[Jon L]

Does anyone still shoot film?  I'm not sure exactly why, but I bid and won Canon EOS-3 with power grip and am scrambling to learn quickly about film choices (portrait, general-purpose, vs. nature) and battery choices.  Unfortunately, these parts (factory grip, battery for power grip, charger) are not exactly cheap, and apparently there is no such thing as a good *rechargeable* 2CR5 Li battery.  Went with Canon in order to use my Canon lenses bought for DSLR.

Then there's the whole issue of where to develop, scan, and make hard prints...

[Wind Chaser]

The only thing I remember about choosing film is avoid anything over ASA 200 unless you like grain.  If you can set up a dark room, processing slides is the easiest and cheapest route.

[thunderbrick]

Doing your own slides is VERY labor intensive, and technically you don't even need a darkroom to process slides.  Get a changing bag and do it in the kitchen sink.  It's a whole lot smarter to send slides out to a pro lab, and the quality control will probably be a LOT better.

Film?  Depends on what you to shoot.  For color prints I have been using Portra NC for many years and love it, even at 400 ISO.  It is slightly lower contrast and "smoother" looking.  Amateur films tend to have more contrast and brighter colors.  B&W? I prefer the look of Tri-X over T-Max.

Hell, there's probably a lot of AC guys with a bunch of film in their freezers that you might get real cheap.   

[nathanm]

Film!?  Of course it goes without saying that you've gone completely mad!    If I were you I'd get me some rolls of Velvia and a screen and projector to show off the winners.  Print film is too much of a hassle IMO, although the thought of zero post-processing and someone else making prints doesn't enter my worldview, in reality it probably is a completely viable option.

[gsm18439]

I have never stopped shooting film. I do black and white using only natural light and Ilford XP-2 - a 400 ASA film that is developed using E-6 processing. It enlarges to 16x20 with little grain. The easy part is to get the film developed at a pro lab. The harder part is to get quality enlargements. (I do not like darkroom work.) My hobby has outlived two custom B&W labs in the Washington, DC area. My current compromise is to have the negatives scanned and then made into digital prints. Low resolution scans are suitable for the digital equivalent of proofs and posting on the web. High resolution scans are needed for 16x20 enlargements.

[Wind Chaser]

Doing your own slides is VERY labor intensive, and technically you don't even need a darkroom to process slides.  Get a changing bag and do it in the kitchen sink.  It's a whole lot smarter to send slides out to a pro lab, and the quality control will probably be a LOT better.

Have you processed your own slides?  It's NOT labor intensive!  It takes about 40 minutes.  The most difficult part I found was spooling the film onto the reel.  That's challenging enough to do in a 'dark' room, never mind a changing bag...  I found processing slides to be at least 10X easier to do than film and unlike film, I always got outstanding results with slides that were every bit as good as those done by a 'pro lab'.  It’s definitely not rocket science.

[thunderbrick]

Yes, I have processed my own slides, all the way back to E-3 sheet film.  Don't forget buying and mixing the chemistry, storing it, using it, and hoping you don't contaminate it.  It may be viable if you process on a regular basis, but the soup can go bad.  For roll film I'd trust an automated pro lab to get more consistent results, and even end up with cleaner results vis-a-vis the drying process.

My .02 worth.

[Wind Chaser]

Don't forget buying and mixing the chemistry, storing it, using it, and hoping you don't contaminate it.  It may be viable if you process on a regular basis, but the soup can go bad.

Good point.  One more of many reasons why everyone went digital.

[Jon L]

Good point.  One more of many reasons why everyone went digital.

I will probably go with the Costco solution for film processing, scanning, and small prints.  I just hope my local Costco is one of the better ones for film processing. 

I hear so many people saying Fuji Velvia film is great for landscapes but it's too much for skin tones.  I'm trying to order some film that I can use for people (most of time) but doesn't stink with occasional landscapes (richish colors). 

[Jon L]

Need to order some film soon 

I need a color print film that I'll use mostly for people indoors (likely will need higher ISO than 50, 100) that won't overly soften the photo.  It also should take good nature/landscape occasionally, but perhaps not as saturated as Velvia 50.  Finding this kind of film from on-line chatter has been difficult but considering Kodak Supra 400, Fuji Superia 400, Kodak High Definition (Royal Gold?) 200, Kodak Portra 160 VC (too soft for nature?), etc

Not too concerned about grain with higher ISO film since I won't be making large prints.

There's also the consideration that my local Costco needs to be able to develop/scan this film half-way decent.

[SET Man]

Hey!

  Congratulation Jon. Yes, I've never stop shooting film. Although a lot less now and usually B&W film. 

   As for color film I like Fuji line. Have used it extensively in the past. The  Fuji Velvia family is very good especially the 50. For prints film the Fuji Pro line will give you lower contrast and more accurate color than their consumer line, with more pleasing skin tone , the Pro 160 should be good all around. For higher speed the Pro 400H should do.

Have you processed your own slides?  It's NOT labor intensive!  It takes about 40 minutes.  The most difficult part I found was spooling the film onto the reel.  That's challenging enough to do in a 'dark' room, never mind a changing bag...  I found processing slides to be at least 10X easier to do than film and unlike film, I always got outstanding results with slides that were every bit as good as those done by a 'pro lab'.  It’s definitely not rocket science.

     I wouldn't process slide myself. It is harder to do than B&W film. You need to be precise or then result will be color shift and etc. And yes the color chemicals are more toxic than those use for B&W.

    I have done color printing myself in the but found that is it cheaper and most of the time get better result from a good lab.

    Jon L, if you are shooting Fuji slide and don't have a good lab in your area you can buy Fuji processing mailer to send the film out to Fuji. I use this sometime for personal none rush roll.

    The hard part about using film especially print film is finding a lab that would do a good job printing it 

    Good luck and have fun.

Take care,
Buddy

[thunderbrick]

Need to order some film soon 

I need a color print film that I'll use mostly for people indoors (likely will need higher ISO than 50, 100) that won't overly soften the photo.  It also should take good nature/landscape occasionally, but perhaps not as saturated as Velvia 50.  Finding this kind of film from on-line chatter has been difficult but considering Kodak Supra 400, Fuji Superia 400, Kodak High Definition (Royal Gold?) 200, Kodak Portra 160 VC (too soft for nature?), etc

Not too concerned about grain with higher ISO film since I won't be making large prints.

There's also the consideration that my local Costco needs to be able to develop/scan this film half-way decent.

There is (or was) Portra VC (vivid color) in 160 and 400.  Don't think of NC as soft.  I think it makes beautiful prints in bright sunlight as well as open shade.  Royal Gold or Supra might be too contrasty in bright light.

[navi]

how many megabytes does a roll of film hold?

[thunderbrick]

24 or 36 exposure?

[navi]

24 or 36 exposure?

you mean mega pixels?

[Jon L]

you mean mega pixels?

Each film frame can be around 39 MP, so you would have to multiply that by how many exposures per film roll. 

This is an interesting topic, actually, and there's some info here:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/film-resolution.htm

[Jon L]

I've really been having trouble locating parts I need for EOS-3, especially the Ni-MH battery charger ($$$$), Ni-MH battery, and stock grip (for light travel). 

So I ended up buying a EOS-1V HS off eBay, which comes with two Ni-MH batteries, charger, and stock grip!  It's kind of ludicrous, but I will probably end up selling off the EOS-1V HS with power grip and one battery and keep EOS-3.  Of course, there is chance I will end up keeping both, but that would be really insane 

[Jon L]

My EOS-3 with power grip arrived!  But my films haven't arrived yet 



 

 

[nathanm]

That is a mighty slab 'o camera.  I bet that makes some cool sounds. Erm, that is a motor drive on the bottom, right?

[Jon L]

That is a mighty slab 'o camera.  I bet that makes some cool sounds. Erm, that is a motor drive on the bottom, right?

Yup, that's the PB-E2 power grip that can use a Ni-MH battery or AA batteries, enabling 7 frames per second speed. 

I just shot a roll of Fuji Reala 100 film and very anxious how it turns out, especially through my limited choices of Target vs. Costco and similar.