Favorite Film Stocks with Samples

Black and White Films

I have tried may black and white films and the one I enjoyed the most was Ilford HP5. It is not an expensive film and is widely available around the country. My favorite thing to do with HP5 is shooting it at 1600 speed and asking my developer to push the film processing. This allows HP5 and me to work in a variety of scenarios and always have enough light. I use HP5 in both 35mm and 120mm 90% of the time I shoot.

Ilford HP5 on Amazon
Ilford HP5 on eBay 

Austin Skyline shot on Ilford HP5

Asian Dinner shot on Ilford HP5

Arm getting tattooed shot on Ilford HP5


Color Films

Fuji has recently taken a backseat in their film production. This has greatly reduced the variety of color film we have available in 2020. My favorite 35mm color film emulsion used to Superia 400 but it's getting harder to source. This led me to using Kodak Ultramax 400. Superia leans towards red and warmer colors while Ultramax leans cooler and more blues. It's a really fun film to use and produces really consistent results.

Kodak Ultramax on Amazon
Kodak Ultramax on eBay

Aerial Gymnastics photo shot on Ultramax 400

Phonebooth shot on Ultramax 400

Car Hood shot on Ultramax 400


For 120mm color films, I really enjoy Lomography 800 color negative film. It's not quite as cheap as Ultramax, I'm currently purchasing each roll for about $5 each. The thing I love about this film is it's versatility and really surprising consistency. Lomography is a company known for producing films and cameras where experimentation usually trumps consistency and quality. Lomography 800 produces consistent images. Being able to shoot at 800 ISO makes it valuable in low light situations and with slower camera lenses. The colors are a bit muted but I find it produces natural and distinct images.

Lomography 800 on Amazon
Lomography 800 on eBay

Antone's Record Store shot on Lomography 800

Flowers shot on Lomography 800

Mirror reflection shot on Lomography 800

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