Film: My grandson is considering a film camera and doing some black and white film work, landscapes and portraits. He would like some recommendations as to some good brands of B&W...

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

My grandson is considering a film camera and doing some black and white film work, landscapes and portraits. He would like some recommendations as to some good brands of B&W film. It's been so long since I shot film that I really can't advise him. He did mention that he's interested in ISO 50 and 100 for what he wants to do. Anyway, I'd appreciate some good recommendations that I can pass on to him. Thanks in advance to all you film fans.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Back in the day I shoot plenty of Kodak and Ilford. The B&H site lists several others. Also try Freestylephoto.biz . They are really INTO film! Might even pay to giving Freestyle a call. Best of luck.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I've been using Ilford for years. I moved away from Kodak when they ceased producing the film I preferred in the format I needed. After that, it was Ilford all the way. I've experience with FP4+, Delta 400, and HP5, having done H-D tests on each of them.
--Bob

Wingpilot wrote:

My grandson is considering a film camera and doing some black and white film work, landscapes and portraits. He would like some recommendations as to some good brands of B&W film. It's been so long since I shot film that I really can't advise him. He did mention that he's interested in ISO 50 and 100 for what he wants to do. Anyway, I'd appreciate some good recommendations that I can pass on to him. Thanks in advance to all you film fans.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

rmalarz wrote:

I've been using Ilford for years. I moved away from Kodak when they ceased producing the film I preferred in the format I needed. After that, it was Ilford all the way. I've experience with FP4+, Delta 400, and HP5, having done H-D tests on each of them.
--Bob

Thanks, Bob. I'll be sure to pass this on to Ryan.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I enjoyed shooting with 35mm film cameras for more than 25 years and recently returned to film in the hope of recapturing that experience. Tried cameras on both the high end (Leica) and more affordable (Minolta). Didn’t get the results I wanted until I tried a Canon AE-1 Program SLR. The Canon is well-made and relatively light in weight. I use it with Canon 50mm f/1.8 and 28mm f/2.8 lenses. Film is surprisingly available and, tho not cheap, I don’t feel it is priced outrageously. A number of great choices for developing and printing exist - my choice has been The Darkroom in San Clemente, CA. I’ve gotten some very good results and, in a few cases, some exceptional results, including a fine portrait that I recently had enlarged to 16x20” size. Your grandson is in for a very enjoyable adventure. I wish him well! — Ralph

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

I will second the recommendation for Ilford FP4+ and Delta film.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Wingpilot wrote:

My grandson is considering a film camera and doing some black and white film work, landscapes and portraits. He would like some recommendations as to some good brands of B&W film. It's been so long since I shot film that I really can't advise him. He did mention that he's interested in ISO 50 and 100 for what he wants to do. Anyway, I'd appreciate some good recommendations that I can pass on to him. Thanks in advance to all you film fans.

Can't go wrong with Kodak TRI X 400asa. As good or better as it ever was. Adaorama still sells it. I know you asked about 50 or 100. but he will be limited to faster shutter speeds as well as longer F-stops with slower speed film. I used to shoot kodak pan X (32 asa) and push it to 400 for exactly those reasons

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Wingpilot wrote:

My grandson is considering a film camera and doing some black and white film work, landscapes and portraits. He would like some recommendations as to some good brands of B&W film. It's been so long since I shot film that I really can't advise him. He did mention that he's interested in ISO 50 and 100 for what he wants to do. Anyway, I'd appreciate some good recommendations that I can pass on to him. Thanks in advance to all you film fans.

http://www.adox.de/Photo/adox-films-2/
https://www.ilfordphoto.com/black-white-film

Shutterbug57

Bulk rolls of HP5 or Tri-X are good values.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

I appreciate all this good info on the film. I've already pass a lot of this on to Ryan. He's currently looking a a Nikon FM someone has in his area. The photos of it that he texted me looks good. The guy is asking $260.00. Comes with a Nikon 43-86mm zoom lens. I don't know if this is a good deal or not.

Bipod

Wingpilot wrote:

My grandson is considering a film camera and doing some black and white film work, landscapes and portraits. He would like some recommendations as to some good brands of B&W film. It's been so long since I shot film that I really can't advise him. He did mention that he's interested in ISO 50 and 100 for what he wants to do. Anyway, I'd appreciate some good recommendations that I can pass on to him. Thanks in advance to all you film fans.

Here's another vote for Ilford.

Ilford keeps breaking it's own sales records for its flagship B&W films: FP4 Plus (ISO 125) and HP5 Plus (ISO 400).
Correctly exposed and developed, FP4 negatives can be enalarged to 8" x 10" with almost no visible grain.
It's a superb film for landscapes, IMHO.

Kodak Tri-X (ISO 400) is another justly famous B&W film.

I would suggest he steer clear of tabular grain films (such as Kodak Tmax) until he fully understands
how to shoot and develop conventional film.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

Bipod wrote:

Here's another vote for Ilford. br br Ilford keep... (show quote)

Thank you.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You can buy new film from B&H, Amazon and KEH among other online stores. If he hasn't shot B&W before, he should test 2- to 5-rolls of each candidate to get a feel for the subtle differences. There's a lot of online commentary, although it can take some time to find and to correlate with individual experience. Try the customer comments on Amazon and B&H for some useful feedback on individual films. A few to consider:

Kodak TRI-X PAN 400
Ilford FP-4 PLUS 125
Ilford DELTA 400 or 100
Fujifilm NEOPAN 400

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

CHG_CANON wrote:

You can buy new film from B&W, Amazon and KEH ... (show quote)

Thanks for the info. I'll pass it on.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

Wingpilot wrote:

He's currently looking at a Nikon FM ... with a Nikon 43-86mm zoom lens. I don't know if this is a good deal or not.

Check Ebay for what they have sold for. Assuming the lens is the 11-element Ai version, image quality will be very good.