joyce_habegger Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I am new to medium format and have been taking few classes to learn to use my Bronica etrsi.... I'm looking for a website or written article comparing to different types of 120 film/chrome color and b/w ... their uses and best and worst features.... I know a lot of it is personal preferences but I know that many of them have general purposes or there wouldn't be as many choices.. Thanks for any references. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen hazelton Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 There are about a jillion different kinds of film, and it would be more like a book to compare them all. Photo magazines occasionally have listings of available film, but no in-depth details. Also, whenever any new film comes out, you can always find reviews about it. Otherwise, check out the photos here or in magazines and see what other people are using. Or if you could be more specific about what you would like to do, people here would have a lot of helpful input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas_wybolt Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Joyce, One other consideration is the lab(s) you'll be using if you send your film out for processing. For example, Fuji print film tends to look "best" processed by a Fuji Frontier System and printed on Fuji paper. Obviously, this is a bit of a generalization, but if you search the "lab" archives, you'll find a lot of commentary on the topic. When I first started with MF, I was using Kodak films exclusively. By "accident" I shot a few rolls of Fuji and they looked really good (crisper, clearer, better color saturation) than the corresponding Kodak films that I sent in at the same time. I asked the lab dude about it and he pointed out that they used Fuji processing gear and paper. Right now, I'm back shooting Kodak films (Porta 400 UC) as I switched to a lab that uses Kodak gear and paper. Depending on what you want to shoot - prints / slides, B&W / color - You might be best off buying a roll of each and photographing the same subjects and deciding what you like best. Have fun. -Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donald_brewster Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Perhaps your favorite films in 35mm are available in 120. It is a good place to start. It also might depend on whether you are developing and printing it yourself or having a lab do it. Take a look at Phil Greenspun's views on various films right here on Photo.net. Phil has traditionally been a big user of medium format cameras. http://www.photo.net/equipment/film Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie g. Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Two good places: www.photographyreview.com if you want to read the user reviews and judge thru their eyes. www.photosig.com if you want to see the pictures and decide on your own. Look at the photos folder, sort by film type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_bunnik Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 If a 35mm film is available as a 120 roll, it is the same film. Just look in magazines for comparing tests of film. a Dutch magazine does this regularly, comparing grain, sharpness, colour etc. I do not know where you live but I imagine there are magazines there that do the same. Good luck, Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyce_habegger Posted January 17, 2003 Author Share Posted January 17, 2003 Thanks for the quick responses. My true interest is people portraits.. outside natural light but I am taking a studio class right now to learn to shoot with the lighting system that I have aquired... Labs and where to send for developing is a whole new subject.. There is only one lab in my town (in Georgia) that can develop my 120 film inhouse. They advertise Fuji paper but I don't know if they offer other papers or chemicals for hand printing. They only carry a small choice of 120 film so I plan to mail order it. I was thinking about ordering from B & H. Are there other places I should think about?Thanks, Joyce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_harvey2 Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Joyce, I've had great success at good prices when ordering in 5 and 10 roll lots (120 and 220 sizes) from www.uniquephoto.com. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithdunlop Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Joyce, I think the best place to get comparative information about different 120 emulsions is right here. Just type in different film types in the search box and read what people think. Now here's the thing - you will find out that while there are some general characteristics inherent to certain films, you will get a wide variety of opinions about what's "best". For example ask a landscape photographer what his favorite film is and he might say "Velvia" because of the "high color saturation", but another might hate Velvia because of the "unnatural color over-saturation". If your primary interest is in color portaits I would tell you Fugi NPS for prints or Fugi Astia for chromes. For black and white portraits I like Ilford FP4+. But that's just me. The hardest thing about learning what films you personally like best for certain situations is trying to take in all the conflicting information you will read from others. You really have to invest the time and energy to try different things and see what works best for you. But for the shear volume of opinions, I would start right here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_niziurski Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Kodak films are balanced for proper skin tones and are favored for the types of shots you are interested in. Portras are made with slight variations due to what the subject matter will be. Portra NC is for Natural Color (skin tones). The VC (Vivid color) and UC (Ultra Color) are intended to add more pop for other applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_heiker Posted January 19, 2003 Share Posted January 19, 2003 Joyce, the July 2002 issue of Popular Photography compares 88 color films. The magazine does this once a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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