You’re probably aware that film has been making a comeback in recent years, but let’s be honest with ourselves. Did it ever really go away? Sure, it may have seen a dip in popularity at the dawn of the digital age, but many serious enthusiasts never stopped using it. Just ask the experts here at B&H! In fact, we asked some long-time film shooting experts here, “What’s your favorite film/camera combination and why?” Below, you’ll find their answers.
Gabriel Biderman, B&H - @ruinism
“Lately my go-to film camera has been my Mamiya 7 that I bought from another B&H employee over 10 years ago. I love shooting medium format and the large 6x7 format gives me 10 shots per roll on 120 film. I also have the 35mm adapter that lets you shoot full sprocket 24x65mm panos on 35mm film. The comfortable grip makes this camera very lightweight, when compared to other 6x7 cameras, and easy to bring with me during all my adventures. The camera is also incredibly silent to use, making it a great street photography camera. I use it for landscape and night photography with Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros Black and White film. Acros is my go-to film because the reciprocity factor for longer exposures doesn't hit until after 4 minutes. The fine grain of this 100-speed film also yields excellent image quality. Battery life can be a concern with the tiny 6v lithium battery but on long night shoots I'll start with a fresh battery and have never run out. “
Berty and Emily Mandagie, B&H Creatives — @themandagies
“Our favorite film camera + film combo is the Leica M6 with Kodak Portra 800 film. As travel photographers, Portra 800 is a versatile film that can be flexible in a variety of light settings, which is essential for capturing life outdoors. The Leica M6 is a reliable mechanical camera (we don't have to worry about dying batteries), has a small body, and provides high-quality images for an enjoyable shooting experience!”
Luke Rollins, B&H @lukiedavie
“I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for an obtuse setup. I also love instant photography, and so when I discovered LomoGraflok a few years ago, it was a no-brainer for me. What drew me to the combo was the ability to bring studio lighting to instant film. Polaroid’s I-2 Camera, introduced a year after I got my Speed Graphic + LomoGraflok, would provide the same capability for its film stock, but I like that INSTAX WIDE is more affordable, easier to get your hands on, and gives a sharper image that pairs well with the Speed Graphic’s Graflex Optar 135mm f/4.7 lens.
While its latitude is a little more forgiving than Polaroid’s, INSTAX is still closer to slide film than negative and rewards a dialed-in exposure. The 4x5 of it all still makes it an immersive and deliberate process and adding in a remote lighting trigger only slows things down more. But I love the results. If I’m doing portraits, I’ll often make one for the sitter using this setup, returning a little bit of object aura to a setting otherwise smoothed over by pixels.”
Jessica Foley, B&H Creative — @fauxly
“It's hard to pick my favorite film camera, but it would probably be my Mamiya RZ67. My film of choice is situational—CineStill 800T is fun, particularly at night, but Kodak Portra 400 is the most versatile and my go-to stock.”
Bjorn Petersen, B&H — Mamiya 7 II & Kodak T-Max 400
“I've written about both this camera and film a handful of times on Explora (here, here, and here) and it's still the combination that keeps giving. The Mamiya 7 II is my one true desert island camera and Kodak T-Max 400 is the one film type I could shoot with forever without growing tired.
The Mamiya 7 II is the ultimate camera for the type of shooting I like to do—travel, landscape, and some portraiture. It's one of the lightest 6 x 7 cameras ever created, has some of the most satisfying clicks and shutter ticks, and is one of the most comfortable cameras to use daily.
And my favorite film to match this camera is Kodak T-Max 400—it's the film I have the most in my refrigerator right now and has been the only true replacement for my previous, now discontinued favorite, Kodak Tri-X 320 (TXP). Especially now that shooting film means scanning film, I greatly appreciate the tight grain structure of T-Max films and how they look when scanning at high resolutions. The colder, starker tonal rendering of the film and huge range of middle grey tones is another asset for this film—it's a great option for low-contrast, overcast lighting as well as a unique option to flatten harsh midday lighting and retain highlight details in bright lighting.”
Dylan Thiessen, B&H - @thiessenphotos
“Picking just one camera, there’s nothing that beats the simplicity and quality of the original Olympus OM-1. The lens options are fantastic and still widely available and being able to use it without batteries has allowed me to keep photographing in the middle of nowhere even after my digital has turned into a useless brick. It’s light enough that I never mind throwing it in a bag or on my shoulder, and it’s the type of camera I find myself missing when I don’t have it. As far as the film stock, I already burn through Kodak Portra 400 so not much would have to change. I love the way it handles different kinds of light, including when I botch the exposure, and the grain is just right.”
Chris Ayala, B&H Creative — @raptographer
“My favorite camera is the Asahi Pentax SL, and I love using Portra 160 and 800 with it for photos that capture life in its most genuine essence. It creates a feeling of tangible moments, frozen in time. Film allows me to connect with the realistic, gritty version of reality and relive those memories all over again.”
We hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse at the cameras and film combinations of choice from us here at B&H. If you haven’t tried one of the film options shared in this article, be sure to give it a shot. Don’t forget to check out the B&H Used Department, where you may be able to find some of the cameras we’ve mentioned above. You can find more photo articles and guides on the B&H Explora Site.
