Suggest me a film ISO for everyday 35mm

[David Mitchell]

Hi all,

I seem to have now aquired a few SLR and 35mm cameras along with my MF cameras lol I am going to get myself some 35mm films - will still be shooting black and white - what ISO should I go with to start shooting, I used Ilford 120 film at ISO 400 for my MF cameras and even with the Kodak Six-20 it seems to have come out ok even with its single setting for shutter speed lol

Should I go with some basic Kentmore ISO 400 35mm or should I get some ISO 100 film? The SLRs I have can compensate for the different film speeds with regards to the different film.

Should I just go with the ISO 400 stuff?

 

[Hamish Gill]

under what circumstances are you shooting?

 

[David Mitchell]

It will be outside, just generally around ie I might go for a walk in the countryside with it or around town, the slowest shutter speed on my 35mm cameras is 500 (the Kodak Retinette 1B and the Zenit ES photosniper) although im going to have to convert what the ISO number is on the light meters as the Kodak uses BS, the Nikon EM and Fuji use ASA and the Zenit uses ASA and DIN lol

 

[Larry Bolch]

Though measuring methods that meet the standard were slightly different, ASA and ISO pretty much came out the same. A hand-held meter might be the easy solution. As per which film to choose, like everything else in photography, the best approach is to test. My advice would not necessarily fit your shooting style and I have been mostly out of touch with film for more than a dozen years. Testing matches the product precisely to your needs and taste—plus it is interesting.

 

[David Mitchell]

I might get a mix of film speeds then, ive just been watching another 'theartofphotography' video about a minimalist dark room and the posibility of using a 'stand' development method (basically a very dilute developer over a long time) which apparently works really well on the lower ISO films ie up to 100ish but apparently does work higher.

I think I will get a mix of 100 and 400, shoot a few rolls, get them developed and then see which sort I found came out best using the inbuilt meters on the cameras which seem to be quite sensitive which is good.

It seems that the ISO 400 120 film came out fine using my Kodak Six-20 which is amazing as its a fast film but the Kodak has a slow fixed shutter and I was shooting in bright light as well. But as you say, its probably best to experiment, the cameras have different film speed settings for a reason so I guess as long as I don't run out of shutter speed or aperture when shooting something I will hopefully be ok!

 

[Pete Askew]

Brian has a lot of experience with the stand method and I'm sure he'll comment. ISO 100 and 400 would be a good choice and you can vary depending on the lighting. I tend to use Ilford Delta emulsions myself except when I want to 'push' a film and then I use HP5.

 

[David Mitchell]

I have ordered some basic Kentmore (Ilford) ISO 400 film, as the cameras I have can adapt for that ISO on the light meter I might as well try it out, I will probably mess up my first roll anyway lol will be interesting to use a light meter instead of using the 'sunny 16 rule' with the MF cameras. I decided to start with the ISO 400 film first as it means that I can use it in lower light conditions and hopefully I have enough aperture settings on my lenses lol

 

[David Mitchell]

Right, the Kentmere 400 film has arrived I have 3 rolls that expire in 2017 lol so im good for a while I think! I will probably use my Fuji ST605N for these initial snaps as its got a 55mm prime lense and a nice light meter etc so I will test drive and take my first shots with an SLR will probably be a while before I can post the results though but at least with 35mm you get more shots per roll vs 120