Beginner Black and white - which 35mm film?

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Steve
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I'm looking to shoot my first B&W film after a slight gap - OK about 30 years.
I'll be outside - landscape and Norwich city streets but probably in low light given the current weather..

- What ISO would be best? I'm thinking 125 but possibly 400.
- Where do you buy from and what brand? After a Google the price point seems to be about £5 for 36 but is there
a pound shop type alternative?

I've flagged this as a beginner but I'm up to speed with my 60D. It's just film is a new project..

Cheers
Steve
 
There is not a B&W pound shop film that I know of, Your best option I think would be 7dayshop who at the moment have a choice of three or four B&W films for around the £5.00 mark delivered to your door.

I think that at this time of year when there is no guarantee of sunshine you would be better purchasing 400Asa, it will give you more flexibility.

I would recommend the Tmax 400Asa.
 
I'd agree about the ISO 400 film. If you're hand holding in low light, you'll be glad of the nearly 2 stops. I personally haven't bought 35mm film in years (new) so I wouldn't know the best places to get it I'm afraid, but there will be plenty on here that do. 7ds, as above is a good shout though.

If you're shooting in low light, I'd suggest a tripod. If it turns out that you do use a tripod, you can relax a little on the film speed, and in which case I'd recommend fuji Acros 100. It's reciprocity is incredible making long exposures very easy to work with.
 
The simplest way to start might be Ilford XP2; it's a C41 colour film that gives a black and white result, 400 ISO, available buy one get one half price at most Boots, and processable with a CD at Snappy Snaps, Max Spielmann, Boots and some ASDAs (cheapest) for low cost, or Photo Express in Hull for quality scans. It's a very nice film. The "proper" black and white films are a little bit harder to get processed, and scans can be expensive. There's a thread linked from the Resources sticky in this sub-forum that should give you an idea of processing options, and a handy price estimator linked from there that will, well, give you an idea of processing costs! Good luck... and don't forget to show us some results, please! :)
 
I didn't realise 7ds did film - used them for batteries / charger. Much happier to buy from them than a dodgy amazon / ebay seller.

I've split the difference and ordered two Tmax 400 asa plus two Ilford 125's.

Thanks for the advice - well helpful as (nearly) always from this site.

I suspect the probability of me getting results worth posting from first use of a manual film camera is pretty low.
But you never know.

Cheers
Steve
 
Ilford XP is a good 400 film and I'm told it's easily processed as it uses colour processing.

If you want to use a "true B&W" film, then your choices are basically two or three:
Kodak Tri-X
Fuji Neopan
(both 400)

or
Ilford FP4, which is 125 and has been around for more years than I can remember (it was already the standard in the 70s when I began). Very sharp, and superb dynamic range; you might find it low on contrast but that's easily fixable digitally if you don't mind sacrificing some DR.

All "true" B&W films need special processing these days as many labs aren't set up for them. Or do it yourself (not as scary as you think - you could develop the negs without enlarging & printing, though IMO that takes the magic away from it).
 
Ilford XP is a good 400 film and I'm told it's easily processed as it uses colour processing.

If you want to use a "true B&W" film, then your choices are basically two or three:
Kodak Tri-X
Fuji Neopan
(both 400)

or
Ilford FP4, which is 125 and has been around for more years than I can remember (it was already the standard in the 70s when I began). Very sharp, and superb dynamic range; you might find it low on contrast but that's easily fixable digitally if you don't mind sacrificing some DR.

All "true" B&W films need special processing these days as many labs aren't set up for them. Or do it yourself (not as scary as you think - you could develop the negs without enlarging & printing, though IMO that takes the magic away from it).

Why would his choices be limited to 'basically two or three'? There are plenty more choices in black and white film. There are more than three film manufacturers, let alone individual film choices. :thinking:

Of those plentiful choices though, Fuji Neopan 400 is not one of them, as it was discontinued several years ago.
 
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I like Kentmere for grungy and cheap. You know you've shot 'film' when you get a roll of it out of the tank!
 
you know your shooting a film rangefinder when you get that roll out and see lots of blank frames :mad:

The advantage of a rangefinder with a meter; if you can't get it to work, it finally triggers that query about whether the lens cap is still on!
 
Have a meter on my rangefinder, works really well with lens cap on:mad:.

As for which film, try them all and you will find the one you really like, its kind of subjective.......
 
We get asked this question all the time - there is no correct answer, other than a 400ASA film, from what you say.

What is critical, in my view, is that you pick a film and then stick with it - and get to know it really well. Process it the same way every time, so if you do it yourself, always use the same developer, if you use a lab, always use the same one (preferably us of course!! I say this partly in jest - but we have a very consistent B&W line) . The reason I say this is because there are a million variables in black and white, and you need to nail down the film and dev combination and get to know it, otherwise if you flip between different films and developers you will never ever learn the subtleties and your results will be variable and often disappointing.

Once you have become really familiar with your film and dev combination, try changing one element, such as the film or the developer - but never both at once.

So use a film you can always get hold of - this means Ilford HP5. If you want to mail order, you could use Kentmere 400 or Fomapan 400.

Avoid, in my opinion, odd ball stuff like Rollei 400S.
 
My fave true b/w in 35mm .... Kodak Tmax 400. After that, Ilford Delta Pro. If you want something different, and don't need DX, then the Rollei /Agfa Gevaert 400S is cool.
 
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