.
Kent in SD