Best Film for the Canon EOS Rebel Ti
The best film to use in the Canon EOS Rebel Ti should be based on your lens, available light, and if you want to use color or black & white.
To eliminate having to haul around a flash or tripod, choose a 35mm film that has an ISO of 400 or faster.
If you intend to capture photos indoors or anywhere there is low light, make sure that you are using a fast lens. Check out my brief article on the 5 Best Lenses for the Canon EOS Rebel Ti for recommendations.
Color Film
Consumer
Kodak UltraMax 400 - A fantastic option for a variety of conditions. Using Kodak UltraMax 400 you should have the ability to handhold the EOS Rebel Ti in just about all circumstances.
The photographs will have excellent skin tones and tend to be on the warm side.
Fujifilm Superia X-TRA ISO 400 - A different option than Kodak that may have better availability based on where you are in the world.
Compared to Kodak, Fuji tends to be a small amount cooler with stronger greens and blues.
Lomography 800 - If you want an ISO 800 color film, there are not very many choices. For 35mm film geared towards consumers, Lomography 800 is the only option.
Furthermore, if you have a medium format camera, it is also available in 120 film format.
Kodak Gold 200 - A staple film emulsion that started production in the mid-1980s. Kodak Gold 200 produces the look and feel of family snapshots from the 80s and 90s. For the authentic shooting experience take advantage of a flash.
To really bring the best out of the film, you will have to over-expose it by 1 or 2-stops. This will provide the idyllic colors people love Kodak Gold 200 for.
Professional
Kodak Portra 400 - Among photography enthusiasts online, Portra 400 is hands down the most frequently used color 35mm film emulsion. Overexpose Portra 400 by 1 or 2-stops to get the style the film is highly regarded for.
Kodak Portra is also offered in ISO 160 and 800 emulsions. 8x10 sheets, 4x5 sheets, and rolls of 120 film are also available.
Black and White Film
Consumer
With reasonable costs and more than acceptable very popular to use in the Canon EOS Rebel Ti.
The largest appeal for photography students and budget minded photographers is the affordable price. Even if you wouldn’t put yourself in those groups, it’s nice to have comparatively cheap rolls of 35 film readily available for evaluating newly acquired used gear.
Kentmere 400 - Manufactured by Harmon Technology, which is also the owner of Ilford. This is great since that allows this to be the most commonly available 35mm film out of the three.
Foma Fomapan 400 Action - It’s easier to obtain in Europe as the film is produced by Foma Bohemia out of the Czech Republic.
A suitable 35mm film to try for your initial couple of attempts at analog photography or developing film at home. Also a good option if you’re attempting to check out a camera to be sure that it is fully functional.
Ultrafine eXtreme 400 - The best store to get this film is directly from Ultrafine.
They manufacture chemical developer kits for color film, so if you process film at home you might have previously interacted with them.
Professional
Ilford HP-5 Plus 400 and Kodak Tri-X 400 are the two most frequently used black and white films. While they both possess individual looks, they have numerous characteristics in common that makes them a favorite.
Both film stocks can be pushed 2 stops and produce solid images. A roll of film can be shot at ISO 400, 800, or 1600, making them quite versatile.
Ilford HP5 Plus 400 - Between the two film stocks, HP5 Plus has lower levels of contrast and is more affordable. Minimal amounts of contrast can be helpful because of the fact contrast can be increased when making a print or editing digitally.
The film stock still looks excellent when pushed 2-stops. It is also recognized as having subdued grain.
Kodak Tri-X 400 - This film stock provides a more distinctive style to it. To bring out the classic grain structure, contrast, and look of the film, it needs to be processed in D-76.
You’re going to definitely see a higher level of contrast with Kodak Tri-X. That’s beneficial if it is the style you want because it means a smaller amount of work when during digital post processing or making a darkroom print.
Reversal Film
Film emulsions that create a positive image can be called transparency, slide, or reversal film. That means a projector or lightbox can be used to show the photos.
This is different from the more readily available negative films that produce photographs that need inverting the colors for the image to be viewed.
Slide films are perceived as tough to work with due to the fact slide film has a smaller amount of latitude and dynamic range when compared with negative film.
Kodak Ektachrome 100 - The film is known for appealing skin tones and fine grain. The colors don’t seem oversaturated. It has a daylight color balance.
Fujifilm Velvia 50 - Offers distinctive looking shots that have high amounts of saturation and contrast. It is sharp and balanced for daylight. It has the top resolving power of any increased increased.
An ISO 100 version is also available.
Fujichrome Provia 100F - Produces natural and vivid colors with medium color saturation and contrast. It has ultrafine grain with a daylight color balance.
Foma Fomapan R100 - This is a black and white transparency film, claimed by Fomapan as having excellent resolving power, fine grain, and elevated levels of contrast. It is also billed as a substitute for the discontinued Agfa Scala film emulsion.
Film Basics
Consumer vs Professional Film
Professional film stock have a greater dynamic range, are easier to push, and increased latitude, this is why they cost more.
You should expect to see a big difference in availability. Consumer films can oftentimes be found in pharmacies and big-box stores in limited amounts. Pro film should be bought from a online retailer or specialized photography store.
ISO
Film speed is shown as ISO, which can also be regarded as the film’s sensitivity to light.
The less light available to capture an image, the higher the film’s ISO will be necessary. This comes at the tradeoff of bigger film grain.
ISO 100 and slower speed films (ISO 50, ISO 25, etc) is often troublesome to use handheld in the EOS Rebel Ti. This is due to the fact that without full sun, the shutter speeds are going to take more time than what you are able to handhold without creating motion blur.
To avoid motion blur you will need to use a flash, tripod, and/or fast lens. Using a fast ISO 400 or ISO 800 film can make the additional accessories unnecessary.
The ISO knob is marked as ASA on the Canon EOS Rebel Ti. The switch to labeling ISO from ASA (American Standards Association) came after the creation of the International Standards Organization (ISO).
Film Latitude
Latitude is the amount of stops a film can be overexposed while keeping usable photographs. Pro film emulsions have a larger latitude along with a slightly higher price.
Negative film has more latitude when compared to transparency film. That is one of the reasons it is considered difficult to work with.
Dynamic Range
The difference between the brightest and darkest parts of an image is described as dynamic range. Parts of a photograph that fall out of this range will be rendered as white overexposed highlights or black underexposed shadows.
A larger dynamic range is preferable given that a larger range tends to make working in a wide variety of lighting conditions easier.
- Digital cameras 14+ stops
- Negative film up to 13 stops
- Slide film 6-8 stops
The constrained dynamic range of reversal film is a further factor it is regarded as hard to shoot. A very good time to try it out would be during the golden hour.
Film Type
The Canon EOS Rebel Ti takes 35mm film that comes in metal canisters. It can also be called 135 film, and it is the most widely used type of film.
The only other type of film you are going to encounter is 120 or 220 film that is used by medium format cameras}.
Switching the film emulsion you are using will transform the look of your pictures. This is one of the fantastic things about film.
DX Coded Film
Nearly all new 35mm film on the market at this time has DX encoding on the canister. This lets cameras to automatically detect and set the ISO when the film canister is loaded.
The ASA (ISO) on the Canon EOS Rebel Ti needs to be set manually. For that reason DX-coding does not make a difference.
Canon EOS Rebel Ti Resources
Where to Get Film Developed?
You will find several possibilities for where to get 35mm film processed. For a more extensive explanation of the options take a look at my article on Where to Develop Film.
WARNING: Film is no longer developed locally at pharmacies and big box stores. They send the film away to be processed by a 3rd party. Consequently, you won’t be given your processed negatives back.
- Develop Film at Home
- Use a Local Photography Lab
- Use a Mail Order Photo Lab
- Pharmacy or Big Box Store
Shipping your film to a mail-order lab to be developed and scanned is the least difficult choice if you are just beginning to use film. If you regularly shoot film, this can be a downside since it can get very expensive.
Assuming that you are shooting a moderate to high volume of film, there are a few things that you are able to do to minimize your expenses.
Bulk Loading Film
Purchasing a bulk roll of 100’ of film and manually loading in into canisters yourself is certainly one of the most common methods to lower your costs.
After you’re done, you’ll end up getting roughly 18 canisters of 36 exposures each. Expect to save 20-30% depending on the film you opt for.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you are limited to bulk rolls of black & white film. This is in part because black & white film is less difficult and more cost-effective to develop at home.
Home Developing and Scanning
You can process and digitize any film yourself. It is an excellent method to cut costs so you can use more film with your Canon EOS Rebel Ti.
Black and white film is by far the least difficult to process. Chemical temperature and development times are both not as important to do correctly with black & white film as temperatures and time are for color negative or transparency film.