Film Photography for holiday

[Phunk]

I don't really want to carry about my DSLR and tonnes of lenses on holiday (Amalfi coast) so I've picked up a Canon 500N and 40mm Pancake lens.

Should be small enough to carry in my pocket. I've ordered 5 rolls of Kodak Portra 400, is there anything else I need / need to think about. I've not shot on film for years.

[djsmith74]

- Assuming the built-in meter is still functioning and accurate, but you may want to download a light meter app for your smartphone?. They're surprisingly accurate, and I use the MyLightMeter app when I'm shooting with film.

- If you're going to do nighttime shooting, and plan on pushing your film a couple of stops (up to ISO1600 say) then you will need to shoot the entire roll at that ISO as the roll will need to get developed accordingly. You may need to keep a pen with you to mark a note on the roll, if you have pushed/pulled the film.

- Portra is decent film and the colours can be quite 'retro' depending on the lighting conditions. You may also want to consider Kodak Tri-X 400 for B&W shooting as it's a cracking film with a lot of latitude.

Hope this helps.

[davepoth]

I'm a big fan of Fuji Velvia for the beautiful colours but it's probably a bit slow if you're looking for general use film. On the other hand for B&W I use Ilford Delta 3200, which is crazy quick - I used to do night clubs with an F4.5 kit lens and no flash and it wasn't terrible.

[gck303]

Portra 400 is an odd choice for holidays. Unless you are taking pictures of people. You will find it quite grainy, and the colours are overly saturated.

Personally, I would be using Ektar 100.