Film type
In the world of analog photography, the 135 format film stands out as one of the most widely used and versatile film formats. The 135 format, also known as 35mm film, has been a photography staple for decades, providing photographers with a wide range of options to bring their creative visions to life. This article thoroughly explores the diverse types of 135 format films and also serves as a guide to let our newcomers understand more about the processing method required for each type of film.
Generally for 135 format film, the types of films can be split into 5 categories.
Color Negative Films, Black and White Negative Films, Color Reversal Films (Slide Films), Special Effect Films and also Motion Picture Film.
Color Negative Film:
- Color negative film is one of the most popular types. It creates negatives that can be transformed into colorful prints.
- It’s widely available and suitable for everyday photography.
- You’ll find various ISO speeds (ASA) for color negative film, ranging from 100 to 1600.
- One of the defining features of color negative films is their wide latitude, allowing for forgiving exposure and offering flexibility in various lighting conditions.
- Moreover, they are known for their rich and vibrant colors, making them ideal for everyday photography, portraits, landscapes, and street photography.
- Brands such as Kodak and Fujifilm are renowned for their quality color negative films, each offering distinct characteristics appreciated by photographers worldwide.
Possibly the most common and popular films you can find in the market right now. They are easy to use and they get the jobs done perfectly most of the time unless you accidentally expose the whole roll under sunlight. They are being sold everywhere so no need to worry about the expiry date.
They are quite rare these days due to their higher price point but that’s to be expected since these films are meant for professional portrait or landscape shoot. If you plan on trying them at some point, we highly recommend trying them on a good camera to fully maximize their potential.
These are some of the discontinued Kodak films, there are many more but sadly these are the only canisters I have in my collection. Some of them are still being sold in the market such as the Kodak Max 400 but they have probably expired for more than 10~20 years by now. Whether or not an expired film is safe to be used, we will share more about it later on, stay tuned.
Team Green has discontinued a lot of their color negative films lately and I believe the last ones standing are the ones in the photo above minus the Fujicolor Superia Xtra 400 since Fuji just announced the news of its discontinuation in April. If you ever get the chance or thinking to try a Fujicolor’s film, we highly recommend finding one that’s actually made in Japan such as the Fujicolor 100, Xtra 400 and Premium 400, they are still being sold.
This is how the canister of a disposable single use film camera looks when the internal film is taken out. After you’re done with shooting with a disposable camera, we highly recommend you to send the whole camera to us. We will open it on our side with professional tools and get the processing and scanning done for you.
Black and White Film:
- Black and white negative films hold a timeless allure, offering a classic and artistic aesthetic to photographs.
- Each black and white film produces results with different grain levels and contrast.
- These films render scenes in monochrome, capturing nuances of light and shadow with unparalleled elegance.
- Like color negative film, black and white film comes in different ISO speeds.
Foma Bohemia or Foma for short is one of the oldest companies that produces black and white film. In the market, you may sometimes notice that there are a lot of different packaging designs for their Fomapan lineup, that’s because Fomapan is available in a 30.5meter option. Some hobbyists and shops choose to bulk roll the film into empty canisters to further reduce the cost. Official Fomapan individual pack film doesn’t come with DX code which makes it tricky for a point and shoot camera’s user to use the film which is why some shops choose to attach the DX code on the canister when bulk loading so PnS users can join in the fun.
If Kodak is the most popular color film producer then Ilford is most likely the black and white counterpart. Ilford photo has a lot of black and white films that are still being produced as of this day.
Most of these mixed brand black and white films are actually produced in China, the cost for them are usually quite low. In Malaysia, you can usually purchase them at RM20 or below. Black and white film enjoyers will usually try as many as they can to test out the quality of those films and also to identify their grains and contrast profile. Once they find the one they like, they will most likely stick to the same film for a very long time.
Color Slide Film (Positive Film):
- Color reversal films, commonly referred to as slide films, offer a distinctive approach to color photography. Unlike color negative films, which produce negatives, slide films directly yield positive images on transparent film stock.
- The characteristics mentioned above make slide films ideal for projection and viewing with a light source, showcasing vibrant colors and high contrast.
- Slide films are rarer compared to the standard color negative film due to its high price but provides stunning colors and contrast once developed properly.
Special Effect Film:
- Infrared film takes photography into the ethereal realm. It captures light beyond the visible spectrum, resulting in dreamy, otherworldly effects. Greenery appears white, skies turn dark, and unexpected details emerge.
- Lomography Films embraces imperfections, light leaks, and serendipity. Over the years, they’ve created several popular specialty films such as Lomochrome Purple, Lomochrome Redscale, Lomochrome Turquoise, each with their own unique flavor.
Each has its own unique characteristic, the vanilla Lomography 100, 400, 800 films are their most natural color tone film. For those who look for films that offer dramatic color tone and effect, do consider checking out their other films such as Lomography purple. Some research may be required before using those special effects films.
Motion Picture Color Negative Film:
- They are originally film stock meant for movie making but when they are cut and loaded into a 35mm film cartridge, it allows the user to get photos that have an interesting color tone similar to the color tone of the 90s movie.
- The most popular motion picture color film at the moment is Kodak Vision 3, the most common variations are 50d, 250d, 200t and 500t
- The D behind the ISO/ASA number stands for daylight. Daylight film is designed to be used in natural light conditions. It is balanced for the color temperature of daylight, which is around 5600 Kelvin (K). When shooting with daylight motion picture color film outdoors, the colors are rendered accurately, and the white balance appears neutral. If you use daylight film under tungsten lighting (which has a lower color temperature), your photos will have an intense orange hue due to the mismatch between the film and the light source.
- The T behind the ISO/ASA number stands for tungsten. Tungsten film is balanced for tungsten light, which is a warm, yellowish artificial light commonly used in studios and indoor settings. Tungsten light has a color temperature of around 3200 Kelvin (K). When shooting with tungsten film indoors or under artificial lighting, the colors appear natural. If you use tungsten film in daylight, your photos will have a blue tint due to the mismatch with the higher color temperature of natural light.
Processing method
C41
C-41 is the standard process for developing color negative film. It has been the industry standard since 1972 and is widely used for color negative films from various manufacturers. The C-41 process involves the development of three emulsion layers—cyan, magenta, and yellow—each responding to a specific color in the visible spectrum. When you get your film processed using C-41, the resulting film is a negative, meaning that the darkest spots on the film are those areas that were brightest in the source. The colors are inverted: cyan for red, magenta for green, and yellow for blue. Keep in mind that due to the long-term instability of dyes, C-41 negatives can fade or color-shift over time, so proper storage is essential to maintain their quality.
B&W
As the name suggests, black and white processing is meant for black and white films. Once a black and white film roll is processed, the film negative will be in a monochrome state so it’s easy to identify whether a post-processed film negative is a color film or a black and white film.
E6
The E-6 process is a chromogenic photographic process used for developing Kodak Ektachrome, Fuji Provia Velvia and other color reversal films, these films are also known as slide films. E6 process is getting rarer these days due to the rarity of the film that requires E6 process and also the price of the chemical required. Most labs that offer E6 processing will usually hold on to your slide film for some time until they accumulate more quantity to process altogether in one go to lower the cost. Don’t be surprised if it takes more than a month for the lab to send the digital images file back to you.
ECN2
ECN-2 processing is a specialized film development method primarily used for motion picture films such as the Kodak Vision 3 and Fuji Eterna. One of the challenges with motion picture film is the presence of the rem-jet layer. Remjet, short for “remove by water jet” is a carbon powder-coated layer on the base of motion picture film that’s meant to protect the base from scratches, light piping and to reduce static and halation of highlights.
How to identify what type of processing a film needs?
- Inspect the box. Most of the time, the processing method or the info regarding the type of the film is presented on the box.
- Inspect the canister. If you accidentally threw away the box, usually the canister will also have info regarding the film.
- Message us through whatsapp and we will gladly assist you with identifying what type of processing method your film needs.
This sums up most of the important details regarding film type and processing method. If there are any suggestions regarding what other info that can be added to further improve the articles we shared or if you have any feedback in general, you are more than welcome to reach out to us through whatsapp or our social media.
