Introduction What is photography? The history of photography What this site will do for you Light: The most important element Why light is important to a photograph The many types of light Controlling light in your pictures The camera The basic function Types of cameras Choosing the right camera Putting the image together: the Lens How the lens bends light: a tutorial A brief introduction to apertures The variety of lenses Choosing a lens Exposure: a film tutorial How film records an image Understanding film speed Print vs. Slide film Film recommendations Taking Pictures Depth-of-field Apertures and shutter speeds Composition and experimentation: the basics Metering: when you can't guess The many types of picture-taking Photography with a point-and-shoot Accessories Tripods: for when you can't stay still Lens filters Post-processing: after development Scanning photos The digital darkroom Photo and equipment storage
Which film type should I get?
As before, it really depends on what you are doing. Personally, we prefer slide film for most of our work, since it renders colors beautifully, and gives you confidence when taking pictures. However, slide film does not look good when made into a print, so if you want to hang a slide on the wall, you will need to get a PhotoCD made or have a slide scanner, plus a good printer.
Print film does not produce as much of a striking photo as slide film, but it is useful in a few ways. If you are going to be needing a fast film, you will need print film. If you want to give your pictures to other people, they will not want to hold a tiny 35mm slide, and may not have a lightbox and loupe, so a print would be convenient.
Professional vs. Consumer film
Mainly in slide film, you will find professional film, which is film professionals use, obviously. There are actually a few differences in pro film and consumer (amateur) film. First of all, professional film comes in many varieties, such as Fuji Velvia at ISO 50, Kodak E100s at ISO 100, and Kodachrome Professional at ISO 64. Each reproduces colors in different ways. Along with that, they have perfect color balance, though they require refrigeration (I would recommend you keep any unused film in the refrigerator, though). Most professional film, however, has an amateur film almost exactly identical to it, though the quality may be slightly less. (Kodak E100s = Kodak Elite, Fuji Astia 100 = Fuji Sensia 100).
The film to learn exposure with
Later on, you will be learning about apertures and shutter speeds, which are the two ingredients for taking a good photo. So, should you use prints or slides? Slides are my recommendation, since they are so tolerant to over and under exposure. You will be able to pinpoint exposure errors very easily, thus you can correct the error and learn more about photo taking.
Our favorite film
We used a huge amount of slide film in the production of this site, mainly Fuji Velvia and Kodak Elite Chrome. These both produce incredible color and sharpness, and work well when photographing scenery (Velvia) or all-around photos (Elite).
For the black-and-white photos, we used Kodak Professional T400 CN. This film uses the same development process (C-41) as print film, so you can develop your pictures at a 1-hour photo lab. For our color prints, we used mainly Fuji Super G 100 and 400.
Well, you are finally done with learning about film! Next up in our guide, we will learn how to put your film, lenses, and cameras to use.