Medium Format Film Rolls

plamen_gb

plamen_gb

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,481
Name
Plamen
Edit My Images
Yes
I've got my Bronica ETRSi the other day, and I need to buy film now, I'm completely illiterate when it comes to film, I've been using digital only.

So I was wondering what is the best type of film rolls to start on, I'll make sure to have a proper read before I start shooting as I don't want to waste film. I've already bought myself a lightmeter.
 
I am guessing you will get the film processed at a lab? Asda, snappy snaps etc? If so i would pick, Kodak Porta 400, nice tones and fast enough that you can keep your shutter high, to stop camera shake.

Or if you plan to Develop your own, can't go wrong with Ilford HP5 400 or if you want something slower Ilford FP4 125.

These are films I would pick, but everyone has there own tastes :D
 
Does ASDA process MF? In terms of buying the film, WEX do mail order, as do 7 Day Shopper but maybe not next day delivery. Or are you asking whether you should kick off with slide, B&W or colour negs? Maybe you should decide what output format you want before getting the film.
 
I'm torn between B&W and colour film, I was wondering what kind of film to use in the beginning better and more expensive one or whatever I can get my hands on, as for the developing definitely at a lab. And yes I was wondering where should I buy it from
 
kenm said:
Does ASDA process MF? In terms of buying the film, WEX do mail order, as do 7 Day Shopper but maybe not next day delivery. Or are you asking whether you should kick off with slide, B&W or colour negs? Maybe you should decide what output format you want before getting the film.
Click to expand...

Asda wont accept 120, although their machine can dev it, if it was adjusted...but the problem my local shop told me (he was using a Konica machine) was:- after dev 35mm the rollers (or whatever) have to be cleaned for the bigger format otherwise it would leave dev marks....after doing a few 120s for me he said "sorry, it's too much inconvenience for just two rolls of 120".
 
Sorry, completely forgot about supermarkets not doing 120 :( duh, silly me ;)

You can buy single rolls of film from Discount films direct, (instead of 5 packs) so you can try different films and see what you like.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for suggestion, I've had a quick read and I see that the slider is better than print, could you please correct me if I'm wrong?
 
For 35mm, slides are great because you can put them in a projector, point it at a screen, put the lights out and gawp at the amazing results. However, MF projectors are like hen's teeth, to that doesn't really apply. For me, I find slides easier and nicer to scan, but if you intend getting the lab to give you prints, colour negative might be a better bet.
 
plamen_gb said:
Thanks for suggestion, I've had a quick read and I see that the slider is better than print, could you please correct me if I'm wrong?
Click to expand...

Thats a very subjective opinion, slide film is good but remember that it has a lot less latitude, can be very contrasty and as said above MF slide projectors are extremely expensive or practically non-existant. Could I suggest that just as a starter you might want to try some colour neg or B&W film as its much more tolerant to incorrect exposure and is generally easier to use? Professional colour neg films such as Portra 16 or 400 are very good with minimal grain and excellent latttude; whilst the slide vs print quality debate may have been valid a couple of decades ago, the gap has vastly narrowed in recent years.
 
You gave me a lot to think about, the Portra 160 seems like a good choice and I've found 5 pack for 20£ from Calumet
 
I've finally went for Kodak Portra 400, it should be delivered by Wednesday and I can finally try the bronica :)
 
My results werent great and im quite upset, really. First, I knew they wouldn't be amazing as I couldn't focus and found it hard. But the film developer I used got finger prints over my negs, did bad scans and didnt do half of my roll. The pictures are so saturated and dirty I just want to cry. I wouldn't care so much, but the pics are the last pics and time I spent with my cat who suddenly passed Tuesday night.

In my emotional mind im going to say I cant see the difference in quality between my fm2 and bronnie. Though i know its a small user error, and a bad developing company. Just wanted good pics of my cat. :'(
 
kabooi said:
My results werent great and im quite upset, really. First, I knew they wouldn't be amazing as I couldn't focus and found it hard. But the film developer I used got finger prints over my negs, did bad scans and didnt do half of my roll. The pictures are so saturated and dirty I just want to cry. I wouldn't care so much, but the pics are the last pics and time I spent with my cat who suddenly passed Tuesday night.

In my emotional mind im going to say I cant see the difference in quality between my fm2 and bronnie. Though i know its a small user error, and a bad developing company. Just wanted good pics of my cat. :'(
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that and who dev and scanned your film :thumbsdown:
 
I'm sure you can clean the negatives and rescan them. Have you got your own scanner?
 
Drop me a PM, I'll give them a clean and scan them for you
 
It is a nice gesture. Can I ask what you clean them with Rob? I have some old slides that could do with a clean and was going to use Isopropyl alcohol after a cleaning discussion on (I think) here some time ago. I have some diluted 1 part Isopropyl and 4 parts water for cleaning vinyl records that I was going to try but have not got around to it yet.

Mark
 
I use 99% Isopropyl, I think i have some commercial neg cleaner which came with the drum scanner knocking around which is IPA and a tiny bit of acetone.
 
I recently had a film developed by Fuji lab as it was processed paid and had the film scan to CD at extra cost(very high), not that good and never again.

For me C41 by photo express, great work and everything else AG.
 
robhooley167 said:
Peak imaging, not the cheapest but they have an excellent reputation.
Click to expand...

Same here, though if it's a test roll of Poundshop film then I might take it to Asda (other supermarket developers are available).

Peak have just developed a few rolls for me, including one that t'missus put through the Hi-matic 7s I gave her. First roll of film she's shot in a manual wind camera and she broke the film when winding on too many times. Removed from the camera in a dark bag, sealed into a film canister and wrapped in tin foil and from the look of the negatives, the results are ok (if you ignore the frames taken after the battery ran out).

3 x 35mm C41 films, 1 x 120 C41 and 1 x 35mm E6, sent using their Freepost address on Wednesday, received back this morning, well packaged as always. :thumbs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top