Photography heads...

[eastcoastrider27]

Do you use slide or print film?

What's the difference?

What's better to use if you plan on scanning photos onto a computer, or using photos in newspaper & magazine articles?

I'm assuming that print film is better for making enlarged images, right?

Thanks for the help.

[Carl]

The most dramatic difference between slide and print film is the exposure latititude. Print film is very forgiving as you can be 2 to 3 stops off on your exposure and still come out with a decent picture. Slide film, on the other hand, you must be spot on with your exposure. Anything less or more then a half stop under or over exposed and your shit is gonna look awful. Blown out or way to dark.

The tones in slide film are far superior to any print film or digital. Your shadows are black and your highlights pop in beautiful rich tones.

As far as whats better to use then its all about what your shooting and for who. Scanning onto a computer for yourself with no deadline then i would use slide film (if you think you have the technical side of photography down somewhat). I would also use slide for magazine submissions. Newspapers used to rely solely on print film, until digital took over. Print is also cheaper and more efficient.

And no, slide film is much better for making enlarged prints. A properly exposed slide of Fuji Provia can make gallery sized print (up to say about a 40" by 50" inch print, i dont know the exact converstion) and still look grainless and gorgeous. Print film usually tops out at around 16" by 20".

[mlproject]

i have a few friends that have been shooting slide film and processing it as color. getting some pretty interesting shots and wild colors.

i definitely need to learn how to shoot. too many times i need stuff in my work and no one can get it right.

have any good resources carl? i'm a total noob, so from as dumb as possible to the more technical.

[Cue]

Newspapers I have worked on used Print until digi took over. The daily papers I worked at did all their own processing too.

Mags I have worked on/ now work on prefer digi - remember the images will only be printed at 300dpi.

Most still have a slide scanner and will accept transparencies, but due to the speed and ease of digi it seems to be king. Still, the old school art editors and designers will like traditional methods - esp if they work on a higher-end fashion/style type mag

[airfrogusmc]

Kodachrome is and has been the standard in tranparency film since its birth in the 1930s. I've tested allot of color film but the stuff that had the most acurate color was Kodachrome 25 professional. Its no longer made. Kodachrome 64 is still being made. The advantage 25 had over 64 is Kodachrome 64 doesn't have the same sharpness that 25 had in reds. Another major advantage of shooting with Kodachrome is its the only archival color film. It also has much thinner emulsion layers than E-6 films so the image is sharper.

[chrisj]

yeah man

x processing..

shooting slide and then processing with c41(negative film)

i only shoot slide now.. just because with my horizon im too lazy/cheep to buy a light meter so i estimate all my shots .. and as carl said slide film gives u more leeway on exposure.

i also like the color saturation, grain, spectrum and resiliency of slide film.

with film becoming more exp to shoot.. ... im shooting less and less!

[chris_n]

actually slide film gives you less leeway.

[chrisj]

oh... im embarassed now... :/

anyways i do like shooting slide rather than negative.

[Flo]

I prefer slide on my medium format camera, and print on my Leica, it just has a certain feel to it that can't be beat. I also just took the plunge and got a digi back for my Hasselblad, so i'd say it really depends on your likes and dislikes, there's no "right" way to photography...

FLO

www.whatsupflo.com