Film for rangefinder use...

[richard_bach]

Hi all,

I have been dgital for years now but have now decided to make the jump into rangefinder photography.

Being that i dont belong to the financially gifted, a digital ranefider is out of the question. any

recommendations on what film/scanner combination will give me something close to what i am used to

editing from my dslr? my preference is extremely saturated color or contrasty black and white nad i will be

using leica and zeiss lenses. a huge plus would be if i could shoot in color and convert to black and white

as i could digitally, though im not sure how possible this may be.

 

any insight into this would be welcome. thanks in advance,

Rich

[bambang indrayoto]

I have the same intent. Not abandoning the DSLR, but explore new territory to range finder. My choice is Mamiya 7 II.

 

For BW scanning purpose, I recommend to use Kodak T400CN and the Ilford XP2. I mainly use T400CN. They are friendly for scanning. I use discontinued Canon scanner FS4000US which I bought 5 years ago. So far I have no success scanning traditional BW film. The silver bothers my scanner. And turning off the FARE (tools built-in in my scanner to detect and interpolate dust and scratch in film) will end up consuming my time detecting and cloning them manually, which I hate.

 

For scanning color film, I recommend not too contrasty film. Try Sensia. Then after the scan you can tweak as much as you want digitally. The color from Velvia and Provia is to die for when you look directly to the film. But for scanning, you need to ensure that you can capture the shadow properly to retrieve the detail digitally.

 

For negative film. My experience is limited. Usually I use Kodak ProImage 100 and Superia 100. I love Reala in my scan. I have not tried Kodak UC400, which I heard very good and scan wonderfully (gotta try myself).

 

Good luck.

 

looselens.blogspot.com<div></div>

[bambang indrayoto]

Oops. Sorry that suppose to be Provia.

This next one is T400CN.<div></div>

[asher]

Welcome to PNet<p>

Bottom line (for B&W): you need to experiment with several emulsion- developer

combinations + scan the results on the best scanner you can afford, to see what works

(and what doesn't) in your hands.<p>

 

As mentioned above, even very good film scanners cannot handle overly contrasty images

very well. Also, by shooting color and desaturating to B&W you will be losing much of the

advantage of B&W film. The character of the final image is just not the same- not better or

worse, just different.<p>

 

Also, shooting medium format as suggested above will limit your choices of scanners.

[andyaitken]

Kodak T400CN is now extinct (damn) but Ilford XP2 Super is still available and scans better than conventional b&w film.

[35mmdelux]

I'd suggest you do some trial and error as most everyone has their own opinion. My take on "best" films - Ilford 125/400, Portra 160NC, Reala; Velvia and K64 for saturation.

[aplumpton]

You will miss much pleasure in B&W, if you don't try creative darkroom photography as well. Also you will be able to get big enlargements on qualit paper that will last and last. I am particularly worriedabout my digital system file back ups that are no problem with well-stored conventional siver base films (not the C41 process type which are less archival).

 

Darkroom kits are really inexpensive these days and the films and papers will hopefully be around for some time yet (I hope, he says....).

[Robin Smith]

Astia 100F is my all round film these days. Scans very well - excellent sharpness, very fine grain, and neutral color. Provia 400F or Ilford XP2 if I need to go faster. Black and white via desaturation, but at present I am more of a color shooter. Real silver films and 35mm scanners are not ideal bedfellows.

[amorteguy]

Shoot in color and convert to B&W? I think you have been corrupted by the 5D crowd who convert everything they shoot to monochrome because they think it's chic, but they don't have the time to muck around with film.

<p>Full disclosure: I shoot a 1D and have done the "dirty deed" once or twice myself. So, I am not immune to temptation. But, I rarely convert digital shots to monochrome. If I want B&W, I'll load one of my cameras with film.</p>

<p>However, even in my own work, I prefer B&W from film. I can see the difference, and the aesthetic qualities of film is an important reason I shoot B&W film and not simply convert digi to monochrome.</p>

<p>Now, to answer your question; I shoot Kodak Tri-X (rated at 200, dev'd in 1:1 D76) predominantly. I use both my 1V and a wonderful old M3 DS. I have experimented with some other films lately. I have included an example from Efke I shot through the M3. I like the qualities of the film, but what you can't see in this reduction is the scratch in the neg. This longitudinal scratched stretched through nearly all the shots on this roll; a bit of a quality control issue. But, I'll give this film another go. I like its qualities.</p>

<p>I scan with a Nikon 9000ED (I spent the dinero on this model because I have to scan 120 film also.) Great scanner.</p><div></div>

[jacek_witold_chmielewski]

I started to use Leica II from 1938 with Elmar 50/3,5. Just to check if the shutter is working i used some cheapest 35mm color films. The result will be probably stunning because of non-coated lens. Good sharpness and low contrast...

[don_e]

I am not thrilled with my color digital or digitized film converted to b&w, but I am sure others may get better results. What I've found helps is to give a slight warm tone to the midtones. It helps overcome the tendency to "flatness".