After months of deliberation, analysis, thinking, and planning, and despite recently purchasing a new high-end digital camera and using it extensively, I recently made a modest investment that I view as a demonstration of my commitment to film photography: I bought a 400-foot (122m) roll of 35mm Kodak Vision3 50D, or what I prefer to call by the name exposed onto the film rebate itself: Eastman 5203. The equivalent of 74 rolls of 36-exposure film, it means I’m going to have a lot of 35mm color photography ahead of me for months, certainly, but likely years to come.
Continue reading…Color Negative
Side-by-Side: ECN-2 vs. C-41 Processing for Kodak Vision3 Film
In the past several years, as film prices rise and film choices diminish, it’s become quite common to tap into 35mm film stocks that are ordinarily sold for motion picture use, and adapt them for still photography. Nudging us all down that path are dozens of companies (and even individuals) who are buying the motion picture stocks in bulk, cutting them down, loading them into 135 roll film cassettes, and selling them at retail, or via online marketplaces. While Eastman 5222, also known as Kodak Double-X, is a common black-and-white motion picture film that’s long been packaged and used for still photography, the practice is increasingly popular in the past few years for color films, namely Kodak’s Vision3 stocks. These films, however, have some unique attributes that make them unsuitable for most lab development, and challenging for home processing as well. Among them is the fact that technically speaking, they’re designed for the ECN-2 process (and chemicals), not the more common C-41 process of developing standard color negative films for still photography. In this article, we dive into the differences, and what you need to know to get great results from these films.
Continue reading…Type A, Type B, and the Basics of Color Balance in Films
If you’re a user of vintage cameras, and you happen to read vintage camera manuals, you’ve likely encountered Kodak’s “film types” — nomenclature like “Type A” or “Type G” or similar indicators. If you look at today’s film stocks, however, you don’t see these film types noted. What do they mean, exactly? And do you need to care?
Continue reading…My First Foray Into C-41: Success!
A few months ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic dug its claws fully into the United States, I finally decided it was time to open-up the box of CineStill C-41 chemistry that had been sitting on a shelf since December, and set about processing the pile of color negative film that had been accumulating up to now. I have to confess: I’d been dragging my feet, fearful of this moment — worried whether I’d end-up simply ruining some film and losing shots I’d worked so hard to capture. As it turns out, the worries were unnecessary.
Continue reading…Film Comparisons Made Easy (Courtesy of The Darkroom)
The Darkroom is arguably one of the leading mail order labs in the country at the moment. Their team has been very proactive in engaging with the film community, eager to interact with photographers on social media, and working to meaningfully contribute to the community with information and education through their occasional blog posts. But the company recently launched a new project that I’ve found quite helpful: their Film Index.
Continue reading…An Unexpected Question: What Film Would I Recommend?
I was recently asked a question by someone new to film photography, a question I never expected, and have never been asked before: What film would I recommend — black and white, as well as color — for someone new to film photography? Well, for sure, it made me think.
Continue reading…Accidental Cross-Processing: Outstanding (and Unexpected) Results
On a recent trip to New Jersey, I picked-up a Hasselblad 503CW. (Edited: I’ve since reviewed the camera; follow the link.) Because I didn’t have any film with me, the camera shop kindly threw-in a few rolls of 120 so I could immediately start shooting. Since they also let me choose what I wanted from their film fridge, I opted for three Kodak rolls: Portra 160, Portra 400, and Tri-X. It was a beautiful day, lots of sunlight, so the Portra 160 went into the magazine as my first-ever roll of film in the new Hassy. When I got home, I took it for processing as usual to Englewood Camera. But the results were nothing I was expecting.
Continue reading…Exploring Expired Film
When I started rediscovering film photography earlier this year, I went on a hunt — initially to find my Polaroid OneStep, and in the process, discovering all my old cameras, including my Minolta XG 1, and Canon Rebel G (500N). I also found something else.
Continue reading…Review: Lomography 800 Color Negative Film (120)
With limited choices in film stocks these days, I feel compelled to try as many as possible — and actively support all of them I can, whether color, or black and white. That’s part of what drove me to try Lomography’s various color negative films. Well, that, and the low(-ish) price points. One of their film stocks that proved most interesting to me at first is Lomography Color Negative 800, or as I and many others call it, “Lomo 800.”
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