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Best Film

Tidder08
Posted 11/03/2015 - 16:10 Link
Hi All,

I have recently inherited a Pentax ME Super that i want to start using.
Can anyone recommend a Color & B&W Film that works well with the ME Super.

Im looking to do some outside portrait shoots of my Daughter and some Landscape work.

Many Thanks in advance

Mark
johnriley
Posted 11/03/2015 - 16:37 - Helpful Comment Link
Any colour and any black and white film will be just fine for the ME Super, but for portraiture I presume you'll want something fine grained, so any colour film up to ISO 200 and probably an ISO 100/125 black and white film. The same really applies to landscape photography, but you might want an orange filter to darken blue skies and bring out the clouds on the black and white film.
Best regards, John
Tidder08
Posted 11/03/2015 - 16:40 Link
Thank you John thats very helpful what brands of film do think work well I.e Ilford, Fuji?

Sorry for all the questions new to this area so want to get it right
johnriley
Posted 11/03/2015 - 16:44 Link
With films, it's a matter of what you find you like, but all the major brands such as Ilford and Fuji produce excellent results. I had my favourite film/developer combinations, but unfortunately the world has moved on and those are no longer available.
Best regards, John
bjolester
Posted 11/03/2015 - 17:35 Link
The Kodak Porta 160 and Porta 400 are excellent colour negative films. I have used the Porta 400 quite a lot, and this film has a fabulous dynamic range (I believe Tim Parkin tested the film and found it to have about 19 stops DR), great colour and it is very scanner friendly. I would recommend the Porta 400 as a good choice for a colour multi purpose film.
Bjørn

PPG
Flickr
johnha
Posted 11/03/2015 - 21:17 Link
It's more about which film is best for the image you want to capture (and meets your budget).

For mono I almost exclusively use Ilford FP4+ (ISO 125) or Ilford HP5+ (ISO 400), Kentmere 100 is a good budget choice but some find Kentmere 400 is a bit grainy. If you have a scanner you can save quite a bit by developing mono film yourself (it's not that difficult, doesn't require much equipment and is hugely rewarding).

For colour print, Kodak Porta is great for skin tones/portraits but can give muted colours and might not be ideal for landscape (I quite like the colours myself). Ektar 100 is a very good option for punchy colours and fine grain, but it requires good processing to get the best out of it.
bjolester
Posted 12/03/2015 - 09:50 Link
I have never found Kodak Porta 160 or 400 to have muted colours. Well, obviously these films are nowhere near highly saturated films like Velvia 50, but I find the Porta films superbly versatile and very good also for landscape.

This image was shot with Kodak Porta 400 on the Pentax 67ii and scanned on a modest Epson flatbed.

Comment Image
Bjørn

PPG
Flickr
johnha
Posted 12/03/2015 - 16:09 Link
bjolester wrote:
I have never found Kodak Porta 160 or 400 to have muted colours. Well, obviously these films are nowhere near highly saturated films like Velvia 50, but I find the Porta films superbly versatile and very good also for landscape.

This image was shot with Kodak Porta 400 on the Pentax 67ii and scanned on a modest Epson flatbed.

Hi bjolester. I was surprised by your image, certainly not 'muted colours' and that started me digging into the differences between the current 'Portra' which has replaced the older 'Portra NC' (natural colours) and 'Portra VC' (vidid colours) films.

It turns out that Portra 160, 400 & 800 have different characteristics from this Kodak link: link

Thanks for posting a correction, it has helped me look at Portra in a different light.

John.
Edited by johnha: 12/03/2015 - 16:10
laurencea
Posted 13/03/2015 - 14:17 Link
i use Fuji Superia 200 in my ME and ME Super.

for B&W i use Kentmere 100 as i wanted to play with B&W and also self-processing.

my choice is mainly governed by what i can buy! i bought a batch of standard Fuji 200 recently as the Superia was difficult to source. i also use the Lomo own brand films for a bit of fun (if they are the coloured ones).

the Fuji is quite bright, as i remember from the old days of film, but not overly so.

i do use Kodak Ektar 120 for the medium format twin lenses and that is lovely, but not used the 35mm version yet.
Pentax k1000, MX, ME Super, K5iiD 18-55, Tamron 70-300, Tamron 500 mirror, pentax 10-17, 50 1:4, a manual 28, some extension tubes and a bagful of memory cards. That's all i need... and a load of film cameras too... that's it, honest.
ChrisPlatt
Posted 13/03/2015 - 15:54 Link
I like Kodak Ektar (ISO 100) and Portra 400 films for color prints.
I recommend Ilford and Kentmere black & white negative films.

Chris
Bring back the latent image!
womble
Posted 13/03/2015 - 22:38 Link
I love Agfa APX 100 for BW, and it is often cheaper than some of the rivals.

Kodak Ektar and Portra are more go-to colour films. Mainly Ektar for 35mm and Portra for 120.

K.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.

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Tidder08
Posted 14/03/2015 - 20:11 Link
Thank you everyone for your advise I shall let you know how I get on

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