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The best 35mm and 120mm film

There is three main basis with film. they are : color negative film, black and white film and transparency. 

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Color negative film is the most popular and the easiest to get.  It's particularly useful when digitizing film, as it's relatively easy to handle the orange mask and negative tones of color negatives. This type of film is developed using the C-41 process available in labs everywhere.

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Black and white negative film is the most popular with film photography students. its easy developed and processed at home. But, film can almost be thought of as synonymous with black & white photography, as the rich tones make the mono effect truly pop.

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Transparency film was most popular with professionals because as there wasn't an intermediate printing stage to lower the quality and add to the cost. but its not as popular now so its harder to get. All transparency film is developed using the E-6 process that's widely availably in labs.

 

Top five 35mm film

It has vivid colors and low contrast. Its color negative, exposure is 36, speed ISO 400, chemistry C-41.

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Prose:

- perfect for skin tones

- flexible for lighting conditions 

Cons:

- only comes in pack of three or five

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PHOTOGRAPHER: blueskyandhardrock

UPLOADED: 2013-05-01

it has sharp, fine-grained and modern all purpose color neg film. Exposure is 36, speed ISO 100, chemistry C-41.

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Prose:

- ultra fine grain 

- high saturation

-regular C-41 processing 

- not too expensive 

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It's the black and white film you can get developed at your local print lab. Exposure is 36, Speed ISO 400, chemistry C-41.

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Prose:

- ultra fine grain

- wide exposure latitude 

- regular C-41 processing

Cones:

- dye grain not silver grain

PHOTOGRAPHER: sierravictor

UPLOADED: 2017-11-10

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PHOTOGRAPHER: weidong

UPLOADED: 2011-11-25

Iconic 'documentary' film that still appeals today. Its black and white film with exposure 36, speed ISO 400, chemistry black and white. 

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Prose:

- iconic stratus

- tolerant and versatile 

- grainy, gritty look

Cones:

- too grainy for fine art types

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PHOTOGRAPHER: eyecon

UPLOADED: 2010-12-07

Availability is becoming patchy. Its color transparency with exposure 36, speed ISO 50, and chemistry E-6

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Prose: 

- super saturated colors

- fine grain and resolution

Cones:

- not exactly subtle 

- getting expensive 

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PHOTOGRAPHER: peropero

UPLOADED: 2012-03-01

Top five 120mm film

It has sharp, saturated, fine grained alternative to transparency film. It has exposure of 12, speed ISO100 and chemistry C-41.

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Prose:

- ultra fine grain

- high saturation

- regular C-41 

- no too expensive

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PHOTOGRAPHER: hervinsyah

UPLOADED: 2017-10-09

It is still a serious proposition for commercial portrait photographs. Exposure is 12, Speed ISO 160, chemistry C-41.

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Prose:

- optimized for portraits

- designed with scanning in mind

- regular C-41 processing

- available in lots of sizes

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PHOTOGRAPHER: vikkki

UPLOADED: 2014-10-24

It is classic medium-speed emulsion for fine-art photographers. Exposure is 12, Speed ISO 125 and chemistry is black and white.

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Prose:

- fine grain

- legendary tonality 

- sharp and contrast

Cones:

- not Ilford's latest film tech

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PHOTOGRAPHER: vince-bj

UPLOADED: 2014-08-30

It taps into the sixties cinema zeitgeist. Exposure is 12, speed ISO 100, chemistry black and white.

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Prose:

- classic mono 'look'

- fine grain and contrast

- versatile processing

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 PHOTOGRAPHER: Emma Burlet

Its expensive, super saturated and opinion dividing classic. It is color transparency with exposure of 12, speed ISO 50, chemistry E-6.

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Prose:

- super saturated colors

- fine grain and resolution 

Cones:

- not exactly natural looking

- slow speed can be difficult to manage 

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PHOTOGRAPHER: johbeil

UPLOADED: 2019-06-11

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