Best Film for the Nikon N6006
The best film to use in your Nikon N6006 is going to be based on the lighting, your lens, and type of film you want to shoot.
Working with an ISO 400 film or faster will allow you to eliminate being burdened with a tripod and/or flash.
If you intend to take images in low light, such as inside, make sure that you have a fast lens. Check out my article on the 5 Best Lenses for the Nikon N6006 for suggestions.
Color Film
Consumer
Kodak UltraMax 400 - This film can be used in a variety of lighting conditions and is an excellent pick for a color film. Kodak UltraMax 400 is fast enough so that you should be able to handhold the N6006 in lots of situations.
The pictures will have fantastic colors and is on the warm side.
Fujifilm Superia X-TRA ISO 400 - Based on where you are in the world, this film can have greater availability. It is an excellent alternative to Kodak emulsions.
In comparison to to Kodak, Fujifilm appears to be a little cooler with an emphasis on blues and greens.
Lomography 800 - If you want an ISO 800 color film, there are only a few possible choices. This is the only 35mm film emulsion geared towards consumers.
The emulsion can also be found in the 120 film format, to be used with a medium format camera.
Kodak Gold 200 - A staple film stock that was released in the mid-1980s. The film gives the look of home snapshots from the 80s and 1990s. Use a flash to get the “classic” film look.
To bring the best out of this film, make sure to over-expose it by 1 or 2-stops. This will ensure that you get the stunning colors everyone loves Kodak Gold 200 for.
Professional
Kodak Portra 400 - Among the enthusiasts online, Portra 400 is undoubtedly the most widely used color negative film. Overexpose it by 1 or 2-stops to get the look and feel the film is known for.
Portra is also for sale in ISO 160 and ISO 800 versions. 8x10 sheets, 4x5 sheets, and rolls of 120 are also manufactured.
Black and White Film
Consumer
With affordable prices and excellent very popular to be used in the Nikon N6006.
The largest draw for budget minded photographers and photography students is the low cost. Even if you do not put yourself in those groups, it is great to have economical rolls of 35 film around for trying out newly acquired camera gear.
Kentmere 400 - It’s produced by the parent company of Ilford, Harmon Technology. This is great because that allows this to be the most broadly available film out of the three.
Foma Fomapan 400 Action - Will be easier to acquire in Europe as the film is made by Foma Bohemia in the Czech Republic.
A pretty good film emulsion to choose for your initial couple of attempts at film photography or developing film at home. Also a good selection if you happen to be attempting to try out a camera to ensure that it is totally functional.
Ultrafine eXtreme 400 - You can get the cheapest price on this film by ordering it from Ultrafine.
They produce chemical developer kits for film, so if you develop film at home you could have previously done business with them.
Professional
Kodak Tri-X 400 and Ilford HP-5+ 400 are the two most widely used black and white film emulsions. They have quite a few qualities that are similar that help make them so well liked, while keeping different appearances.
You can still get great results after pushing both films 2-stops. This makes the film versatile as a roll can be shot at ISO 400, 800, or 1600.
Ilford HP5 Plus 400 - Between the two film emulsions, HP5 Plus is less expensive and has less contrast. Less contrast can be helpful because of the fact contrast can be adjusted when making a print in the darkroom or editing digitally.
The film stock has subtle grain and still appears great when pushed 2-stops.
Kodak Tri-X 400 - This film possesses a more distinctive rendering to it. To showcase the old-school grain structure, contrast, and look of the film, it will need to be developed in Kodak D-76.
Kodak Tri-X 400 undoubtedly has considerably more contrast. That is ideal if that is the overall look you want to have because it means considerably less work when making a print or during digital processing.
Transparency Film
Film stocks that create a positive image are commonly referred to as transparency, slide, or reversal film. This means the slides can be showcased with a projector or light box.
This is different from the more prevalent negative film emulsions that produce pictures that require the colors to be inverted in order to be viewable.
Slide films are regarded as very difficult to shoot because slide film has less latitude and dynamic range when compared with negative film.
Kodak Ektachrome 100 - The film is known for fine grain and eye-catching skin tones. The colors won’t be seen as oversaturated. Ektachrome is daylight color balanced.
Fujifilm Velvia 50 - This is a seriously sharp daylight balanced reversal film with high levels of saturation and contrast, giving images a beautiful appearance. Velvia has the top resolving power of any available transparency film stock.
It is also available in an ISO 100 speed.
Fujichrome Provia 100F - Delivers natural and vivid colors with moderate contrast and color saturation. It has a daylight color balance and ultrafine grain.
Foma Fomapan R100 - This is a black & white reversal film, marketed by Fomapan as having high resolving power, very fine grain, and elevated levels of contrast. It’s also regarded as a substitute for the discontinued Agfa Scala film emulsion.
Film Basics
Consumer vs Professional Film
Professional film stock have better dynamic range, latitude, and can more easily be pushed, this is why they will cost more.
There’s a significant difference in where it can be purchased. Consumer film emulsions can commonly still be seen in big-box stores and pharmacies in limited quantities. Pro film stocks usually need to be ordered from a photography store or online.
ISO
A film’s light sensitivity is listed as the ISO.
The bigger the ISO, the less light is needed to capture an image. Also, be prepared for more film grain.
ISO 100 and slower speed films (ISO 50, ISO 25, etc) is often troublesome to shoot handheld in the N6006. This is because if you do not have full sun, the shutter speeds can take longer than what you are able to handhold without creating motion blur.
To stop motion blur you’ll need to use a fast lens, flash, and/or tripod. Using a fast ISO 400 or ISO 800 film often makes the additional accessories unnecessary.
The dial to select film speed is marked as ASA on the Nikon N6006. The shift to labeling ISO from ASA (American Standards Association) came after the creation of the International Standards Organization (ISO).
Latitude
Latitude is the number of stops a film can be overexposed while still maintaining satisfactory results. Professional films have a greater latitude along with a somewhat higher price.
Reversal film has a smaller amount of latitude in comparison with negative film. That is one of the reasons why it is perceived as challenging to shoot.
Dynamic Range
The difference between the brightest and darkest details of a photograph is referred to as dynamic range. Areas of a photograph that do not fit in this range will be seen as black underexposed shadows or white overexposed highlights.
When working in a variety or quickly changing lighting conditions, film stocks with a larger dynamic range is better.
- Digital cameras 14+ stops
- Negative film up to 13 stops
- Slide film 6-8 stops
The constrained dynamic range of transparency film is one more reason it’s viewed as challenging to shoot. A fantastic time to try it out is during the golden hour.
Film Type
The Nikon N6006 uses 35mm film that comes in canisters. It is also the most often used type of film and occasionally referred to as 135 film.
The only other type of film you are going to encounter is 120 or 220 film that is used with medium format cameras}.
One of the marvelous properties of film is that you can change the film stock you work with and get a completely different look to your photos.
DX Coded Film
All new 35mm film for sale at this time has DX encoding on the canister. This enables cameras to auto detect and set the ISO of the film put in the camera.
DX-coding does not make a difference for the Nikon N6006 because ISO has to be manually set with the ASA knob.
Nikon N6006 Resources
Where to Get 35mm Film Developed?
You will find several possible choices for where to have 35mm film processed. For a more extensive explanation of the possibilities check my article on Where to Develop Film.
WARNING: Pharmacies and big box stores do not develop film locally. They send film away to be developed by a 3rd party. As a result, you will not receive your negatives back.
- Develop Film at Home
- Use a Local Photography Lab
- Use a Mail Order Photo Lab
- Pharmacy or Big Box Store
The least complicated option and the method I suggest doing if you’re just getting started using film is to ship your film to a photo lab to be developed and scanned. If you regularly shoot film, this can be a downside because it can get pricey.
There are a couple of activities that you are able to do to help reduce the costs required to use film, given that you are using a moderate to high volume of film.
Bulk Loading Film
Investing in a bulk roll of 100 feet of film and loading in into canisters yourself is one of the most widely used methods to save money.
A 100 foot roll will load around 18 canisters of film containing 36 frames. You should expect to save 20-30% depending on your selection.
Be aware that you are limited to 100 foot rolls of black and white film. This is in part because black & white film is easier and more cost-effective to process at home.
Home Developing and Scanning
All film can be developed by hand. It is a very good way to cut costs so that you can use more film with your Nikon N6006.
Black and white film is by far the least difficult to develop at home. Developer temperature and time are not as important to get correct with black and white film as they are for slide or color negative.