Film isn't dead. Honestly, it’s arguably more alive than it was a decade ago, mostly because people are tired of the clinical, hyper-sharpened look of digital sensors. But if you walk into a lab today, you’ll see people getting overwhelmed. They see a wall of yellow, green, and blue boxes and have no clue what the actual difference is between a $10 roll of Gold 200 and a $25 roll of Portra 400.
It’s just plastic coated in silver halides, right? Not exactly.
The physics of it is wild. You’re essentially capturing light in a chemical suspension. When we talk about types of camera film, we’re usually talking about three distinct chemical processes: color negative, color slide, and black and white. Each one behaves differently under the sun, under neon lights, or in the back of a dark dive bar. If you pick the wrong one, your photos will look like garbage. If you pick the right one, you get that "organic" look everyone tries to fake with Lightroom presets.
The Workhorse: Color Negative (C-41)
Most people start here. Color negative film is the stuff you’re used to seeing—the brown strips of plastic with orange masking. It uses the C-41 developing process. It’s forgiving. Like, really forgiving.
If you accidentally overexpose a roll of Kodak Portra by two stops, it’ll probably look better than if you’d shot it at box speed. The highlights just roll off into this creamy, pastel dream. This is why wedding photographers obsessed over it for decades. You have Kodak on one side, which leans toward warm, golden tones—think "California sunset." On the other side, you have Fujifilm, which tends to pull toward magentas and greens, making it great for landscapes and skin tones that don't need to look tanned.
But here is what most people miss: ISO is everything. Low ISO films like Ektar 100 have almost no grain. They are sharp. Scary sharp. They can rival digital cameras in terms of detail. Then you have high-speed films like CineStill 800T. This is actually movie film—specifically Kodak Vision3 500T—with the "remjet" layer (the black soot on the back) scrubbed off so it can be processed in normal chemicals. It creates "halation," which is that red glow you see around streetlights in night photos. It’s moody. It’s grainy. It’s expensive.
The Diva: Color Positive (E-6)
Slide film is a different beast. Also known as reversal film or transparency film, this stuff produces a positive image right on the strip. You hold it up to the light, and it looks like a tiny, perfect version of the world. No orange mask. Just pure, saturated color.
Fujifilm Velvia 50 is the legend here. National Geographic was basically built on Velvia. The greens are so lush they look fake, and the blues are deep enough to drown in. But slide film is a nightmare to shoot if you don't know what you're doing.
Digital sensors and color negative film have "dynamic range." They can see into the shadows and the highlights at the same time. Slide film? It has about the latitude of a piece of cardboard. If you miss your exposure by half a stop, your highlights are gone. Blown out. White. Dead. It’s an unforgiving medium that demands a light meter and a lot of patience.
Most labs don't even process E-6 anymore. You usually have to mail it out to specialty spots like The Darkroom in California or North Coast Photographic Services. It’s a niche within a niche, but for landscape shooters, nothing else compares.
The Soul: Black and White (Silver Gelatin)
Black and white is where the real chemistry geeks hang out. Unlike color film, which is processed in a very standardized way, black and white can be messed with. You can develop it in your kitchen sink using coffee and Vitamin C (a process called Caffenol).
There are two main types of black and white film: traditional grain and T-grain.
Traditional grain films, like Tri-X 400 or Ilford HP5 Plus, have a "salt and pepper" look. The grain is irregular and gritty. It feels like 1960s photojournalism. It’s the look of the Vietnam War and street photography in NYC. These films are "pushable," meaning you can shoot them in near-darkness and then over-develop them to get an image. It increases contrast and grain, making everything look like a noir film.
T-grain films, like Kodak T-Max or Ilford Delta, use "tabular" grains. These are flat, plate-like silver crystals that overlap. The result? Much finer grain and higher resolution. If you want your black and white photos to look clean, modern, and professional, you go T-grain. If you want them to feel like a punk rock zine, you go traditional.
Why 35mm Isn't the Only Game in Town
We usually think of 35mm—the little canisters—when we talk about types of camera film. But size matters. A lot.
- 35mm (Small Format): The standard. 36 exposures. Portable. Grainy because the negative is small.
- 120 (Medium Format): This is for the "serious" stuff. The negatives are roughly three to four times larger than 35mm. When you scan a 6x7 negative from a Mamiya RB67, the level of detail is staggering. You get a depth of field that looks 3D.
- Large Format: Think 4x5 or 8x10 inch sheets. You see these in those old-school bellows cameras with the black cloth. Each shot is a masterpiece of resolution.
Then there’s the weird stuff. 110 film is tiny and looks like a blurry memory. Instant film (Polaroid and Instax) is technically a type of camera film, but the "lab" is built into the back of the photo. It uses a reagent pod that gets squeezed through rollers to develop the image in your hand. It’s chemically unstable and fades over decades, but the vibe is unmatched.
Understanding Light Sensitivity and Reciprocity
If you’re shooting film, you have to understand that the film is "slow" or "fast."
A slow film (ISO 50 or 100) needs a ton of light. It’s for high noon or tripods. A fast film (ISO 800 or 1600) is for indoors or movement. But here’s the kicker: Reciprocity Failure.
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On a digital camera, a 10-second exposure is exactly that. On film, once you get past a certain point (usually 1 second), the film loses its sensitivity. If the meter says 10 seconds, you might actually need to leave the shutter open for 30 seconds or even 2 minutes, depending on the film stock. Every film has a different "reciprocity curve." If you’re doing long-exposure night photography, you better look up the data sheet for your specific stock, or you’ll end up with a blank roll.
The Budget Reality
Let’s be real: shooting film is expensive now. Prices have tripled since 2019.
If you want the "look" without spending $20 a roll, you look for "rebranded" stocks. Kentmere 400 is basically budget Ilford. Wolfen and Fomapan are Eastern European stocks that are cheap, a bit inconsistent, but full of character. There are also "experimental" films from companies like Lomography that have intentional color shifts or light leaks.
Don't ignore the expiration date, either. "Expired film" is a whole subculture. As film ages, the chemicals degrade. The sensitivity drops (usually 1 stop of light lost per decade), and the colors shift toward purple or green. It’s a gamble. Sometimes you get a masterpiece; sometimes you get a gray, muddy mess.
Real-World Action Steps for Choosing Your Film
Stop buying whatever is cheapest on Amazon and start matching the film to the mission.
- For portraits with "glow": Buy Kodak Portra 400. Rate it at ISO 200 (overexpose by one stop) to get those creamy skin tones.
- For street photography in the rain: Use Ilford HP5 Plus. It’s cheap, rugged, and handles the gray, flat light of a cloudy day better than almost anything else.
- For neon lights and cityscapes: CineStill 800T is the only answer. The red halation around the lights is a specific aesthetic you can't easily replicate.
- For absolute maximum detail: Get a roll of Kodak Ektar 100. It has the finest grain of any color negative film ever made. Put it on a tripod. Use a good lens.
The most important thing you can do is find a local lab. Building a relationship with the person developing your film is better than any online tutorial. They can tell you if your camera has a light leak or if your shutter is dragging. Film is a physical, mechanical process—treat it like one.
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Start by picking one stock and shooting ten rolls of it. Don't jump around. Learn how that specific film reacts to shadows, how it handles a bright sky, and how much you can push it before the grain becomes distracting. Mastery comes from consistency, not from having the most expensive Leica or the rarest rolls of discontinued Aerochrome.