Basic Film Questions

[Bosch]

Good morning,

We're never going to be high-end photographers, but we are going to purchase a Reefmaster RC Pro 33mm. Is 400 the recommended film speed?

We rented this camera when we went to Bonaire a few years ago and had acceptable success with it. We'll be going to Cayman in a week.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Footslogger]

2 questions ...

Do you have a flash/strobe of any kind ??

Do you plan on printing your pics ??


If the answers to the above are YES, I would suggest a slower film (ISO) speed ...something more like ISO 100. You will see a noticeable difference in the grainyness of your pics, especially if you enlarge them.

 

[stu_in_fl]

i would recommend that you consider digital instead of film (unless you are really set on a film camera)....there are so many benefits e.g. instant feedback and not being limited to 24 or 36 shots !

 

[oly5050user]

i would recommend that you consider digital instead of film (unless you are really set on a film camera)....there are so many benefits e.g. instant feedback and not being limited to 24 or 36 shots !

Take into account film costs and develop/printing..Getting a digital cuts those costs to pennies..savings can translate into spending more on a better digital system and difference is made up on 1 trip..Film has its place but for the usual user digital is by far easier and less expensive..Getting so that film is for pro's and for images that cannot be produced digitally..I use both ,check my gallery and look for stats on bottom of screen and see if you can tell digital from film..

 

[joewr]

Well....

If film is your choice AND you are new to uw photography, I recommend iso 400. Why? Because it gives you greater depth of field and eases up on the focus problems. If you are just making photos for your album, you will never notice the difference.

And if you want to make an enlargement, an in focus picture with a very small amount of graininess is better than an out of focus photo. When you are more proficient at estimating distances, try a slower film. I believe in instant gratification where possible.

Just my take on matters...

joewr--whose life is about iso 10 when diving...slow, man, slow...

 

[Bosch]

Thanks for the replies. We bought the camera with an external flash attachment. And we'll probably not be enlarging many of the prints, they're just for albums. Truth be told, this was all my wife's idea, and I'm just kind of along for the ride.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

First of all, it's 35mm film, not 33.

But I agree with the replies that stress the use of digital capture over film for all the reasons stated.

If, for some reason, you are dead set on using film, the newest 400 ISO films are actually less grainy than the older 100 ISO films so they would work well and give you an additional couple of stops. In almost all circumstances, I would recommend having a strobe with you, even though you my want to shoot some photos that do not use the strobe. You can always turn it off, but like they used to say in the old west, it's better to have a six shooter and not need it than need it and not have it.

As for the ISO rating of film, the major film producers made dramatic strides in reducing grain in higher speed films. To be honest, some of us in the end of our film days, were actually trying to process to gain some of the grain back. Personally, especialy in black and white, I like grain. Also, remember, film grain does not really look like digital noise, contrary to popular myth. It can be a useful artistic tool, but in all honesty, you would be hard pressed to find much grain in a top end professional 400 ISO film

Jeff