Just shot a family vacation entirely on film

[Scuzi]

The lab sent back the latest batch. Nothing too interesting in this lot except a couple of the kids and the dog which I’m pretty happy with, but I did test out a roll of the Fuji Superia 800 and the Kodak Portra 400VC to see how they held up considering how expired they are. I was pleasantly surprised with the Fuji, less so with the Kodak but it’s good enough for something I’m sure.

Exposure tests:

Fuji Superia Xtra 800, expired 2007 and stored in an under stairs closet since. Not refrigerated.
Shot with a Minolta X-700, Rokkor 50mm f/1.7.
Quite pleased with this, especially as I have another 19 rolls! It has a cyan cast in some lights, and needs 2-3 stops more light to get the best from it, which is still a useable speed. It responds well to flash too. I expected much more grain, but the properly exposed shots have similar or less grain than Kodak Gold 200 in 35mm for example.

Box speed (ISO 800)

+1 stop (ISO 400)

+2 stops (ISO 200)

+3 stops (ISO 100)

Some random examples metered at +2 stops (ISO 200)…

Kodak Portra 400 VC 220, expired 2003. As above, stored in an under stairs closet since around 2002 and not refrigerated.
Shot with Mamiya RB67 Pro S, Sekor C 180mm.
I didn’t bother to expose at 400 because it would have been predictably bad. It’s overall a bit flat, which isn’t surprising considering it’s over 20 years expired. It really needs +3 stops to get the most out of it so it’ll be of limited use outside a studio setting until the brighter days come back.


+1 stop (ISO 200)

+2 stops (ISO 100)

+3 stops (ISO 50)

Out in the wild, metered at ISO 100

And finally, some random shots using Kodak Gold 200 on the RB67, it’s awesome for £7 a roll in 120 format!

 

[Scuzi]

Got a box of Ektachrome for a decent price on eBay. An office supply company was selling it for around £20 less than the next cheapest retailer. I fully expected it to be new-old stock either close to expiry, or expired, but it is fresh with a 2026 expiry!

At £20 a roll for process & scan, plus the cost of the roll itself (~£15), that's a total of £35 per roll. On 645 in the Bronica (15 exp) that's £2.33 per shot. On 6x7 in the Mamiya RB67 (10 exp) it's £3.50 per shot.

On that basis I think I'll be saving this for special occasions and perfect light!

 

[koolpc]

What about doing your own processing? Fancy doing that or have you had a shot at it?

I only ever did that once at college on a photography course many moons ago. It was interesting but, i prefer digital but only have my mobile these days....cameras have all gone.

 

[Scuzi]

What about doing your own processing? Fancy doing that or have you had a shot at it?

I only ever did that once at college on a photography course many moons ago. It was interesting but, i prefer digital but only have my mobile these days....cameras have all gone.

I really want to, but the cost of getting set up (inc. scanning) is putting me off. B&W processing can be economical but I shoot mostly colour. If film continues to increase in price (looks like another 10-15% increase in 2025) I may have to save analogue photography for special occasions rather than the ~80% of my photography it accounts for now, in which case investing in home processing becomes even less attractive. Part of me just wants to rationalise down to a FF digital camera like the Nikon Zf, but I’ve made the mistake of selling off my film gear a few times then having to re buy it at twice the price a few yers down the line!

 

[Scuzi]

I know I said I’d be reluctant to do this again but I have a trip to Japan coming up and thought it might be interesting (and/or stupid?) to use only Japanese film in Japanese cameras. I currently have 5 rolls of Provia 100F and a roll of Velvia 50 in 35mm, and in 120 a box of Provia 100F, 3 expired rolls of Fuji Pro 400H.

For film cameras I have a choice of:
- Minolta X-700, X-570, X-300 with 135mm, 50mm and 28mm primes.
- Canon Elan 7ne (EOS 30V) and a 50mm f/1.8
- Yashica Electro 35 GSN
- Ricoh 500G
- Bronica ETRS
- Mamiya RB67 (lol)

Given that all my 35mm stock is slide film, I’m leaning heavily towards the Canon. The AF and good meter will help with a better hit rate. I would like another couple of lens options, e.g a 28/35mm and a telephoto. Considered buying the 24-105mm f/4 which would be fine during the day, but most examples I come across are in poor condition.

The Bronica is definitely coming.

I’ll also bring my Fuji X-S10 but it was made in Taiwan so is cheating a bit, but I’d be devastated if the film got lost or damaged and the entire vacation photos were gone!

 

[montymint]

There’s something magical about film

 

[phinix]

Fantastic photos. I wish airport security had some kind of protocol for film rolls and let people take them without scans.

 

[Scuzi]

Ran a some Harman Phoenix 200 through the RB67. This stuff is unique!

 

[Scuzi]

I’m packing for my upcoming trip to Japan and I’ve decided to run with the “only use Japanese film in Japanese cameras” rule I’ve set myself. Trouble is that there isn’t much Japanese colour negative film left, so except for the Superia X-Tra 400 in the Canon, and the couple of rolls of expired Pro 400H, it’s all slide film. I can self scan the 35mm rolls but will have to get the lab to scan the 120. At £15 a roll for 35mm E6 development only, and around £22 a roll for 120 including scanning, it is going to sting hard. Oh well.

I’ll be also shooting digital on this occasion because, well, I’m not made of money, and I foresee a lot of low light photography where ISO 6400 will be welcome.

 

[Derek W]

Look forward to your return and financial ruin of getting the rolls developed!

 

[Sirrel Squirrel]

Awesome stuff, film has such a unique look to it!

 

[Scuzi]

Awesome stuff, film has such a unique look to it!

I have tried to replicate it in digital and it is possible to come close using an X-Trans sensor, but there's still a big gap that I can't bridge. I can get it pretty close to the look of colour positive film, but digital just cannot handle highlights like negative film does.

 

[arknor]

Look forward to your return and financial ruin of getting the rolls developed!

ocuk so probably some millionaire about to built a darkroom

you'd be suprised how many on here seem to have a cinema room

 

[Firegod]

I really should stop reading this thread title as "I've just shot a family".

 

[Derek W]

ocuk so probably some millionaire about to built a darkroom

you'd be suprised how many on here seem to have a cinema room

Should I keep it quiet that my dad had a darkroom in the back of the garage when I was younger. He sold all his equipment though so unfortunately I can't hire it out his behalf!

 

[Scuzi]

I'm back and I'll keep it short. Ignoring the mostly digital shots, I stuck to my goal of only shooting Japanese film on Japanese cameras. I left the Bronica at home on a punt that I really wanted a Fuji GS645S and hoped to buy one whilst in Japan. I found one and bought it, so I'll put a few pics below from it. I shot two rolls of Pro 400H which have been developed and scanned, and two rolls of Provia 100F which have yet to be developed. I'll post those shots if they're any good.

On the Canon Elan 7NE, I shot a roll of Superia X-tra 400, one roll of Superia Premium 400 and two rolls of Provia 100F. I'll scan those in once I get them back from the lab as I scan my own 35mm film to save on cost.

I didn't shoot nearly as much film as I would have liked. The main reason was that the temperature was mostly 37-41C with >70% relative humidity, so carrying both a Fuji X-T5 and another film camera was distinctly uncomfortable, so I used the X-T5 most of the time. I'll not sully this thread with non-film photos ( ) so if you'd like to see those I'll be trickling them out on my Flickr account over the coming days and weeks, which you can find here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/blainnn/

I've been considering creating a separate thread on this forum but not sure the interest is there.

Anyway, here's the first film photo. Some more will follow. This one was shot on Fuji Pro 400H which expired in 2014 and wasn't refrigerated, so it has unusually high grain.

Mount Fuji, shot on a Fuji camera, on Fuji film...

Fujisan by kalsarikännit, on Flickr

 

[Derek W]

Forgot to ask how did you deal with taking film through the airport scanners? Did you get them hand checked or stick them in a protective bag or simply just take them through and hope the scanners didn't affect the films?

 

[Scuzi]

I had them all hand checked. Heathrow Terminal 2 had CT scanners which are known to destroy film. The guy at security kept shouting "keep all items in your bag, do not remove anything". I said twice that I wanted a hand check of film and he kept yelling at me, in my face, quite loudly and rudely to not take anything out of my bag. He was so rude that I reacted (inappropriately, probably due to being exhausted and a bit stressed) and told him to shut the **** up and listen. I immediately thought I had ruined the holiday before it even began but fortuitously his supervisor had arrived alongside me coincidentally as I pulled the clear plastic bag of film from my rucksack. The supervisor saw the film, took the bag from me and said "I'll check this for you" and the crisis was avoided. We got a connecting flight in Munich but didn't need to clear security again so it was fine.

On the way back through Haneda I had the bag out and as soon as I held it up they knew exactly what to do. The lady who gave it back to me once finished even bowed. I preferred the Japanese airport security experience

Here's a couple of shots. The first roll I used was slightly expired (early 2025) Superia X-Tra 400 bought here in the UK. It exposed correctly but really lacks sharpness. Part of the "vibe" I suppose! The comparison is quite stark alongside the second roll I shot, Superia Premium 400 bought in Japan. All the below are from the first roll. Second roll is being scanned as I type.

 

[robj20]

@Scuzi understand completely.

I still reckon shooting, developing and printing BW should be something everybody interested in photography makes sure they do.

On the privacy front, social media makes sharing everything the norm. There is no reason it should be. We've got a family rule that nothing gets shared without the permission of everyone in the photo.

It's stuff like that which made me not bother joining the local photography group. Once they saw my mirrorless camera I felt shunned. I have zero interest in film.

 

[Hodders]

It's stuff like that which made me not bother joining the local photography group. Once they saw my mirrorless camera I felt shunned. I have zero interest in film.

Photography is about stopping time and capturing an instant.

I really don't care how you do it. Mirrorless, DSLR, medium format, 10x8 plate, heck even a mobile phone. If the image has meaning, it has value.

But shooting a roll of film. Every shutter press demands more thought (if only cos it costs real money). It encourages more careful composition and thought.

All I'm really saying is that everyone who likes cars should drive a petrol engineer with a manual gearbox. It completes a history and gives a better understanding.

@robj20 you should never feel shunned, I'm really sorry if that's what you thought I meant.