Analog Magazine

Shot on Portra 400
by Walker Orner
If you’re looking for the best film
for your film camera, you’re in the
right place. We’ve rounded up the
best 35mm film, roll film for medium
format cameras and sheet film for
large format cameras to help you get
back to basics and enjoy the analog
revolution.
Film photography has been enjoying a
resurgence in recent years, with both seasoned
film shooters and curious digital natives looking
to explore the magic of analog photography.
While it’s impossible to argue that digital
cameras don’t offer better clarity, detail and
ease-of-use, that’s not why film photography has
become so popular once more.
What types of
film can you get?
We can split film into three principal types: color
negative film, black and white negative film and
transparency (slide film).
Color negative film is one of the most
popular types of film, commonly available from
everywhere from specialist camera shops to
Amazon. It’s particularly useful when digitizing
film, as it’s relatively easy to handle the orange
mask and negative tones of color negatives. This
type of film is developed using the C-41 process
available in labs everywhere.
OUR FAVORITE
35MM FILMS
Ann Fritz
When technologies such as Animal Eye AF can
automatically lock onto an animal’s eye for tacksharp
wildlife shots, or when medium format
cameras can offer a staggering 102MP sensor,
sometimes being able to go back to basics and
enjoy the tactile physicality of film photography
is a treat in itself.
From winding on your film to hearing the
satisfying clunk of the mechanical shutter
button, there’s plenty to enjoy about the analog
experience. However, with so many different
types of film out there, how can you be sure that
you’ll be using the best film for you? Not only
do you have to contend with different sizes (135
vs 120, etc.), but each film will have a different
aesthetic too, with variances in color, contrast
and more (think of it as instant color grading
within your camera).
Whether you shoot with a 35mm camera
(equivalent to a full frame camera in digital
photography terms), a medium format camera or
even a large format camera, we’ve rounded up
the best films you can buy for each type. From
old classics to newer and more experimental
artisan film, there’s plenty for you to
choose from.
Black and white negative film is pretty
popular among film enthusiasts – especially film
photography students. This is partly because
black & white film can be easily developed and
processed at home (whereas, while you can
technically process color film at home, it’s a much
more involved process involving monitoring
temperatures). However, film can almost be
thought of as synonymous with black & white
photography, as the rich tones make the mono
effect truly pop.
Transparency film or slide film used to be a
favorite option for professionals, as there wasn’t
an intermediate printing stage to lower the
quality and add to the cost. You could also easily
send off slides to editors and picture libraries.
However, this isn’t such a popular option now
and the range of transparency films is a little
more limited than it used to be. All slide film is
developed using the E-6 process that’s widely
availably in labs.
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