Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
We’ll start with color film, which comes in two flavors, positive and negative.
Positive film versus negative film
Positive movie Records the image as you saw it when you pressed the shutter. They produce rich, saturated colors and tend to have strong contrast. It’s much less forgiving in my experience. You need to get the exposure right and there’s not much you can do about it after the fact if you don’t. I tend to avoid high-contrast scenes with positive films (or use neutral density graduated filters to reduce contrast). Positive film is usually mounted as strips when professionally developed.
Negative film Record the opposite of what I saw. In black and white, everything is reversed, black is white, and white is black so that when you shine light through it to print, the black areas block the light, making it lighter in the print, and the lighter areas allow more light through, making it dark in the print. The same is true for color negative films, but they tend to look more like a yellow-orange mess as a negative. Color negative films often have a softer appearance than positive colors, with lower contrast and higher dynamic range.
What should you use? I suggest experimenting to see what you prefer. Here are some film recommendations based on the type of photos you want to take.
Best landscape film
Courtesy of B&H
Fujifilm
Fujichrome velvia 50
Fujifilm’s Fujichrome Velvia 50 is ridiculously expensive at $35 per roll, but I have yet to find any other color positive film that looks as good as Velvia. Its color saturation is legendary (leaning toward red/purple), and its neutral gray balance means you’ll never get weird colors in the shadows and highlights. The price means I don’t shoot it very often, but when I head out into the wilderness, this is what I bring with me.
Courtesy of B&H
Kodak
Ektachrome E100 professional color transparent film
Kodak’s E100 is a new film to me, but I’ve shot some film now, and I can say it’s very different from Velvia. There is none of Velvia’s warmth. The colors are fairly neutral with a slight green touch to the highlights. If you’re looking to shoot landscapes with a different look than the Velvia-influenced images of the past 50 years, this is the film I’d recommend.
Courtesy of B&H
Kodak
Ektar 100 professional color negative film
Another new film, Ektar 100, is the film stock that comes closest to replicating what I think of as a digital look. Grain is very good, and colors are very close to what my Sony digital sensor registers: natural-looking color that leans toward the cooler side. I’ll admit this isn’t my favorite, but the price is hard to beat.
Best picture film
Courtesy of B&H
Kodak
Portra 160 professional color negative film
Portrait films need to handle skin tones well. I prefer it, Fujifilm 160 Prohas been discontinued, leaving Kodak as a very popular alternative. At $14 a roll, this is probably the best value in the movie period. The Porta 160 is a great film for portraits, as it leaves skin intact most of the time. If you need something faster for low-light photography, that’s there too 400 speed version And even 800 speed version. I find this type to have a lot of grain for color photos, but if that’s the look you want, it’s available.
Best black and white movies
There is a seemingly endless selection of black and white films, including re-releases of some of the most popular films from previous decades. This is a very biased list since “best” in this case is purely subjective. Again, experiment to see what you like.
Courtesy of B&H
Kodak
Professional Tri-X 400 black and white negative film
Tri-X was launched in the 1940s and has been in production ever since. It has gone through some changes over the years, most recently re-engineering in 2011 that resulted in less grain (this is when it received the TX rating). A favorite of photographers as diverse as Sebastiao Salgado, Vivian Maier and Gary Winogrand, Tri-X is beloved for its versatility, with just the right amount of grain and contrast that gives images a certain look and feel unlike anything else. There are rich black shades, great contrast, and enough grain without it being too much. Tri-X is also easy to process if you do it yourself. If I could only do one movie, this would be it.
Courtesy of B&H
Ilford HP5 Plus black and white negative film
Another versatile film, Ilford’s HP5, has a wide exposure range, meaning it will work well in mixed and difficult lighting. It has lower overall contrast than Tri-X, giving it a smoother appearance. It also drives very well, without becoming overly grainy like the Tri-X when you push it. If you want a good all-around film with a smooth, even tone, this is a good choice.
Courtesy of B&H
Kodak
T-Max P3200 professional black and white negative film
Let’s get something out of the way first. Kodak calls this The film “Multi-Speed”.; There’s no need to shoot it at 3200. I like to shoot it at 800 and process it at 1600. It took me a few years to realize that what I was doing there was making my T-Max look like Tri-X, but the point is that the T-Max 3200 is more versatile than the speed suggests. However, I tend to achieve this when shooting in the evening or outside at night.
Film development
There was a film development lab on every street corner. Or at least in those little kiosks in parking lots, but those days are over. However, there are many professional labs that offer mail order services and delivery times are fast. Most will be happy to scan your negatives as well, although this adds to the cost.
There are hundreds of good labs, and your best bet is to go to the photography store closest to you and talk to them. Building a relationship with your local photo shop will help you get better results, because they will know what you like and don’t like, and can help you push, pull, and communicate with the tester as needed. However, many camera stores have outsourced their product development to large online services (the store closest to me sends film to the Nation lab), so be sure to ask where it is developed.