Hello,

Since I cannot possibly afford a medium format digital back and all that goes with it I have decided to buy a used medium format camera and lenses.

May I please get some suggestions on both b&w and color films that are "kind" to folks new to medium format. Not looking for garish/over the top colors in the color department just a few suggestions for both film types.

Thank you

Sincere question: Have you ever shot film regardless of what camera format? Film is very subjective, that's why we have had many to choose from even though some were more the standard than others. To be honest that's a pretty odd question you have there. Medium format doesn't really dictate what film to use.

Fair enough. Thanks for the response. I am a bit odd to begin with so an odd question only confirms the plain truth!

Best I just grab a bunch and begin.................

Yes I have shot film before but honestly I was never a person who cared much for the technical aspect of shooting and shot mostly on program mode (no pic modes no). As the mf camera I am buying does not provide in camera metering I guess I was looking as I said for film choices that are more forgiving whilst I go about learning photography the manual way, after the fact if that makes any sense.

best regards

Buy a handheld meter if your camera doesn't have a meter. That's a must.

Stick with color neg and b&w neg first until you can expose accurately for transparency film.

Kodak Portra color neg film is nice. Kodak Tri-X and T-max b&w are nice. Ilford has some great b&w but their naming is so goofy I don't remember what I have used. Have fun.

Another vote for the Kodak Portra films. (Not a fan of the 800 though). No longer shoot film anymore!

160NC works great in studio for people. I rated the film at 100 for good density.

400NC/VC for on location work. I rated the film at 320 for good density.

For chromes I like Fuji Provia 100F.

Maybe it's because I lived in Rochester for a while, but I also am a big fan of Portra, wouldnt shoot anything else for Color Neg! For Chrome, I liked both Fuji Provia and Kodak E100VS. If you're new to MF though I would avoind Chrome because it is not forgiving.

Hello,

Greatly appreciate the responses so far. Always a nice community here!

Of course now the suggestion of getting a hand held meter makes me realize I will be posting again looking for those suggestions as I might just as well get a meter that will help with my D200/300 bodies as well right!

)

thanks again

In B&W I second the recommendation for Tmax and Tri-X. If you aren't developing it yourself, consider the C-41 chromogenic films by Ilford and Kodak that you can send to the drugstore for processing. The "new" improved t-max 400 (TMY-2) is especially nice, but unforgiving of imprecision in exposure or development. It rewards the careful worker with beautiful tones and fine grain, however.

All my color work these days is digital; but the Portra and Ektachrome recommendations are sound.

Fuji Neopan 400 is a very nice all-around B&W Film. Many shooters like Tri-X.

Fuji Provia is a good over-all color transparency choice - strong colors, not over -saturated, sharp, tight grain.

Kodak Portra 160 is very sweet. Fantastic skin tones and very forgiving.

The Portra works just as well for landscapes as it does portraits, beautiful film and considerably nicer than the Fuji PRO160 equivalent (flat and just awful compared to the older NPS film). The Portra is also a lot more forgiving as mentioned elsewhere than tranny film like Velvia.

Black and white film, I started out with HP5 and still use it sometimes. A bit grainy but with a pleasant grain and pleasant tonality. Current favourite b+w films are Ilford Pan-F and Fuji Across 100.

I like slide film, especially Fuji Astia 100F and Velvia. I shot Ilford XP-2 when I want b/w and fast lab processing.

I just posted some photos on my blog shot with the newer formulation Fuji Pro 160c. Just go to my website and click on blog.

I like colors!
What scanner do you use?

Yes the colors are eye catching!

I have the film roll scanned at processing for proofing. So these are actually just the 5 meg scans. For finals, I have the selected files drum scanned usually at 50 megs. It all done at The Icon in Los Angeles. I don't know what scanner they use for the roll scans, but perhaps it is on their website or send them an e-mail.

http://www.iconla.com/