35mm film in a digital age

[gredawarha]

Darren,

Very nice images. Does your camera have auto or manual focus system? Perhaps in the child photo the camera was focusing on the closest object.

Keep in mind that there are different criteria used for evaluating film images as opposed to digital images. Additionally, you would want some softness on a child's image, however yes the tree does seem to be more in focus.

Hi John

The camera is a Pentax ME Super so manual focus. So bit of a learning curve when it comes to manual focus.

[tao2]

Hi Darren,

Good tae see yer moving (partially) into film photography. Been back using film, more and more, for several years now. My Sony A700 sits on the shelf longer now. Ah buy film from Poundland (Agfa) and usually Ilford XP2 (B+W) anywhere ah find cheapest (for C41 dev at ASDA). My local store has 3 excellent techs who take care and pride in their work. Ah just had 7 rolls, dev with negs and onto 3 CDs (no prints) for £17. Some examples below. Also use ...

http://photofilmprocessing.co.uk/blackandwhitefilm.html
http://www.ilfordlab.com/

for specials or one-offs...
http://www.blackandwhitefilmprocessing.co.uk/
http://www.monoprint.co.uk/

AGFAplus/200 -Fujica ST901...





Ilford XP2/400 - Zenit 3M+Helios 44

[lorenzobix]

I think that nowadays the only reason you could shoot B&W film is because you like the idea. I do not believe all the people saying "you'll never get the same analogic "greyrange" in digital. And i can say it doing continus and large amount of post producing in B&W for other photographers. To make it clear: i?m nkt saying 35mm photogreaphy has not anymore asense but i think thart the reasons you'd shoot analogically is simply cause you like it! and that's all! maybe you have the possibility to print in a dark room, may be you like to experiment different types of developing, etc etc.
Personally i started to use 35mm film only in a crwtive way: i shoot only 35mm coloured films backrolled so i get the famous "redscale" effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redscale and i like it because it's a "classical and romantic" way of thrating images, digital post processing is reduced to minimum adjustemnts of lightness values on certain pieces of frame, and that's all.

[gredawarha]

Hi Darren,

Good tae see yer moving (partially) into film photography. Been back using film, more and more, for several years now. My Sony A700 sits on the shelf longer now. Ah buy film from Poundland (Agfa) and usually Ilford XP2 (B+W) anywhere ah find cheapest (for C41 dev at ASDA). My local store has 3 excellent techs who take care and pride in their work. Ah just had 7 rolls, dev with negs and onto 3 CDs (no prints) for £17. Some examples below. Also use ...

http://photofilmprocessing.co.uk/blackandwhitefilm.html
http://www.ilfordlab.com/

for specials or one-offs...
http://www.blackandwhitefilmprocessing.co.uk/
http://www.monoprint.co.uk/

AGFAplus/200 -Fujica ST901...





Ilford XP2/400 - Zenit 3M+Helios 44

Thanks Boab, love the shot of the bench.

[SeptimusFry]

Just joined and surprised to stumble straight onto this thread.

Why?

Just to add a bit of comparison with digital version... this taken on Canon 5DmkII

[IMG][/IMG]

[gredawarha]

Just joined and surprised to stumble straight onto this thread.

Why?

Just to add a bit of comparison with digital version... this taken on Canon 5DmkII

[IMG][/IMG]

Hello and welcome. How bizarre to find such a similar photo.

[gredawarha]

Hey guys

I have just got back my second roll of film from the developers. This time I went with Ilford HP5 400. I decided this time to shoot it at 800 speed and have the film processed at 800 speed. I wanted to see what it would come out like thinking it would be a bit more contrasty.

I sent the film to Illford who I got my last lot (tri-X) developed by and this time I requested that it be processed and scannned at high res.

Now perhaps it was the push processing or my expectations but I was a little disapointed witht the results. The high res images just seem to have fallen apart and the medium resolution images stand up better. The other possibilty is that I did have the camera and film in the car on a few occasions in the summer so it could be heat damage?

What do you guys think, below are some images click through to compare the high and medium resolution images?

[IMG] cnv00019 by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG] cnv00005 by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG] cnv00003 by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr[/IMG]

I am currently shooting a roll of Ektar 100 with only 6 frames to go before I send that off for processing

[KCBrecks]

My 15yr old grandson get a DSLR last year to explore photography then asked me, on a visit this spring, if I had a 35mm SLR film camera as he was interested in seeing the differences. I didn't, and that's another story, but a friend of mine had a load of kit he was contemplating sending to the charity shop. There were a couple of bodies, a Minolta and a Yashica. I sourced the film, Fuji 20 exp negative, for £4.95 for a pack of 3 from Asda, then took one of them to Tesco and the young lady there had great fun developing it for £0.99. I had taken digital and film shots at the same time and locations so was keen to see what I had managed to get. I have a Nikon Coolscan, with roll film adapter, courtesy of a friend who used it to scan his 27,000 images when he went digital and doesn't want it anymore, so I can now say for certain that I am staying firmly with digital. My grandson has the Minolta, with 50mm and 200mm lenses as well as the electronic flash and a beautiful leather gadget case plus the 2 films I didn't use and a pack of 3 just outdated I got for £1.50. So thanks to my very generous friends we can experiment for virtually nothing.

The 50mm prime that went with the Yashica has come in handy for some reversed prime macro shots, either on it's own or added to a Canon 18-55 lens using relevant adapters. That has been a far more rewarding.

[Shadowman]

Hey guys

I have just got back my second roll of film from the developers. This time I went with Ilford HP5 400. I decided this time to shoot it at 800 speed and have the film processed at 800 speed. I wanted to see what it would come out like thinking it would be a bit more contrasty.

I sent the film to Illford who I got my last lot (tri-X) developed by and this time I requested that it be processed and scannned at high res.

Now perhaps it was the push processing or my expectations but I was a little disapointed witht the results. The high res images just seem to have fallen apart and the medium resolution images stand up better. The other possibilty is that I did have the camera and film in the car on a few occasions in the summer so it could be heat damage?

What do you guys think, below are some images click through to compare the high and medium resolution images?

[IMG] cnv00019 by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG] cnv00005 by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG] cnv00003 by Darren Joseph Gregory, on Flickr[/IMG]

I am currently shooting a roll of Ektar 100 with only 6 frames to go before I send that off for processing

All three look good when viewed at a distance, however in the first shot the tree and lower right side seem to be more in focus, while the woman appears too soft. When zoomed all show visible noise, but that's to be expected with film, however your processing may have magnified it somewhat. The architectural shots look fine. Looking forward to seeing more.

[gredawarha]

All three look good when viewed at a distance, however in the first shot the tree and lower right side seem to be more in focus, while the woman appears too soft. When zoomed all show visible noise, but that's to be expected with film, however your processing may have magnified it somewhat. The architectural shots look fine. Looking forward to seeing more.

Hi John

I hadnt notice that the focus might be out but that being said I was more intrigues by the what I perceived to be the poor quality of hte high resolution scan. I will take a closer look at the focus on my larger monitor. It would not surprise me though as manual focus is pretty tricky.

I should point out that these are 35mm film scanned by the lab and I have not processed them in any way.

[proseak]

...."film in the car on a few occasions in the summer so it could be heat damage?"

yes, quite easily, especially after the film has been exposed.

I used to keep my film in the fridge, and thaw it out overnight for just this reason.

[tao2]

H Darren,

On a bright, sunny day like that, even ISO400 is too high. Ye should be using around 100(or less). ISO64, probably perfect for that day. Using ISO400,ah'd be using an ND filter if that was the only film available. (sunny 16 rule).

ISO400 and above for very dull days, deep shade and indoors - though, if yer careful ye can use 400 even in summer (4th. photo). Ye could use ISO400 and higher if yer looking for say a highlight composition...

Ilford XP2 400 - 4 different cameras









The lower the ISO the better the contrast. Ye should be able tae get ISO50 on the Pentax, hand-held on bright days (mebbe lower). Ilford PANFplus (ISO50) is a great film for landscape/architecture, especially with a wide-angle.

Ah doubt if the car heat affected the photos, unless the camera was exposed, all day, in the sun. In the glovebox or in a case shouldn't affect it .

The results ye see are large grains, exacerbated by the pushed ISO, intensified by the processing.


Below is ISO 400 not really recoverable. Admittedly, this was a test roll. Just a wee white/colour balance tweak (ah don't spend hours in PP).

[gredawarha]

...."film in the car on a few occasions in the summer so it could be heat damage?"

yes, quite easily, especially after the film has been exposed.

I used to keep my film in the fridge, and thaw it out overnight for just this reason.

Peter, I think it certainly would not have helped anything. Dont think we need to worry too much about hot weather in the UK now for the rest of the year!

[gredawarha]

H Darren,

On a bright, sunny day like that, even ISO400 is too high. Ye should be using around 100(or less). ISO64, probably perfect for that day. Using ISO400,ah'd be using an ND filter if that was the only film available. (sunny 16 rule).

ISO400 and above for very dull days, deep shade and indoors - though, if yer careful ye can use 400 even in summer (4th. photo). Ye could use ISO400 and higher if yer looking for say a highlight composition...

Ilford XP2 400 - 4 different cameras









The lower the ISO the better the contrast. Ye should be able tae get ISO50 on the Pentax, hand-held on bright days (mebbe lower). Ilford PANFplus (ISO50) is a great film for landscape/architecture, especially with a wide-angle.

Ah doubt if the car heat affected the photos, unless the camera was exposed, all day, in the sun. In the glovebox or in a case shouldn't affect it .

The results ye see are large grains, exacerbated by the pushed ISO, intensified by the processing.


Below is ISO 400 not really recoverable. Admittedly, this was a test roll. Just a wee white/colour balance tweak (ah don't spend hours in PP).

Boab

You are certainly right in that I was using too high ISO (400 puched to 800). It was a bit of an expirement and as is often with experiments you tend to learn things from the errors and mistakes.

I still have four shots left on a roll of ektar 100 which was used almost exclusively in sunny Spain. I'm looking forward to getting that processed and seeing the results.

I shall post some of them on here when I have the results, I'm enjoying my film experimentation and hopefully some of this information will be helpful to others.

Darren

[wmoore]

Darren

I recently have got back into film photography taking out my little Olympus trip 35. Also have a Canon Eos 630 camera.
I get my Colour film developed and scanned at www.photo-express.co.uk which is £5 per roll plus £1 postage for the entire order.
Happy with their service and quick turn around. For black and white I use http://www.ag-photolab.co.uk/ based in Birmingham. Around £8 for develop and scan.


This was shot on the Canon using Kodak colour plus 200.

[Shadowman]

Darren

I recently have got back into film photography taking out my little Olympus trip 35. Also have a Canon Eos 630 camera.
I get my Colour film developed and scanned at www.photo-express.co.uk which is £5 per roll plus £1 postage for the entire order.
Happy with their service and quick turn around. For black and white I use http://www.ag-photolab.co.uk/ based in Birmingham. Around £8 for develop and scan.


This was shot on the Canon using Kodak colour plus 200.

Very nice.

[gredawarha]

Sad times.

I had a few shots left on my roll of Ektar 100 so thought I would take the camera with me to Selsey as my friend and I took our boys away for the weekend.

My son touched the timer on mt Pentax ME Super and that may be coincidence but the camera then seemed to automatically fire the shutter release immediately upon winding on each next frame. The roll of Ektar was soon finished so I emptied the camera and attempted to load a new roll of film but something is wrong with the camera.

It seems the shutter and the winder have got stuck. Pressing the shutter does nothing and the winder will not wind it is stiff.

Looks like my ME Super is Dead :-(

[Shadowman]

Sad times.

I had a few shots left on my roll of Ektar 100 so thought I would take the camera with me to Selsey as my friend and I took our boys away for the weekend.

My son touched the timer on mt Pentax ME Super and that may be coincidence but the camera then seemed to automatically fire the shutter release immediately upon winding on each next frame. The roll of Ektar was soon finished so I emptied the camera and attempted to load a new roll of film but something is wrong with the camera.

It seems the shutter and the winder have got stuck. Pressing the shutter does nothing and the winder will not wind it is stiff.

Looks like my ME Super is Dead :-(

Bad news indeed! Hopefully there is an inexpensive remedy.

[RustBeltRaw]

For a bit of good news, you may be delighted to hear that another young 'un has committed to film. I was thinking about it for a while - examining manuals for some of my family's old cameras - then a mate decided he was getting out of the business and offered me a full darkroom setup on extended loan. Hard to pass that up.

So my Pentax Spotmatic II and its Takumar lenses are seeing the light of day again. That camera (with its broken meter), plus a load or 400 Tri-X is pretty fun, and it's what I learned on. It's probably why I still prefer all-manual exposure settings and prime lenses.

The big news is that my dad's trusting me with his Zenza Bronica ETR-Si (120 or 220-format, 6.0 x 4.5cm). I've contributed a motor drive I found on eBay, which, to be perfect honest, was an impulse purchase just because it's cool. Couple that camera with a chunky motor drive and a 250mm f4 prime, and it looks like it belongs on Darth Vader's mantelpiece. Several types of film on the way to mess around with. I love the legendary editorial reputation of ASA400 Tri-X, so I'll probably always have some of that around. Also looking forward to messing with ASA3200 Ilford Delta. And I'm trying to get my dad back on track to do portraits with the Bronica (that's why he got it), so there's some ASA125 Ilford FP4 on the way, too.

My 60D will still be my main camera. But I want my photography education to run deep, and going old-school is the best way.

[Shadowman]

For a bit of good news, you may be delighted to hear that another young 'un has committed to film. I was thinking about it for a while - examining manuals for some of my family's old cameras - then a mate decided he was getting out of the business and offered me a full darkroom setup on extended loan. Hard to pass that up.

So my Pentax Spotmatic II and its Takumar lenses are seeing the light of day again. That camera (with its broken meter), plus a load or 400 Tri-X is pretty fun, and it's what I learned on. It's probably why I still prefer all-manual exposure settings and prime lenses.

The big news is that my dad's trusting me with his Zenza Bronica ETR-Si (120 or 220-format, 6.0 x 4.5cm). I've contributed a motor drive I found on eBay, which, to be perfect honest, was an impulse purchase just because it's cool. Couple that camera with a chunky motor drive and a 250mm f4 prime, and it looks like it belongs on Darth Vader's mantelpiece. Several types of film on the way to mess around with. I love the legendary editorial reputation of ASA400 Tri-X, so I'll probably always have some of that around. Also looking forward to messing with ASA3200 Ilford Delta. And I'm trying to get my dad back on track to do portraits with the Bronica (that's why he got it), so there's some ASA125 Ilford FP4 on the way, too.

My 60D will still be my main camera. But I want my photography education to run deep, and going old-school is the best way.

I wonder if there is any ASA50 floating around?