Which film stock should you buy?

[@teocrawford]

Hello hello, I hope this video can help you find the right film stock for you! :)) Also much love to Squarespace for the continuous support of the channel!

[@TBandz-fr1io]

where can I buy the films

[@mahsa27]

Hey teh video is amazing and I have nothing today jus the information that you provided us is incredible. I recently decided to practice film photography and your channel is so informative.

[@kodo2795]

You're like the Bob Ross of film photography, very calm and soothing while also very informative and a great teacher, I've learned a lot from your videos as a newbie to film photography. Thank you for continuing to make these videos ^ ^

[@azul4904]

that’s a beautiful comparison wow, so true

[@lgude]

I shot my first roll of film in 1946 in a camera I got with 3 cereal box tops with assistance from my mother. I remember my disappointment with the small grey images. But I watched your video as a beginner because the films available now are very different so it’s all new!

[@marisawu3646]

Thank you for all your disclaimers. Sometimes some content creators tend to take for granted that their audience already knows them (i.e. scanning differences/ prices etc..) so thank you for your hard work🤓

[@Benr2]

great video so far teo! I've struggled a long time choosing the right film stock for me, because I didn't want to spend too much money. Nowadays my go to film stock also is the good old gold 200

[@aarontimm]

I'm not 100% sure since I haven't bought any lately, but I believe that Fuji 200 is repackaged gold 200. I heard they switched back briefly to their old recipe but then switched back again to the repackaged gold. All this to say that, for me (USA), it's a good bit cheaper to get that than actual gold 200. B&H sells the Fuji for about $22 whereas gold is about $30, both in the 3 pack variety mind you

[@Benr2]

@@aarontimmthanks for the information, but in my country, a 3 pack of gold costs around 18$, so its very cheap

[@sharushanmugamani4441]

@@Benr2 where do u live, maybe I need to make a trip to this place👀

[@greysonosterberg7101]

Your channel is like asmr I just like listening to your music/voice

[@MariaNik24]

I’ve watched the video twice , coz your voice is so deep and calming. Couldn’t keep the info in my brain) I’m a beginner and I really like your channel! Thanks for the tips!

[@eddy_martinez98]

The forest photos you took on portra 400 are insane! Great shots.

[@left9096]

Fomapan is often only mentioned as a budget option, but i shot some last summer and really liked the results, it has a bit of a constrasty older look to it. I honestly prefer Foma over HP5 and it's less than half the price. Highly recommend.

[@fxhummel]

I only ever shoot HP5 to push it to 800, whereas with foma 400 I like it at box speed. And pushed. And pulled. I've also used almost all of their other emulsions and like them very much. And as you said, at a fraction of the price if Ilford. I've yet to test Kentmere in detail.

[@MichaelMasaki]

Thanks for everything you do for the community! This is definitely a video to bookmark and revisit when making film purchase decisions. Kudos

[@suzelion6729]

bro, i know nothing about photography and videography but aside from ur knowledge and photography skill, this video u made is so goood! the transitions, music volume gosh, this video itself is an ART

[@feng8714]

Your photos are radiating happiness! So lovely and calm :)

[@neeravnaik]

I agree with going with kodak gold as it is a very good film overall with good balance of nice grain and color. I am loving cinestill 400d a lot too and could be another good option if portra is expensive

[@viewsfromthe519]

And flicfilm’s 250D (same as cinestill 400D) is also a nice option and cheaper than cinestill

[@TheJanaRina]

Here I am wanting to simply educate myself on film photography and then I end up finding your channel... Such a great video, very informative, great visuals and story telling and above all a very relaxing and soothing voice :D

[@ReimannPembroke]

Great super informational video for beginners! I personally love Ultramax! It has that punchy look if you expose it correctly and leans more into pastel tones when you overexpose it a couple stops! I just shot the Lomo CN films for the first time and I can’t wait to share the results!

[@viewsfromthe519]

Agree, i love ultramax 😎

[@bayleighrobinson2710]

Little bit of info about the Kodak Aerocolour (aka PoPho Luminar 100). It is made for Photogrammetry, a process for pulling 3d information out of a 2d image (like drawing cartography lines and making maps), it does this with a UV absorbing filter on top of the regular film, so when it is developed, you get a regular image, as well as a UV information spectrum (a bit like listening to a song as well as looking at the waveform at the same time). Other companies buy this stock, rip the UV filter out of it and re-sell it for cheap.

[@rival.77]

Woah, thanks buddy

[@dylanslabach]

I’m SLOWLY getting into Film and this was a helpful refresher. I’ve been a photographer for a while, but the jump from digital to film is a little daunting. Thanks for the bit!

[@GrainPaint]

I think Fujicolor 200 is the absolute best beginner film. Super pleasing colors, sharp and cheap! I did hear its basically Gold 200. Maybe its luck (or lack of it), but I consistently get better results out of Fujicolor 200 than Gold 200. Great video by the way Teo!

[@Saleto]

But I heard the new Fuji C200 is actually the Kodak Gold 200.

[@GrainPaint]

@@Saleto I heard this too, still… I get better results from Fuji

[@Happy35More]

This is true based on the data sheet

[@timothyisidro4215]

Fuji Superia Premium 400 is my absolute favorite film. I wish I bought more when I went to Japan

[@JokiW]

Same here, it is fantastic. I think Teo's description of it is spot on too.

[@benbunch4159]

I shoot a lot of half frame and love shooting with Ektar because of the sharpness and fine grain and boldness you mentioned. I also want to give you a massive shoutout for trying to include Pro Image 100 even though you haven't shot it. It's super overlooked and shouldn't be.

[@Scteam2000]

The reason film is still used for medium to high altitude aerial mapping is actually really interesting! From my understanding, the cost to get the digital equipment with similar resolution capabilities needed is actually a whole lot more than the film equipment. This is for two reasons. The first being there’s already a lot of equipment in existence that shoots film, so buying new digital equipment isn’t nearly as cost effective as using already existing equipment. The other reason is that with the low grain of aero chrome, getting a digital sensor with that same resolution is that much more expensive. (I believe that the equipment shoots with the equivalent of medium format or even 4x5, so the resolution will be that much more. I could be wrong on that though.) Take that with a grain of salt though, that’s just what I remember from research I did half a year ago. Really interesting though, considering that us regular photographers spend MORE on film than digital!

[@NicholasSchreifels]

I don’t consider myself a beginner, but I found this video, quite enjoyable to watch and he has a lot of great info

[@niconicofei]

Just got my Minolta Capios 25 and super nervous about investing in the right film stock for test shots. This video helped narrow it down for me! Definitely gonna have to start with Gold 200 but I'm interested in playing around with Ektar 100 and CineStill 800T. Thanks for all the information! Love your approach to your videos, it's relaxing and very educational :)

[@hoviman1033]

Nice video! Currently a beginner and this serves a looot. I'm by coincidence you see this, I'm traveling to Merida, Mexico and I wondered what film could be better. I'm trying Fuji color 200 but waiting to see if maybe some orange film or green with fuji

[@thammertv]

Thank you! This is exactly what I needed for getting back into film. I’ve shot a few rolls here and there, but in the past less selected them based on the ISO I wanted and that’s it. This was a very helpful rundown.

[@JamiesCameras]

Teo, you take beautiful photos… I was excited just to see the sample photos in this video!

[@naazneenahmed]

Beautiful shots. Was a delight to watch. Thank you!

[@ArchiesLens]

I've been obsessed with Kodak Ultramax 400 lately (for portraits), and I'll have to try out cyberpunk 640 one day looks really cool.

[@FallenArtemie]

Portra 400 and Fuji 400H were my first rolls and I love them both dearly. Now that 400H is dead, I wanted to try out other film stocks to see what colors they bring out and your guide has been very helpful in finding my next preferred stock. I'll try out Kodak Gold!

[@stequeen]

You speak so easy and calm. Thank u!

[@workinprogress9483]

You should definitely try Ektachrome Teo, it performs really well at night, punchy blacks etc. And holding slides is always just a little bit like magic, it also has very nice greens, but tends to be a little on the colder side

[@dingus153]

Hell yeah this is exactly the video I've been looking for, I just bought myself an OM-10 as my first film camera and have been totally overwhelmed by the choices!

[@LukeMcAdam]

Interesting, UltraMax is my favourite Kodak film, not so keen on Gold. Just depends what you want out of a film I guess. Love the look of the shots you got on all the different films though.

[@jendavideos]

I recommend Fomapan, it has very nice contrast and overall feel, I like even more than Ilford. And it's made in the Czech Republic, which is my home home country. It's the cheapest option here. Foma also makes other films, such as Retropan and Ortho.

[@ARM963]

I shoot a lot of Kodak Vision 3 250D. It’s cheaper than color negative film and cost for ENC2 develop and scan in Thailand not much expensive than C41 ( C41 ~4 USD ECN2 ~5 USD). It’s very good color good skintone and fine grain.

[@Alfred.Petersson]

For me, (having been in this hobby for 2 years now), bulk loaded fomapan is the winner and I've finished an entire 100ft of fomapan 200. The reason is simple, when bulk loading it is dirt cheap and works absolutely fine providing fine images. (Yes I also develop in rodinal 1+50 and 1+100 for the most part because I am just that cheap). If I want anything a little special I will buy an occasional single roll or two of Ilford ortho 80, Delta, SFX or even Kodak TRI-X if I'm feeling really fancy. But maybe 80% of all I have shot is Fomapan 200. I have also shot 2 rolls of color once, one of FujiColor C200, and one of 2004 expired Extrafilm 200. I don't (yet) develop C41 or print RA4 at home so it is just *so* much more expensive to me. As with B&W I can go all the way from undeveloped film to paper print with just two trips to my darkroom.

[@phraze86]

Love your content, your style! Very inspiring! Keep going 👍

[@mnltphts]

I always keep a roll of Kodak Gold 200 on hand. It’s a solid, dependable film that I’ve shot with my Minolta X-700, and it never lets me down.

[@honeybee6978]

One of the best videos on the topic and really helpful as well.

[@antoniomazarekic6673]

Hi Teo, just wanted to say thank you for your amazing tips and for the content overall...i just recently switched from digital to film photography and your videos helped a lot from just technical tips to your own perspective you are sharing here!! So just thanks! 😁😁

[@jpbogan_art]

Beautiful video. Thank you so much

[@niallmorrissey3715]

FFilm for aerial use is very likely recalibrated for the blue light which is more intense at altitude. There may be additional yellow in the colour layers to counter that.

[@thealaris]

Acros 100 is not only has smaller grain that makes it ectra sharp, its formula is aslo very stable when used in long exposures, and doesn't need to be compensated that much

[@emotown1]

Not so good if you want to do long time exposures then. Reciprocity failure can be a good thing for that.

[@thealaris]

@@emotown1 Oh really? Sounds interesting, is there some articles about how reciprocity failure can help with that? I'd love to read about that

[@emotown1]

@@thealaris Well, it's pretty self evident really. With a normal film you get reciprocity failure at exposures of a second or more. All that means is that if your light meter suggests an exposure of, say, five seconds, you really need to give it double that to get the right density on your negative. Which can be an advantage if you are deliberately trying for long exposure times - like that classic 'smoky water' effect you get with long exposures of waterfalls. So, with Fuji Acros and a ND 4 filter , f/22, I might only be able to get a max of 5 seconds exposure time without being overexposed. With a different 100 iso film that DOES suffer from RFailure (say, FP4 plus) I could, in similar circumstances do that shot at a ten second exposure without being overexposed. With most astrphotography, OTOH, Fuji Acros is nice because of it's low RFailure. You know , star trails, and all that. It all depends on what you're doing - that's my point really. You don't need to read any articles, just have a think about it. Wasn't ragging on Fuji Acros particularly - I love it! I just love Delta 100 even more, lol.

[@thealaris]

@@emotown1 Oh, I just rarely shoot long exposure during the day, and when I do I use ND 1000 or higher to get 15min+ exposure, so reciprocity failure was more of an issue in this case, that's why it's always great to hear different point of view, really appreciate that! And yeah I tend to like Delta 100 lil bit more also, at least from the price point of perspective

[@emotown1]

@@thealaris ND 1000 ! Yikes! Actually when I said ND 4 , I meant four stops reduction. So I'm guessing you're using what I would call an ND 10 filter. (2 to the power of ten is 1024 i.e. a brightness difference of 1000 is the same as a brightness difference of ten stops). Yeah, I think my ND filter is ND 6 (six stops), and I find with a fast (f/2 or faster) lens I can still compose through it (just) on my 35mm slr. Anyway, 15 mins sounds cool - I've never gone anywhere near that long. Ok, well, nice chatting.

[@FlowzenKing]

Want to start with film again. I like your video style and just subscribed now. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

[@diaryofito]

i have overbought so many stocks just because i didn’t know what i liked and wanted to try all of them 😭 i’m still not sure what is my favorite among them, but i love trying new ones for the excitement of wondering what it’ll look like :)

[@_vivienne]

Really love this vid of yours, Teo.. super informative for a beginner like me. Thank you❤

[@AndyKunkel]

Fujifilm 400 was my first journy into film. It's a solid film stock with a pleasing vintage look.

[@finn4240]

0:25 hahah actually thanks a lot for this warning teo! still thumbs up because of apprication

[@hmuz8388]

commiting to bnw for 2024! Got bricks of tri-x, t-max, ilford, fomapan and my fujifilm bnw recipes ofc haha👌

[@MariahRayneArt]

This was super helpful. Thank you so much!

[@glimmeringkoi]

Thank you for such a nice and educative photos. Thanks for giving so many great examples.

[@vladconstantinminea]

For BW film, I would recommend to a beginner the ILFORD XP2 super 400. The nice thing with this film is that you can develop it like color film in a photo shop (C41 process). It's also pretty cheap

[@DavidGor]

Kodak Pro 100, I waited for this mention. I shouted a lot on this film about 20 years ago, when studied photography at the university. At that moment it was the best price/quality film, overperforming Gold, Agfa, and Fuji.

[@Archi_lasch]

Wonderful shots and beautiful voice) Thanks for this video, I've decided which film I should try next

[@robdrelich8563]

Fuji across II is an incredible film for dynamic range and contrast. And fine sharpness as you pointed out. Cinestill 250XX is another incredible black and white cinematography film with incredible dynamic range. Rollei retro 400S is what it sounds like. High contrast. Great range and looks incredible especially shot through old glass. These three are all contrasty films. Unlike tmax which frankly I find flat and boring Developing c-41 films like portra or cinestill in ECN2 PROCESS gives great saturation. But I also like to overexpose portra 400 by 0.5 to 1 stop. Also gives super saturation. Great video btw (perhaps you can tell I'm not a complete beginner 😅). Kodak gold 200 gives a nice warm retro look in general but lacks dynamic range in the underexposed parts of a shot

[@Jerry10939]

Get the right ISO speed for the lighting conditions. Consumer grade film is fine for general photography. Don’t worry about professional film. It isn’t that much better. Especially since if you scan the film you can work it in photoshop or whatever program you use. 100/125 ISO for daylight, 400 for action and lower light and darker days with overcast. 800/1600/3200 for low light conditions. Now you can go with 25-50 ISO for some studio and bright daylight use and for making large prints .

[@benodaboy]

My dad always swore buy fugifilm - it's easy to get for us in Australia and he always said there was something about the colors he loved

[@cissa0024]

I think it would be cool to see more of the process after you shoot the photos

[@Carrotsandbeans]

Fujicolor 100 has always been my favorite.

[@jw48335]

Ilford XP2 is a color negative black and white film that is often easier for new beginning photographers to use. Fomopan aside from being cheap as a very low blue sensitivity so it helps new photographers keep their skies from blowing out, so it is exceptional at showing clouds against blue sky.

[@teocrawford]

Ohhh wow, good tips for anyone interested in B&W, thank you! :))

[@jw48335]

@@teocrawfordWelcome - XP2 is also fantastic at holding highlights, in my opinion better than any regular black and white film. Since it is color negative, the automatic dust and scratch removal at lab scanners will work on it as well, which could also be a benefit to new shooters. Cheers.

[@davesnapsyou]

I used to shoot on Fujifilm 200 and Agfa Vista plus 200 (it's a cheap color film too). And of course I could try Kodak Gold 200 as well.

[@_Just_Some1]

Good times when Agfa Vista cost £1 in the UK!

[@davesnapsyou]

@@_Just_Some1 I think it was around £3 in my country but it was still the cheapest filmroll you could get.

[@JasonLorette]

Thanks for this! I just bought a Nikon FG and replaced the batteries and threw in some Fujifilm 400...time will tell. I'm very much a digital guy but wanted to experiment.

[@ceckowicz4262]

Im shooting on fomapan 100. Its the cheapest, but i just love the feel that came from the film shotted on my smena symbol cam. Its also maded in my country so its very popular here, and film labs knows about it a lot, so they can made always perfect pictures from it

[@MrSembastian]

It's very nicely graded. Looks nice and vintage, beautiful colors! Unfortunately, you can't really judge what the photos look like. You'd have to turn the video color back to completely neutral to see the actual look of the photos .

[@kevinokai]

Is it me or all the photos look heavily edited? Hard to tell the differences between most of the photos/ film stocks. Just wondering.

[@kevinokai]

@@igotwect3174 no I don’t find the channel untrustworthy. That’s a stretch. It’s just difficult to know how the film stocks look like natively when it’s edited because the scans are sure not going to look like this unless you want to have this look and further edit them.

[@igotwect3174]

@@kevinokai okay, thank you!

[@ahmadbani1452]

To he fair, films look beautiful om their own and the way you use each film stock and even process it looks great without editing if you know what you are doing. Ofc, films can also be edited after scanning. But I think if you're very used to digital photography it's easy to find film pictures to look like they've been edited

[@Drewqes]

Unless you have the full image it’s hard to tell, usually with my film I do a contrast and exposure adjustment maybe small saturation boost but that’s it

[@GoDezyner02]

I've used a film camera before and I think these are original. The camera he's using is a pretty advanced version of mine, where I can't set ISO, Aperture, or any other settings. Ngl, fully developed film photos are pretty good in quality when shot correctly. It's just the filters and other technological advancements that are made to mimic the effect of a film camera, which makes these photos in the video feel edited. I can not say if he edited, but I can surely say Film Cameras produce pretty great photos for a camera made out of old-school tech.

[@Rickky808]

Unfortunately 😢 the fujifilm c41/color negative line is basically discontinued. If you find Fuji 400 and 200 is now Kodak film if it says made in USA or Rochester NY.

[@jayendrabangari]

this video was super helpful, thank you!

[@tomislavmiletic_]

Once upon a time Fujicolor 100 was also available in Europe, kinda a cheaper ISO 100 alternative, like ColourPlus from Kodak, and that film was for a short time a saving grace since Fujifilm Superia 100 was discontinued, which was my all-time favourite colour negative film, a great allrounder.

[@BobbyCash814]

I didn’t know PoPho was the same a Santa Color! I’ve been meaning to get some Santa, but I’ll look into PoPho

[@davidellinsworth3299]

Film Washi X is also the same thing, as well as Flic Film Elektra. All are Kodak Aerocolor IV 125

[@Sam-qj4bi]

I have also found the Kodak Aerocolour sold as Aero 100 for pretty cheap

[@_Just_Some1]

Love this video. Thank you for making it.

[@tommillard4193]

I always use agfa apx 400 for black and white it's fantastic I usually push it to 800 iso that it takes very well as it can be pushed more than that

[@beckymrsn]

So ein Video habe ich gebraucht. 1000 Dank und liebe Grüße aus Berlin :)

[@alexandralaguna]

thank you so much for this helpful and visually beautiful video!

[@tomschwiehn]

Thank you! Very comprehensive!

[@michaelechteld]

Very, very helpful, thanks very much!

[@Roset595]

Currently practicing loading a scrap roll of film over and over and over so I never get a blank roll again. I think I'll try Kodak color gold next.

[@RahulAhire]

After watching this I've two thoughts first being I understand the boom of film photography is partly due to people wanting to explore the old tech or in general go back to experience the nostalgia. Second is that the I'm really turned off by the fact that each film stock has a very little difference. I'd much rather shoot in RAW and the post process to make it look what I want (even film like look) even film scans need digital processing in some case (noise reduction as example). So I'm now more skeptical that I was before about film personally. An average person (even the pros) wont to able to tell the difference on the screen if blind test is performed. Oh yes, I haven't even accounted for the fact of managing the hassle of developing film.

[@wujiali1117]

Cyberpunk is made in China, one of the cheapest re-spooled Kodak Vision 3 option if not the cheapest one. It's boss is a very friendly chubby dude. He offers me his personal WeChat when I experienced light leek on several re-used canister film including his that ultimately proves to be a camera issue. Highly recommend if you were in China.

[@FiggyABQ]

I’m new to film photography. So happy I came across your channel. Is there a film you would recommend for a vacation to Amsterdam? Would love to take advantage of the mix of color I hope to see.

[@filiplipkowski4963]

Kodak vision stocks are also worth of mentioning especially that there's a lot of sellers who sells this type of film with removed carbon layer (remjet) which allows you to process it in basic c-41 (even tho I am developing this film by myself in original chemistry. Also in most cases that's the cheapest non expired color film stock you can get. I'm buying mine for around 7 dollars per 36 exp. From my experience this film has the quality of ektar of portra

[@filiplipkowski4963]

Plus you can get tungsteen balanced film (with lower light temperature balance) It's life saving if you want to shoot indoors or during the night without yellow cast

[@roses_1707]

Your channel is so calming please dont ever stop. I want to ask, though, how come you use 35mm film, which is small (?) but then you have large photos?

[@hridoyhara_]

Another awesome video! Really informative and helpful for beginners like me. By the way, could you please tell me where did you find the Paterson tank & film developing kit for developing at home? I searched the whole internet but couldn't find

[@teocrawford]

Glad the video could help you! :) Ohh I don't develop at home, only scan, so I don't own a kit.

[@JonasHagenlund]

i have used agfa apx 400 and loved it i dont know why it isnt more recommended but i definetely recommend it

[@teocrawford]

Right?! I feel like it's pretty underrated - it's wonderful though :,D

[@wydx120]

I'm looking to gift a nice roll of film for Christmas, intended for underwater photography. As I understand, the water shifts the light towards blues and absorbs much of it even at shallow depths; do you think Ultramax 400 is appropriate for the job, or should I gift Portra 800 instead?

[@ThanhThanh-it1pm]

kodak pro image is kind of cheap portra, very sharp, green accurate than gold, ultramax, color plus

[@gmb902]

Nice job! Thank you for the review of films:) Can you recommend some foto lab in Wien?

[@pinarguler9363]

I'm a beginner and I have a 40 years old camera. I love it so much but the flash doesn't work. I am very pleased with the outdoor shots. but I also want to have some indoor shoots under sufficient light. should I use iso800? would it work without flash?

[@JohanKhoo]

My all time favourite is Fujicolor Premium 400 - used to get it at Bic Camera…. Now so hard to find.

[@MiaShorten]

I quite like using cinestill 50D, it comes out quite nice

[@leoframol6096]

Thank you for the video I found an old camera (olympus pen ees2) from my grandma and now I'm just flerting with the idea of trying it out. Another thing is... really liked the songs in the video, do u have a playlist or something?

[@shabek]

Wonderful video … really appreciate your time bro …

[@FilipLunt]

Would it be a decent idea to send the film roll to a lab and ask for the digital pictures to still be in “color negative” colors? Thinking if it would be worth having full control of the color editing in Lightroom..🤔

[@edatwork]

Should have put inform hp5 in as an example for b&w, which is the classic one.

[@FranciscoAlvarezTV]

Teo, I'm starting to get into film by request for my wedding couples. I'd like to achieve a very 'paparazzi' like look in black and white as well as a 'luxurious' dreamy look for color. Knowing that little amount of information (lol), which stocks would you recommend for those, respectively?

[@Orangienblue]

How do you edit film?

[@megha4785]

you should totally have a photography trip in europe!

[@marcuscook5145]

Rest in peace Fujifilm Superia. At least outside of Japan anyway. It was excellent for how cheap at was. As long as you overexposed it by a stop it to keep shadows up, it was 95% as beautiful as Portra for Ultramax prices.

[@alexis_keith]

Literally after this video, went to B&H to buy some film (online of course). Got some 127 and 35 🎞️

[@Srpv-kb9ns]

Hi Teo! I love your photos 😮❤ a beginner here 😅 for days at the beach and the city with some very bright sun and unexpected clouds do you recommend kodak gold 200 or ultramax 400 film?