What type of film do you recommend?

[DavidHickey]

I'm going to Bonaire next week and unfortunately all I have is a Sea and Sea MX-10 35mm camera. It came with the YS40 strobe, wide angle lens, and alot of stuff I haven't figured out what to do with yet. Anyhow In clear water in Bonaire what type of film and what speed would be best for daytime pictures and would I want different film for Night Time underwater pictures? I wish I had a better set up but maybe next time. Any tips on the use of the camera would also be greatly appreciated!!! As I stated it came with alot of accessories I'm not sure what to do with. I'll have to read the book on the plane. But I know I think it had a wide angle lens. close up lens and a frame thing that attaches to the camera "I'm guessing for close up shots"

Thanks!!!
David

 

[vladimir]

Velvia.
http://www.adorama.com/FJRVPN120PPU.html

 

[fdog]

Here's some light reading for you:

One thread

or this thread

and finally this thread on print film.


All the best, James

 

[louisianadiver]

I like Fuji Provia 100 speed. -Clay

 

[MarkH]

I'd go with 200-speed print film. Since you admit you don't really know what you're doing with your particular setup, print film is much more forgiving with incorrect exposure than slide film. I'm not sure what the shutter speed is on that camera, but if it's faster than 1/125 sec, 100-speed film might not be sensitive enough unless you stay fairly shallow. I usually use 100-speed in the tropics, but my shutter speed is usually 1/60 sec (aperature=f16). Yours might not go that slow and I don't know if you can change the aperature. At night, the only light will be from your strobe. I'm trying to picture the MX10, and I think the strobe is mounted pretty close to the camera. If this is true, you'll want to get reasonably close to whatever you're shooting to avoid backscatter (which really shows up against a black background at night). I don't know how powerful your strobe is, but I would still go with 200-speed film at night just to be safe. As far as brand goes, I haven't noticed any obvious difference between brands of print film. The software in the lab when they make the prints and the conditions underwater (which are always changing) make much more of a difference with colour balance, etc.

 

[MarkH]

I just looked up the specs on your camera because it was bugging me and I found out the only film speeds your camera will accept are 100 and 400. The shutter speed is 1/100 sec. You can change the aperature. Knowing this, I would go with 400-speed print film unless you are staying very shallow. As mentioned, print film is not as picky as slide film and the faster film will allow you to use a smaller aperature (=better depth of field = more in-focus shots). With print film, it's better to over-expose than underexpose. Here's the link to the specs:http://www.seaandsea.jp/products/camera/mx10/index.html
I'm still sticking to my opinion that the choice of brands (as long as it's a well-known one) doesn't really matter.

 

[PapaBob]

James: Greetings and thanks for reviving my old thread. Your advice is still "right on".

Swank: For someone new to UW photography and film equipment, I tend to agree with your advice. Film gives a wider exposure latitude and most processors can handle the C41 processing quite easily. As I recently discovered, my local Costco can process and print directly to a digital CD and I prefer the Jpegs to prints. Especially since your "pitch it" ratio is higher with UW photography. If David has any photo processing software on his computer (like Photoshop Elements 4) he may have better luck working with his results on screen and printing his winners later.

That said, as David gets used to the equiment and techniques I would not discount slide film. The colors and saturation are superior, and I have become partial to Provia for the limited times I shoot transparencies.

As far as print film, David may want to start with stuff available at the local store to get started. For serious print work I suggest Kodak Portra VC in 160 or 400iso and have had good results with these films.

As far as iso, I would go with 400 for wide angle at depths 60' and more and limited strobe power. For sunny shallow dives (say 30' or less) and close up stuff (macro) and night work, 100iso is my choice.

David: I hope we are putting you on the right track. Post your results. You can get a lot of positive feedback on this forum.

---Bob