Slide film for Big Apple

I am just a country boy from Maine who is used to shooting subjects

that do not shoot back. I am taking a trip to NYC in a few weeks and

plan to burn a lot of film. Would appreciate any suggestions for

slide film particularly suited to urban light and dynamics. I shoot

a Rollei MF with 90mm f4, so the faster the better. Thanks.

If you want a fast slide film, the two best choices would be Fuji Provia 400F or Kodak E200. They are roughly equal as far as grain is concerned. 400F has higher contrast; E200 has lower contrast.

i love provia 400 too

How about Agfa Scala?

There isn't a lot of choice in fast colour slide film and the first post about covers the ground. I have to say that I don't think that faster slide films share many of the characteristics of slower ones.

 

Skyline views aside though, and despite the fact that the vast majority of my own photography is colour slide, New York is a city that in my view responds best to black & white. NYC is grittiness and texture, and I've had a lot more fun photographing in monochrome apart from skylines at dawn/dusk.

Gents, thanks for your replies. Silly me. I had not even considered B&W. David, I have not shot it in years. Suggestions?

Well my own preference for NYC is Tri X, but then I have a good b&w lab. I think many people here would recommend the chromogenic films if you aren't processing yourself.

Thanks, David. I am going to give the Tri-X a go.

I'd second the vote for Tri-x; it has a unique grain structure that give the film a lot of character. Also, if you find that Provia 400F (RHPIII) is a bit on the pricey side, you may want to check out the 'amateur' version Sensia 400 (RH). I honestly don't think you need a very fast film if you'll be shooting mostly in daylight (I'm assuming here...), so you may like to try Provia 100F (RDPIII). I suppose you don't have to worry too much about the grain, since you're in MF, and 400F is relatively fine-grained anyway, but I personally prefer the lower-speed version.