Jason Randolph asked:
> Which "over the counter" (a.k.a., easily attainable) brand/type of film
> is best for all around color and possible enlargement to 8x10 quality?
> [...] if you had to rely on one roll, what would it be?
Argh! I'd have to answer a question with a question: what
kind of shooting do you do most often? Because the film
that makes the best "all around" film for me might be beatable
given a different set of priorities and trade-offs.
I'd hate to be limited to one film, but sometimes I have to
make do with a reduced set of choices for financial reasons.
If I had to pick a singly colour film to buy, it'd be Fuji
Press 800 (aka Fuji Speria X-Tra 800 -- if you buy 36-exposure
rolls it's Press, if you buy 24-exposure rolls it's Superia
X-Tra). It might not be the best for really big prints, but
it's acceptable up to 8x12 at least, has a reasonable amount
of contrast (neither muddy nor "pow!", reasonably realistic),
gives me the speed I need for most of my shooting, can be
pushed for a bit more of what I shoot, and can be used
effectively in strong daylight as long as I can live without
really wide apertures (I don't like having options taken away
but realistically I can usually live with that; someone else
might find that a major hardship -- then again, someone else
might do almost no shooting in the dark w/o flash; that's
why I said it depends on what you shoot). I like the colour
rendition in general, in that it's my preference for many
subjects and fails to piss me off for the subjects where it's
not my favourite. (I'd rather shoot Agfa on most sunny days,
Konica when the sky is "Tar Heel blue", and Kodak Ektapress
(I gues that's Supra now?) for sunsets.)
So Fuji Press 800 is what I buy the most of, and what I usually
keep in my purse as a "just in case I need film" roll when
I'm not specifically planning to be shooting.
I guess another question, since you said you've been using
Fuji for a while, is: How's that workin' out for ya'? If
you actually like the Fuji look, you're halfway to your answer.
If you merely tolerate it, yeah, you definitely need to start
experimenting now.
Of course, I've assumed you wanted a C-41 film. If we're
talking E-6 ... well the decision gets a lot harder for me.
(We now pause for a personal whine: If only I could always
count on subjects always moving slowly enough and Kodachrome 25
were still being made! Guess I gotta use up those precious
rolls in the freezer while Kodachrome processing is still
available...)
> I also like the Kodak B&W C-41 process film since it's easy to shoot
> with, have developed.
I was about to say "ewww", but then I realized that I hadn't
tried the latest version so my opinion may be out of date.
(But my opinion wouldn't be definitive anyhow, since most
of my problem with it was that it looked like TMax and I like
Tri-X, but a *lot* of people really like TMax.)
But since you did mention chromagenic black and white, I'll
toss out my own question on that front: in the drug store
a couple of days ago I saw _Konica_ C-41 BW film. Anyone
care to give me a sneak preview of what to expect when I get
aroiund to trying it?
-- Glenn
