CPH-LAb's analog guide
Here you can learn about films in general, compare the various films and see sample pictures
What does iso, grain, etc. mean?
ISO
All films have an ISO value. What this ISO number tells is how light-sensitive the film is. The higher the ISO value, the more grain you get in your images and lower sharpness often.
ISO 100: Studio pictures and sunny days
ISO 200: Studio pictures and daylight
ISO 400: Daylight, indoor and evening pictures
ISO 800 or more: Evening and night pictures
GRAIN
When describing the look of a film, a term which is often used is grain. Ex: How grainy is the film?
You'll find grain in both analog as well as digital pictures and it's especially visible in pictures taken in darker scenarios. Grain is the small dots or some times rice-shaped structure which is found when zooming all the way in on your pictures. The more rough these are, the less sharp the image.
In digital images, grain is usually undesired, but on film it appears more natural and therefore it is more of an aesthetic choice whether you prefer film with strong grain or less visible grain. The higher the ISO normally, the more grain is visible.
COLOR & BLACK / WHITE
Before we could all edit our digital images, one could still influence the expression of his final image through his choice of film.
Some films have very strong colors, Kodak films are known to often have warm tones, some films are more neutral, while others maybe have really strong contrasts. Some films have very precise skin tones so they are good for portrait shots and some are in black and white. The black and white films vary in the hardness of their contrast, as well as the light sensitivity and roughness.
Read about selected films and see
sample images
PERFECT FOR PORTRAITS
The Kodak Portra series is among Kodak's professional films and they are definitely among the most popular films on the market. They are known for their exceptional skin tones, making them ideal for portraits. In addition, they have a huge dynamic span, which means they are incredibly easy to shoot. The higher the ISO sensitivity, the harder the images are in its expression and the more grain. Buy here
Kodak
colorplus 200
Budget-friendly and rich in colors
Kodak Colorplus 200 is in the budget end of Kodak's range of color films. It is a fantastic all-round film which is useful for most situations. It has great contrasting colors and is characterized by Kodak's classic warm tones. It works the best in daylight as the light sensitivity is ISO 200. Buy here
Kodak T-Max 400
Kodak T-Max 400
black and white with a punchy contrast
Kodak T-Max is a light-sensitive and popular black and white film. It is contrasty and provides deep shadows, while providing plenty of detail in the highlights. It has a rough look which it is loved for. It is especially known for its amazing contrasts. Buy here
Originally produced for feature movies
Cinestill is a company which takes film made for feature movies and process it so you can put it in your regular film camera. This gives a truly unique cinematic look for the pictures, and since the film's color balance is created for artificial lighting, you can really capture light in a unique way. The differences in different light temperatures can produce an incredible variety of exciting results. Buy here
Versatile but with saturated colors
The Fuji C200 is Fujis budget friendly color film that goes for most situations. It has nice and strong colors with a more neutral warm tone as opposed to, for example, some Kodak films, which are often characterized by having warmer tones. The film works best in daylight as the light sensitivity is ISO 200. Buy here
extreme sharpness and very fine grain
Kodak Ektar 100 is one of Kodak's professional films and is characterized by its very precise and powerful colors. It is exceptionally sharp and Kodak even calls it the most fine-grained film available. This makes it, among other things, hugely popular with landscape and nature photographers. The low ISO 100 light sensitivity makes it useful only in daylight or for studio pictures. Buy here
Analog is not dead
The analog film look is easily recognized and loved for its timeless and refined look. This is why professional photographers as well as major Hollywood productions often aim to recreate this certain feel in their digital images / video through image processing. Film is praised for its unique colors, the natural timeless expression and its tremendous charm. However, it is still not the real thing to edit something digital to look like analog, and for that reason, more and more analog images are being shot today, as well as the fact that Hollywood still shoots large commercial feature films on analog movie reels. The digital image is here to stay, but the same counts for the analog. Film photography was almost forgotten for a period of time due to the advancement of digital cameras, but it has seen a tremendous comeback in recent years - some might compare it to the LP records and its comeback. A response among many to our worlds digital superficiality.
The analog never dies. It's got too much charm for that.
