[stepheno]

I have been into photography since about 2000 with a 1.2mp Finepix MX1200, then an S602pro, a 20D and now a 30D. So what’s the problem? The problem is I have never used film. I read a lot of threads from people who have come into digital from film and I have always wondered if I am missing something, either technically or aesthetically. Well, to cut a long story short I have bought myself a rangefinder film camera. I didn’t want a film SLR which is why I went for an Agfa Karat 36 Rangefinder - £36 off Ebay so I don't mind if it all goes pear-shaped.





Now I am happy with the technicalities of using a Rangefinder but, and here is the problem, I know nothing about film. I read so much about Fuji this and Kodak that so any help in choice of film would be gratefully appreciated. I can’t tell you what I’ll shoot yet except definitely black and white.

I also know that basically one would use negative film for prints and slide film for scanning but if I used slide film would I need a specific slide scanner. I don’t intend showing slides through a projector. There will probably be more questions in due course TIA

[Dabhand16]

It's been a long time since I used film, but back then Ilford was the Daddy when it came to black and white film FP4 125 ASA springs to mind. Finer work required Kodak Pan F 50 ASA (I think, it's been sooooooo long....)

Ektachrome was a good slide film - 50 and 200 ASA. You paid for processing at the time of processing unlike the Kodachrome where you paid for processing with the price of the film and just posted it off and the slides came back in the post. Mind you, Kodachrome 25 (ASA) used to be good.

Fuji have made inroads into the slide market and used to be rated on par or better than Kodak. Agfa are also a good manufacturer of both colour and B&W film.

Slides look really good projected, preferably onto a large screen. I've not used dedicated scanners, but have used my flatbed to scan some using the slide adaptor. Bearing in mind the small physical size, you need to scan at very high resolutions to allow an image to be printed.

If you are not going to do a lot of this work, I'm not sure it would be worth the investment of a dedicated scanner. Scanning is as much of a black art as printing. It is fraught with issues around software, scanner makes, colour profiles, colour casts, and just getting a decent scan - some people use a wet system to try to ensure better contact on the plattern!

Good luck with the project. I'm sure we will be seeing the results soon.

[stepheno]

Thank you Graham - all info gratefully received. I agree with you about the scanning - after thought I will probably go for negatives and then just flatbed scan the prints.