Hi all,

I wonder, what film type would be the most suitable for a sharp photo with as little/small grain as possible?
I'm looking at both color positive and B/W negative.

What film speed and brand would you recommend?



All the best,
Jesper

The slower films are the best for grain. For color film, Fujifilm Velvia 50 or Fujifilm Provia 100 are both excellent. Provia is my usual choice. 

There are few enough emulsions left in production, that your choices are not very many. You don't say where you are located, so I will assume basic USA. If my assumption is wrong, please let us know.

Size and pattern both influence the perception of the grain in your photos. I choose to shoot B&W when I have a image where I'm trying to emphasize texture. The single layer of silver gives me finer edges than the several layers required for color film. Even if you aren't going to use his service, I suggest reading the film-reviews offered by DR5 (dr5.com). I further suggest that you _do_ use his services. B&W positives give you the opportunity for fantastic image detail.

If you really need color, I second Bob's recommendation. Shoot slow film for smallest grain....but how many slow films are still available? Provia 100F is my basic goto color film. The Velvia 50 may be finer, but the last time I tried it I wasn't happy with the colors I got. I still have a couple rolls of fine-grained Kodak in the freezer, but that isn't anything you can still buy for money in the store.

TLDR: Ilford HP5 with DR5 processing

--
John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

> On Apr 23, 2018, at 9:47 AM, jeppeln@yahoo.com [MF3D-group] <MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>
> I wonder, what film type would be the most suitable for a sharp photo with as little/small grain as possible?
> I'm looking at both color positive and B/W negative.

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions and tips, I am located in Sweden so I'm not sure we have the same film portfolio here.

The place I usually go to for analogue stuff is this:
http://www.brunosbildverkstad.se/c/fotografisk-film/120-film-mellanformat-/#clicked_product=132

Diafilm = Color positive
Negative Färgfilm = Color negative
Svartvit film = Negative black & white

I see they have the Provia 100F for color positive, so I will definitely try that!

They unfortunately only have HP5 in 400 speeds, but I've also heard good things about the Delta 100 for slower cameras. (BW negative) so maybe that is a good replacement?

By the way...

How about Fomapan 50 or 100 for BW negative?
Is that something you would recommend over Delta 100 or HP5?

On 4/24/2018 3:42 AM, jeppeln@yahoo.com [MF3D-group] wrote:

> How about Fomapan 50 or 100 for BW negative?
> Is that something you would recommend over Delta 100 or HP5?

I'm sure your processing will be an important consideration.
Do you process your own film? Do you have a lab which can
reverse-process? If you have never seen one of these films
reverse-processed as a B&W slide, you are missing a
wonderful experience.


The HP5 at ISO 400 is very smooth. I've not had anyone
comment on grain in any images I've made with this film.
The PanF at ISO 50 is supposed to be even smoother. To be
honest, I've never felt the need to look for finer grain
than the HP5. It has satisfied my demands for fine grain and
detail.

But now I wonder if I'm asking enough. For those who have
seen my B&W ice images; Is the grain in the way? Should I
have sought a finer film?

--
John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska

I am going to be processing the BW negatives on my own, color slides I will send to a lab.

I have been trying to find a lab that can convert BW negatives to slides, but can't find anyone in my area (Sweden) that can provide this service. :( I'm a bit bummed, because I think BW has such a beautiful tonality.

By the way, where can I see your gallery? :)

I don't know if you have heard of the Dr5 process. They are a company which has developed a process for making positive slides from B&W film. You can look it up here.

On 5/2/2018 2:54 AM, jeppeln@yahoo.com [MF3D-group] wrote:

> I am going to be processing the BW negatives on my own

If you can process the B&W film into negatives, I think you
can probably process it into positives. At least two people
on our list have shared their process in the past. Maybe
they would be willing to do so again.

> By the way, where can I see your gallery?

Ahhh. I don't have any decent images on the web. You can
find poor thumbnails of a few images at:
http://stereo.thurstons.us/folio/?tag=john-thurston
but to see the real images, you need to see the real slides.

[The web site given above is the index to our "MF3D Folio-A"
which circulates in North America. We send a box of slides
from one folio member to the next. Each member removes their
old slides, inserts some new, views and comments on the
images, and sends the box on to the next member.

Everyone may view the site. Only folio-members may
authenticate to read and leave comments.]




--
John Thurston
Juneau Alaska
http://stereo.thurstons.us

Try googling:

Thanks, I thought Dr5 only processed film as a service, if I can order the stuff and do it at home, that would be a more viable option for me for sure. :) Being new to this I am only using new film, so hopfully I won't have to do them much convincing. :)

Wow! What an amazing thing you guys have going on there.
What a fantastic community this is!

Me and my wife have been talking about migrating to Canada since Sweden is feeling more and more unsafe by the day while our millionaire politicians deny the problems.

Maybe then I can ask to join this creative and sharing chain mail :)

Thank you! This is amazing, i'm really excited to try this out.
I'm guessing I can use this process to also copy negatives to negatives (negative contact printed on positive film?), I have a bunch of old nitrate film from the 40's I've been looking to make safety copies of for some years now, none of the labs in my area could help me.