Best Film for the Fujica ST701
The best film to use in your Fujica ST701 will depend on the lighting conditions, your lens, and type of film you want to use.
To eliminate having to haul around a tripod or flash, pick a film that has an ISO of 400 or higher.
If you intend to take photos inside or anytime there is low light, make sure that you are using a fast lens. For lens suggestions have a look at my list on the 5 Best Lenses for the Fujica ST701.
Color Film
Consumer
Kodak UltraMax 400 - This film handles a plethora of lighting conditions well and is a terrific option for a 35mm color film. Using Kodak UltraMax 400 you should be able to handhold the ST701 in the majority of scenarios.
Expect photographs to look a little bit warm with outstanding colors.
Fujifilm Superia X-TRA ISO 400 - An alternative to Kodak that may have greater availability depending on where you are in the world.
In comparison to Kodak, Fujifilm tends to be a small amount cooler with an emphasis on greens and blues.
Lomography 800 - There are only a few possibilities if you want an ISO 800 speed color 35mm film. For 35mm film emulsions focused on consumers, Lomography 800 is the sole option.
Furthermore, if you have a medium format camera, Lomography 800 is also available in 120 film format.
Kodak Gold 200 - A great option to obtain that mid-1980s through 90s feeling. Use a flash to get the “classic” film look.
Over-expose it by 1 or 2-stops to produce the best the film has to offer. This will provide the beautiful colors people love Gold 200 for.
Professional
Kodak Portra 400 - Among the film shooting enthusiasts online, Portra 400 is without a doubt the most popular color negative 35mm film. Overexpose it by 1 or 2-stops to get the look the film is well known for.
Additionally, ISO 160 and 800 versions of Portra. 8x10 sheets, 4x5 sheets, and rolls of 120 are also easily found.
Black and White Film
Consumer
These film emulsions have affordable costs and excellent quality, making them very popular to use in the Fujica ST701.
The major draw for budget minded photographers and photography students is the very affordable cost. Even if you would not put yourself in those groups, it’s nice to have economical rolls of 35 film available for trying out recently purchased used gear.
Kentmere 400 - Made by Harmon Technology, which is also the parent company of Ilford. This is good since that allows this to be the most broadly available 35mm film out of the three.
Foma Fomapan 400 Action - It will probably much easier to buy in Europe as the film is made by Foma Bohemia out of the Czech Republic.
An appropriate film emulsion to try for your initial couple of attempts at home developing or film photography. Also a good choice if you are trying out a camera to guarantee that it is operating properly.
Ultrafine eXtreme 400 - You can get the best price on this film by getting it directly from Ultrafine.
If you process color film at home, you could have done that with developer produced by them.
Professional
The two best black & white 35mm films are Kodak Tri-X 400 and Ilford HP-5+ 400. They do have a lot of traits in common that make them so well received, while keeping individual rendering.
Both film stocks can be pushed 2 stops and deliver solid photos. A roll can be used at ISO 400, 800, or 1600, making them very versatile.
Ilford HP5 Plus 400 - The main differences are that HP5 Plus has lower levels of contrast and is less expensive in comparison to Tri-X. Less contrast can be advantageous because of the fact contrast can be adjusted when making a darkroom print or through digital processing.
The film still looks great when pushed 2-stops. It is also noted for having subdued grain.
Kodak Tri-X 400 - This film stock has a more distinctive aesthetic. To showcase the old-school grain structure, contrast, and look of the film, it should be developed in Kodak D-76.
You’ll undeniably see far more contrast with Kodak Tri-X 400. That’s very good if it’s the overall look you are after because it involves substantially less work when during digital processing or making a print.
Transparency Film
Film stocks that make a positive image are referred to as reversal, slide, or transparency film. This means the photographs can be exhibited with a projector or light box.
Colors don’t need to be inverted to be viewed, unlike the more prevalent negative film emulsions.
Slide films have a smaller amount of latitude and dynamic range when compared to negative films and so they are believed to be more challenging to shoot.
Kodak Ektachrome 100 - This is a fine grain film known for beautiful skin tones. There is not any hypersaturation of colors. It is daylight color balanced.
Fujifilm Velvia 50 - Provides appealing looking pictures that have high amounts of saturation and contrast. It is razor-sharp and balanced for daylight. Compared to all the reversal films available to buy, it has the highest resolving power.
There’s also another speed that is ISO 100.
Fujichrome Provia 100F - Creates vibrant and natural colors with medium color saturation and contrast. It has ultra fine grain with a daylight color balance.
Foma Fomapan R100 - This is a black & white slide film, reported by Fomapan as having high resolving power, higher contrast, and fine grain. It’s also billed as a alternative for the long discontinued Agfa Scala Film Stock.
Film Basics
Consumer vs Professional Film
Professional films cost more because they have better latitude, dynamic range, and are easier to push.
There will also be a big difference in where 35mm rolls of film can be purchased. Consumer film emulsions can generally be bought in big-box stores and pharmacies in limited amounts. Professional film emulsions will need to be ordered from a specialized camera store or online.
ISO
The ISO shows the film speed, which may also be regarded as the film’s sensitivity to light.
The less light there’s available to capture an image, the bigger the ISO of the film will be needed. This comes at the expense of larger film grain.
ISO 100 and slower films (ISO 25, ISO 50, etc) is often challenging to use handheld in the ST701. The can be longer are going to take longer than what you’re able to handhold without resulting in motion blur unless you are in full sun.
A fast lens, tripod, and/or flash can assist you with longer exposure times. The additional accessories might not be needed if you use a faster ISO 800 or ISO 400 film.
As a quick note, the ISO selection knob is marked as ASA on the Fujica ST701. The shift to labeling ISO from ASA (American Standards Association) happened after the creation of the International Standards Organization (ISO).
Film Latitude
Film latitude is the range of stops a film can be overexposed while having acceptable images. Professional film emulsions have a larger latitude along with a somewhat higher price.
Negative film has a greater amount of latitude than reversal film. That is one of the reasons it is considered difficult to use.
Dynamic Range
The range between the shadows and highlights details of an image is known as dynamic range. Sections of a picture that do not fit in this range will appear as solid black underexposed shadows or solid white overexposed highlights.
A larger dynamic range is better given that a bigger range can make working in a variety of lighting conditions easier.
- Digital cameras 14+ stops
- Negative film up to 13 stops
- Slide film 6-8 stops
The limited dynamic range of transparency film is an additional reason it’s thought to be hard to shoot. An extremely good time to try it would be during the golden hour.
Film Type
35mm film that is sold in metal canisters is used by the Fujica ST701. In addition, it is the best-selling film format and in some instances is called 135 film.
The only other film format you are likely to notice is 120 or 220 film that is used in medium format cameras}.
Swapping the film you are using will change the look of your shots. This is an example of the wonderful things about using film.
DX Coded Film
Nearly all new 35mm film offered currently has a DX code. This makes it possible for cameras to detect and set the ISO of the film canister put in the camera.
DX-coding will not matter for the Fujica ST701 because ISO has to be manually dialed in.
Fujica ST701 Resources
Where to Get 35mm Film Developed?
There are limited possibilities for where to get film processed. For a more thorough explanation of the options see my article on Where to Get Film Developed.
WARNING: Pharmacies and big box stores do not develop film on site. They ship the film off-site to be developed by a separate company. Consequently, you won’t be given your 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 most convenient option if you are just getting started shooting film. A drawback to this is that it can become very expensive if you consistently use film.
There are a few things that can be done to greatly reduce the expenses required to shoot film, assuming that you are going through a moderate to high volume of film.
Bulk Loading Film
Purchasing a bulk roll of 100 feet of film and manually loading in into canisters yourself is among the common methods to lower expenses.
A 100 foot bulk roll should load around 18 canisters of film with 36 frames. Look forward to savings of 20-30% depending on the film you choose.
Take into account that you’re going to be limited to bulk rolls of black and white film. This is in part because black & white film is less difficult and more affordable to process at home.
Home Developing and Scanning
All film can be processed at home. In fact it’s a smart method to cut costs so you can use more film with your Fujica ST701.
Black and white film is significantly easier to develop at home. Developer temperature and time are not as imperative to get correct with black & white film as time and temperatures are for slide or color negative.