Can anyone reccommend a film speeds and their different uses
for Africa, particularily wildlife through a telephoto,
portraits and scenery? Much appreciated - I have packed a
little print film in 100, 200, 400 anything else?
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if these shots are important to you, it's probably not a
good idea to shoot film you're not familiar with.
film is very much a matter of personal preference. i
like 'over' saturated slide film like fuji velvia for
landscapes (with a tripod!), more neutral iso 100 slide film
like sensia II for portraits (a lot of people like 'portra'
print film for this), and 400 speed print film (possibly
pushed 1 or 2 stops)for anything in low light like your
wildlife shots near dusk. the new kodak e100vs or equivalent
consumer elitechrome 100 extra color ("EBX") also looks
almost as good with landscapes (not quite as saturated and
a bit grainier), is an iso 100 rather than velvia's 40 or 50
and doesn't seem to lobsterize pinky skin tones as much as
velvia.
I used 100 and 200 speed film. I found that the more important factor was the lens. I have 2 lenses - one is a 28-80mm and the other is 75-300mm. If you want to get good wildlife closeups then you need a decent zoom. A friend had a 500mm lens that could be doubled to 1000mm and she got some fab closeups of lions. In really sunny and bright conditions your pics can be a bit washed out so I recommend going to a reputable camera dealer and asking their advice.
Thanks for the quick and informative replies - just
what I was looking for. Would you genenerally reccommend
200 for wildlife shots? I understand that most animal shots
will occur in the mornings and evenings - 200 is adequate in
your opinion? The local store has that Kodak Max 400 on
cheap - is this film any good ? is it a more balanced
option? I would like to get some of the reccommended films
as rvh suggessted - are they available in Amsterdam or
Brussels (or close) at North American prices or for more?
thanks again, I am about to go and still fiddling around on
this issue.
For low light wildlife shots, I doubt whether the 200 will
be fast enough, but it depends somewhat on your equipment
too. If you have a standard SLR with a typical consumer zoom
lens (as opposed to the outrageously expensive and heavy
fast pro lenses) then your minimum wide open aperture will
be around 4.5-5.6 at the long end of your zoom. If you also
need a teleconverter to get in close, you're in real trouble
in low light so the help you get from film speed becomes
more important then - remember that even if you have a
tripod to stop camera shake, animals won't necessarily sit
still enough to avoid motion blur... As Mel pointed out, for
safari type photography, the focal range below 200 is almost
certainly going to be too short for single animal shots -
something around 400-500 will be more appropriate for that
(for birds you'll need 600+). You might just get away with a
70-300 range lens if you add a 1.4x converter or if you're
prepared to enlarge and crop later on. I've not heard very
good user reviews about the kodak MAX films, but haven't
tried them myself. A good low light wildlife film might be
the NEW fuji Superia 400, which I think is available in
Amsterdam, but not in many other places since fuji have
opened their new factory in Holland. The film is
distinguished from the old Superia by the word 'NEW Superia'
in big letters on the box. When lighting does allow it i'ld
be tempted to try the very saturated kodak 100 slide films
for wildlife too. Anyway, one way of increasing the chances
of a really good shot is to take LOTS of film and shoot it
all - that's the way the pro's do it!
For low light wildlife shots, I doubt whether the 200 will
be fast enough, but it depends somewhat on your equipment
too. If you have a standard SLR with a typical consumer zoom
lens (as opposed to the outrageously expensive and heavy
fast pro lenses) then your minimum wide open aperture will
be around 4.5-5.6 at the long end of your zoom. If you also
need a teleconverter to get in close, you're in real trouble
in low light so the help you get from film speed becomes
more important then - remember that even if you have a
tripod to stop camera shake, animals won't necessarily sit
still enough to avoid motion blur... As Mel pointed out, for
safari type photography, the focal range below 200 is almost
certainly going to be too short for single animal shots -
something around 400-500 will be more appropriate for that
(for birds you'll need 600+). You might just get away with a
70-300 range lens if you add a 1.4x converter or if you're
prepared to enlarge and crop later on. I've not heard very
good user reviews about the kodak MAX films, but haven't
tried them myself. A good low light wildlife film might be
the NEW fuji Superia 400, which I think is available in
Amsterdam, but not in many other places since fuji have
opened their new factory in Holland. The film is
distinguished from the old Superia by the word 'NEW Superia'
in big letters on the box. When lighting does allow it i'ld
be tempted to try the very saturated kodak 100 slide films
for wildlife too. Anyway, one way of increasing the chances
of a really good shot is to take LOTS of film and shoot it
all - that's the way the pro's do it!
Thanks to Ralph for asking the question. Its something I,
and, more particularly, my girlfriend are wondering about.
Also thanks to rvh for their superb answers! I wish more
people on this branch were as helpful.
For what its worth we use Fujia slide and print film as we
like the better colours it gives, as opposed to Kodak. I
also notice that most wildlife photographers use Fuji as
well (well most of the winners in BBC Wildlife Photo comp
did!).
If I could just reiterate rvh's point. Take plenty of film.
I used to go out with a pro photographer and the amount of
film she got through was unbelievable. However having just
come back from shooting Iberian lynx in Spain I can see why.
You need lots of pictures to maximise your chances of
getting good shots. As a Scotsman I look at it this way.
What would be cheaper? Getting more film now or doing the
whole thing all over again. Much as I'd like to spend my
life on safari I cant afford to!
Hope you have a good trip and bring back some good images.
Hi
We do wildlife photography and use 35 - 600mm. The film we
use is fuji 200 and this tends to work for the majority of
shots. Kodak tends to bring out the red colours so we use
this in tropical areas especially birds. The fuji is good
with the browns and duller colours. This is my opinion and
what we use, I think everyone has their best film that works
for them. Happy snapping
Paul
It depends on your telephoto lens - maximum aperture and focal length, and also the time of day you are shooting. Most wildlife 'come out' around dawn & dusk. This allows pleasing but weak lighting, effectively forcing you to use fast films like ASA400 and 'faster'. Using long telephoto lenses (300mm+), the biggest challenge is suppressing camera shake. Even small movements and vibrations are amplified due to long focal lengths. This can be overcome, by selecting fast shutter speeds (eg 1/250th sec & faster), and keeping the camera steady by using a 'sand bag', small 'tripod' which can be attached to something rigid like the car window (car being switched off...). (Most professionals use fast lenses e.g. 400mm f2.8, 600mm f4 etc..,and sometimes inertial stabilisers, but these lenses are unaffordable for mere mortals - they are also heavy & bulky). Some manufacturers now market telephoto lenses with 'image stabilisation' technology, significantly reducing the effects of camera shake. The other peril is sligthly-out-of-focus images, due to lack of depth of field (shooting at maximum aperture), and animal movement. You only need to worry about this with fast lenses and manual focus cameras. You will find that the maximum aperture and the focal length will determine your choice of film speed. As a rule of thumb for handheld photography, select shutter speeds at least the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens..(e.g 200mm - 1/200sec, 500mm - 1/500th sec etc..) Slow lenses like f5.6, f8 will also force you to use faster films.
Film choice: There is usually an abundance of light in arid game reserves, like Etosha and the Kalahari, permitting you to use ASA 100 & ASA200. In some game parks, like the Kruger National Park, I recommend film speeds of ASA400 and faster (ASA 800, ASA 1000) for early morning / late afternoon shooting. As a last resort, you can always up-rate your (entire) film by 'telling' your camera that the 200 you have loaded, is really an 800, for instance. The entire film will now be under-exposed by 2 f-stops. Don't do this halfway down a roll..and mark the film immediately after unloading! Most semi-professional labs will over-develop your film for you (by two f-stops), provided that you tell them how much you have over - rated the film. Most modern films can comfortably tolerate this 'push' processing by about two f-stops (or more) either way. Uprating will be at the cost of increased 'grainy-ness'. Colour saturation depends on the film type (e.g. Kodak / Fuji etc & the lab's processing of the film), and your interpretation / use of the camera's light meter. Slide films are very sensitive to exposure variations. Slight under-exposure (1/3 f-stop) will increase colour saturation. Negative (print) films are more forgiving on exposure variations, and the final outcome is dictated more by the printing. Tabular grain films are more sensitive to exposure variations and also more intolerant of push processing.
For purposes other than wildlife, there is a lot of light in Africa (not so sure about equatorial africa), allowing use of ASA 100's and 200's, even ASA 50 in Namibia..
Wildlife suggestions are based on the assumption of using a 300mm f5.6 lens...
During my trip to Africa last fall I brought 4 rolls per
day of Fuji Superia, all of it 400 speed. Some say Superia
stinks, some say it's okay, but it is a consumer film-
meaning it is made for the average Joe. I have read that
Fuji NPH is a better choice- it is made for professionals,
but needs a little extra care. I am in the process of
experimenting with it. Taking some 100 speed is okay, but
200 speed gets you nothing. You might as well bump up to
400 speed and get the extra stop of light, which you are
going to need. The best picture time is morning and
evening, and it doesn't last long. The scenery will be
washed out before you know it.
So, skip the 200. Take some 400 and even some 800 (Fuji
NHG). You can bring a tripod but it will be likely that you
won't be able to use it. If you are in a vehicle, forget
it. If you are on foot, who wants to screw around with it-
by the time you get it set up something will be eating you
(just kidding). If you have Canon equipment look into the
Image Stabilizer lenses they have. I brought the 75-300 IS
and was very pleased. It allows you to avoid a tripod and
handhold the camera at lower shutter speeds (when there is
less light).
If you are an amateur stick with the print film, which is
very forgiving of exposure errors. Slide film requires you
to be pretty dead-on. Who wants to worry about exposures
when you just want to shoot away (unless you are a pro). My
bottom line recommendations, which I would do if I were
going back, is to bring Fuji 400 probably NPH, and Fuji NHG
800 speed. Maybe some 100, but not much. Go to a site
called www.photo.net and look at the Q&A section and the
Nature section. Do a search on Africa and you will get a
ton of info. Also toward the bottom of the page are links
about film, cameras, and lenses.
Enjoy the trip.
I'm with Steve on the speed...400asa is a "safer" option.
A 200mm lense is NOT really adequate for wildlife.(IMHO)Buy
a (good) 2x multiplier. a small monopod can be very handy.
If you add in a polarising filter, (helps with water shots)
you can still use the film in bright sunlight, albeit at
very high speeds and small f-stops. You're then Ok at lower
light levels. (lose the filter here, and, if necessary, the
2x.) You don't mention HOW you're travelling, but humping a
lot of camera equipment around can be a chore. Consider
taking along a cheap "point & shoot" camera loaded with 100
asa for closeup stuff & happy snaps. (don't forget spare
camera batteries!)
Every year I go to Zimbabwe. The last 3 years I always take
a lot of black and white film.
It gives great results with animal close ups - elephant,
rhino, giraffe, zebra ( especially zebra)... - aswell with
people close ups.
For three weeks I always take something like 500 photo's,
color photo and black and white.
I do take a tripod.
Have two camera's (one for the color - one for the
bl&white), have two lenses - 28-80 + 300 zoom.
I always take some "throw-away" panorama camera's, because
I don't have APS.
Not so technical, but anyway...
Heidi
the advice I've recently received (from a professional
photographer) was to go with ASA400 & 800, esp. with a zoom
lens. As it happens, the newest Popular Photography has
product testing of Fuji and Kodak 400 and 800 films. They
really give the 800s a strong endorsement---apparently both
Fuji and Kodak have made tremendous strides. Although
neither company seems to be promoting the faster film to
the general public, I've noticed that rolls of 800 film are
turning up in supermarkets and drug stores here in Atlanta,
USA. Check it out.