Your opinion on film speed and type

I have a Rebel TI that I 99.9% use as an automatic. I take a lot of

pictures outside at sporting events, in the spring, summer and fall,

and then mostly inside pictures from cold weather until it gets warm

again. Without getting really technical on me (because I won't have

a clue what you're talking about), can some of you give my your

opinion on the film you might use? I am thinking possibly Agfa 400

or Fuji X-Tra 400....will this work year round or should I switch to

200 speed for outside? What about Kodak film or Konica film?

 

Also, I may favor one hour processing with Fuji frontier digital (if

this makes a difference as to what film). I've heard this

processing is top of the line.

 

On that note, maybe it won't make a difference what film I use,

rather, how it's processed!! This gets really confusing.....Thanks!

It really depends on what you're shooting and what kind of light you have available versus the lens(es) you have. If you just want some prints for yourself and friends at 4x6 with no special criteria, and you have access to some place that cares about the Frontier, Superia 400 might just be the thing for you. Indoors, I'd shoot NPZ if I were you (from what info we have so far).

If you don't mind the cost, I would shoot Fuji NPZ 800 @ E.I. 400 in low light and flat light, like flash, and at E.I. 500 in bright sunlight. It is an awsome film, provided you don't shoot it at its ISO rating of 800.

Fuji Superia Xtra 400 and Agfa Vista 400 (also sold as Walgreens Studio 35 400) are great year-round films. Kodak MAX 400 sucks, but Kodak HD 400 is THE BEST, however, it's more expensive. I haven't tried Konica film yet.

 

Also, as I mentioned, one-hour Fuji Frontier processing is great, no matter what film you use (except Kodak MAX)!

Dana,

 

No expert here, but you could try films until you're blue in the face, and still have a difficult time telling one from the other unless you do some controlled tests with each. A 400 speed film should serve you well 99% of the time, indoors or out. You might keep some 800 on hand for times when you want to shoot indoors with available light, and are using a fairly slow lens (i.e. largest aperture is around 4.5 or more). You also might want to keep some 100 speed on hand for times when you want finer grain and will be shooting with plenty of light or with a tripod. Some of the more highly touted films in these categories are Fuji NPH 400, Fuji Superia Reala 100, and Fuji NPZ 800. You can buy the imported versions of these at B&H relatively cheap. In Kodak, Portra UC 400 is very highly respected, but expensive. I don't know about the better Kodak selections in 100 and 800. I've never heard much about Konika films. With the advances in 400 speed film, 200 speed is probably not used a whole lot, but I'm sure I'll be corrected if the majority here disagree. Frankly, you should probably agonize very little over film choice right now, and concentrate on technique and composition. The best film in the world can't do much to improve those. I've spent far too much time pondering film choices, and my photos generally show it. If I had to pick one film, it would be Fuji NPH because thats the one that generally gives me the most pleasant results from my lab (which uses Agfa Prestige paper), and I think 400 is the most versatile speed. If your regular lab uses Kodak paper, you might want to try a Kodak film, but again, any brand will probably do until you're happy with your compositions. I have no idea what looks best on Konika paper, and I like the NPH better on the Agfa paper than the Agfa films I've tried. Happy shooting!

 

Bill