I'm ditching Digital.

[DrMoab]

Ok, not really but just for fun I'm throwing a battery in the meter of my dads old Asashi Pentax 6X7 and get a couple of rolls of B&W film and see what I can come up with.

For those of you who still shoot film I have a couple of questions.

First.... What is there for high quality B&W film in the 120 format?

What film speed should I start out with? I'm most likely going to be out on an Island shooting in the late afternoon evening.

In our digital age, where should I send this stuff to have it processed? My dad had a darkroom but its been turned into a reloading room and I don't have access to any of it anymore.

and lastly...any tips to shooting B&W film? I used to shoot a lot of film but never with this camera and its been so many years I'm going to have to spend a few minutes trying to remember how to load the stuff.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Overland Hadley]

In our digital age, where should I send this stuff to have it processed? My dad had a darkroom but its been turned into a reloading room and I don't have access to any of it anymore.

I have my color transparency sheet film dunked at Reeds in Denver.

 

[Michael Slade]

Ilford HP5+. Rate it at 200. TRUST ME.

Shoot as much as you want and send it to me. I'll process and proof it for you...no charge.

It's the least I can do to encourage people to keep shooting film.

 

[Wander]

I've always prefered slower speed film and suggest 100.
I'm not up on 6x7 but ilford and kodak still sell pro film. Finding it can be a challenge. A red filter can help boost contrast especially when the light is bright. Have fun,I enjoy shooting film and it makes you a better photographer.

 

[smslavin]

Ilford HP5+. Rate it at 200. TRUST ME.

ditto on that. hp5 is awesome. i'd also recommend tri-x shot at 320.

if you want to experiment with development, head on over to dr5. some of my best published work was processed by him. he does great work.

 

[DrMoab]

Wow, thanks. That would be great. A good excuse to meet a local guy too.

Is there a good local source for that film?

I'm not expecting much...especially for the first roll or two. In fact I might only shoot one to begin with. This camera hasn't been out of its bag since my dad took our wedding photos over eleven years ago. It should still be in working order but I would hate to put too much effort out on a bunch of photos that don't turn out at all.

 

[LeoLR]

Kodak Pro Film is the finest grain film in the world. Better than Ilford which is really just student film. Kodak T-Max 400 is a good all around shooting film and is the sharpest b&w avalible. Kodak T-Max 100 for bright light shooting. Kodak BW400CN is also very good and has the advantage of being C-41 process, anywhere can develope it. To set up your own darkroom again wouldnt cost much. $125 tops.


Any local camera shop will carry T-Max and BW400CN. Should be around $6 a roll and offer alot better quality prints than Ilford as far as sharpness and grain go. BW400CN is one of my favortes because of its ability for C-41 process given you the ability to see quickly what changes you need to make or whats working for you.


Kodak has a good site for film still
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/blackWhiteIndex.jhtml?pq-path=13319/1231

 

[Michael Slade]

... Better than Ilford which is really just student film.

Hmmmm...I am not sure what qualifies Ilford as a 'student' film. I am not a student and I love Ilford films.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but IMO, your opinion is wrong.

IMO, Ilford film is NOT student film. Kodak makes wonderful films, but to relegate Ilford to some kind of a second-tier is a mistake.

 

[LeoLR]

Hmmmm...I am not sure what qualifies Ilford as a 'student' film. I am not a student and I love Ilford films.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but IMO, your opinion is wrong.

IMO, Ilford film is NOT student film. Kodak makes wonderful films, but to relegate Ilford to some kind of a second-tier is a mistake.

I put it in the student area because of its proformance vs. price. I always ended up with grainy outcome and their film is the same price as the pro Kodak film which gives a better print. The only people that really buy Ilford from me are students because its what their unrealist 70's wildlife photographer teachers tell them to buy. I havent used their super premium stuff yet, but why would I when the Kodak is as good as it is for the price?


Personally I was just trying to help the OP with their film question but in normal Expo style its going to be a pissing match because I didnt agree with the majority of posters. But do I really care enough to keep going, no. I dont care if the OP uses Kodak, Ilford, or ************* expired crap film off ebay. Im not selling them the film, Im just offering alittle help.

 

[Lost Canadian]

I always ended up with grainy outcome and their film is the same price as the pro Kodak film which gives a better print.

Never underestimate the power of grain.

Click picture to see more.

 

[JohnLemieuxPhotos]

Ok, not really but just for fun I'm throwing a battery in the meter of my dads old Asashi Pentax 6X7 and get a couple of rolls of B&W film and see what I can come up with.

For those of you who still shoot film I have a couple of questions.

First.... What is there for high quality B&W film in the 120 format?

What film speed should I start out with? I'm most likely going to be out on an Island shooting in the late afternoon evening.

In our digital age, where should I send this stuff to have it processed? My dad had a darkroom but its been turned into a reloading room and I don't have access to any of it anymore.

and lastly...any tips to shooting B&W film? I used to shoot a lot of film but never with this camera and its been so many years I'm going to have to spend a few minutes trying to remember how to load the stuff.

Thanks in advance.

First question: TMAX 100 for the finest grain of any BW film, however if you need more speed, tri-x. Both are available in 120 size.

You can develop BW film in your bathroom, you don't need a darkroom. You only need a darkroom to make prints. However there are some very affordable film scanners that will allow you to develop the film yourself and then scan it and get very high resolution digital files which you can do anything with.

If you don't want to do it yourself, my local lab takes mail orders. http://www.northcoastphoto.com/

As for shooting BW film, use a yellow filter for almost anything to get a more natural looking contrast, and get a red filter for dark skies and dramatic tones.

Have fun!! And get some Velvia 50 or 100 (NOT 100F!)

 

[DesertBoater]

I've been on the fence about which films I prefer over others. A couple of rolls of Ilford HP5 here and there, a couple Kodak Tmax, I recently tried Fuji's Neopan Acros 100 and I really really like the results. You don't end up losing reciprocity until over 3 or 4 seconds, which is rather cool. Take a look at either Freestylephoto.biz or B&H for film, you never know how long film has been sitting around on a department store shelf...

Cheers,
West

 

[Rallyroo]

Never underestimate the power of grain.

I saw that moving exhibit in Santa Monica, CA a few years back. Beautiful photos.

 

[ywen]

I'm ditching it for a while too. .gotta get thru these rolls before EOY

 

[Michael Slade]

I will buy one of those rolls from you to use in my History of Photography classes if you find you didn't get through them all.

:Wow1: