Film Basics: It All Comes Down to What You Are Shooting
'''Color or Black and White'''
* '''Color film''' is great all around for general purposes. It's great if you don't know when you will want something in black and white. With the technology today you can always digitally remaster any shots and make color be B&W. However, it is impossible to go the other way.
* '''B&W''' is usually used for artistic photography. It is a great tool for shooting when composition is a central focus in the shot. It makes beautiful nature shots, abstracts, and allows emotions in portraits especially intense. However, it's not what you want for shooting your kid's birthday party.
** Keep in mind that for professional B&W film there are different types. One is the standard black and white on a gray scale that uses black and white chemical processing. The other type uses the same chemical processing for developing color film (C41). This will produce what some may categorize as "sepia you can't get B&W developed with C41 unless you bought that specific type.
'''Exposures'''
* This is really a matter of preference. Having fewer exposures means that you can switch rolls more often, let's say if you want to go back and forth between B&W and color. It also is beneficial in the case something happens to the film. If one roll gets ruined or lost, not all your photos have disappeared. Otherwise, if you are on vacation seeing the sights switching rolls every 12 shots can be a real hassle.
'''ASA:''' 100, 200, 400, 800... Basically this means light and speed sensitivity as determined by the American Standards Association. This comes down to what you are planning to shoot.
* '''100 ASA''': If you have a tripod, or if you will be shooting in bright lights, with a flash, or in the sun, it can turn out excellent quality pictures. It is often the choice for professionals because this speed tends to turn out higher color saturation and a finer grain. In other words, it produces the sharpest details. Slide format is available in this speed.
* '''200 ASA''': Next best thing when it comes to picture sharpness, but keep in mind this is not great for low light conditions, as with the 100 ASA film. For the average consumer, this film is usually a sure bet, as it's versatile, works well with most cameras, and nice for portraits and landscapes.
* '''400 ASA''': If you want to shoot indoors with lower light, or some light action shots, this is a good speed. It is the most versatile film when it comes to setting and lighting, but keep in mind that it is not as crisp as the shots you will get from slower speed films (often described as grainy), and it usually costs more.
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