Best Film for the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000
The best film to use in your Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 is going to be based on the lighting, lens, and type of film you want to shoot.
To eliminate having to haul around a tripod or flash, choose a 35mm film that has an ISO of 400 or higher.
Ensure you have a fast lens if you want to shoot photographs in low light, conditions that are frequently encountered indoors. Go read my short article on the 5 Best Lenses for the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 for suggestions.
Color Film
Consumer
Kodak UltraMax 400 - A terrific option for a wide range of lighting conditions. The film is fast enough so that you should be able to handhold the FX-3 Super 2000 in the vast majority of situations.
Expect pictures to appear slightly warm with outstanding colors.
Fujifilm Superia X-TRA ISO 400 - Based on where you are in the world, this film could be more widely available. It is a very good alternative to Kodak emulsions.
Fujifilm photographs tend to have cooler tones with notable blues and greens, compared to Kodak.
Lomography 800 - You’re limited to just a small number of offerings if you want an ISO 800 speed color film. This happens to be the only 35mm film focused on consumers.
Lomography 800 can also be purchased in the 120 film format, to be used in medium format cameras.
Kodak Gold 200 - An outstanding way to achieve that mid-1980s through 90s rendering. For the authentic experience try a flash.
To bring the ideal look out of this film, you’ll want to over-expose it by 1 or 2-stops. This will give you the attractive colors people love Gold 200 for.
Professional
Kodak Portra 400 - Among the enthusiasts online, Portra 400 is easily the most popular color film emulsion. Overexpose Portra 400 by 1 or 2-stops to get the look and feel the film is well known for.
Portra is also for sale in ISO 800 and 160 versions. 8x10 sheets, 4x5 sheets, and rolls of 120 film are also available.
Black and White Film
Consumer
With reasonable prices and very good quite popular to try in the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000.
The main appeal for photography students and budget minded photographers is the very affordable cost. Even if you do not put yourself in that group, it’s good to have affordable rolls of film around for trying out newly delivered camera gear.
Kentmere 400 - Manufactured by Harmon Technology, which is the parent company of Ilford. This is excellent due to the fact that makes this the most broadly available 35mm film of the three.
Foma Fomapan 400 Action - Might be easier to purchase in Europe as the film is produced by Foma Bohemia inside of the Czech Republic.
A suitable film emulsion to employ for your first few attempts at film photography or developing film at home. Also a good option if you happen to be trying out a camera to guarantee that it’s working properly.
Ultrafine eXtreme 400 - The best store to get this film is directly from Ultrafine.
If you develop color 35mm film yourself, you might have done that with chemicals sold by them to develop your film.
Professional
The two most frequently used black and white 35mm film emulsions are Kodak Tri-X 400 and Ilford HP-5+ 400. They possess quite a few characteristics that are equivalent that make them so well liked, while retaining different appearances.
Both film stocks can be pushed 2 stops and still deliver excellent images. 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 stocks, HP5 Plus is cheaper and has less contrast. Minimal contrast can be helpful because contrast can be changed when making a print or editing digitally.
The film stock still looks excellent when pushed 2-stops. It is also noted for having subtle grain.
Kodak Tri-X 400 - This film has got a more distinctive style to it. To produce the legendary grain structure, contrast, and look of the film, it needs to be processed in D-76.
You’ll without a doubt notice greater contrast with this film emulsion. That’s fantastic if it is the style you want to have because it results in a great deal less work when editing digitially or making a print in the darkroom.
Reversal Film
Film emulsions that create a positive image are known as slide, reversal, or transparency film. This means the photographs can be viewed with a light box or projector.
This is different from the more common negative film emulsions that result in pictures that need the colors to be inverted for the image to be viewable.
Slide films have a lot less dynamic range and latitude compared to negative films and so they are viewed as harder to use.
Kodak Ektachrome 100 - This is a film known for stunning skin tones and fine grain. There is virtually no hypersaturation of colors. It has a daylight color balance.
Fujifilm Velvia 50 - This is a exceptionally sharp daylight color balanced reversal film with lots of contrast and saturation, giving shots a special rendering. It has the highest resolving power of any increased increased.
An ISO 100 version is also available for purchase.
Fujichrome Provia 100F - Creates realistic and vivid colors with medium contrast and color saturation. It has a daylight color balance and ultra fine grain.
Foma Fomapan R100 - This is a black and white reversal film, reported by Fomapan as having higher contrast, excellent resolving power, and fine grain. It’s also mentioned as a replacement for the discontinued Agfa Scala Film Stock.
Film Basics
Consumer vs Professional Film
Pro film stock have improved latitude, are easier to push, and expanded dynamic range, that is why pro-film costs more.
There’s a difference in supply. Consumer film stocks can oftentimes be found in pharmacies and big-box stores in limited amounts. Pro film emulsions needs to be bought from a specialized photography store or online retailer.
ISO
The filml speed is displayed by ISO, which may also be thought of as the film’s sensitivity to light.
The bigger the film’s ISO, the less light will be necessary to properly expose an image. Also, be prepared to see larger film grain.
It is often problematic to handhold the FX-3 Super 2000 with ISO 100 or slower films (ISO 50, ISO 25, etc). The will most likely be longer are going to be longer than what you could handhold without causing motion blur unless you’re in full sun.
A tripod, flash, and/or fast lens will assist you with longer exposure times. Using a fast ISO 400 or ISO 800 film probably will make the additional accessories not needed.
The ISO dial is marked as ASA on the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000. The shift to using 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 keeping tolerable images. Pro film emulsions have a larger latitude paired with a somewhat increased cost.
Negative film has more latitude compared to transparency film. That is a reason why it is viewed as difficult to work with.
Dynamic Range
Dynamic range is the range between the brightest and darkest details of a photo that can be recorded. Areas of a photograph that are not in this range will be rendered as black underexposed shadows or white overexposed highlights.
When working in a variety or quickly changing lighting situations, films with a bigger dynamic range are a better choice.
- Digital cameras 14+ stops
- Negative film up to 13 stops
- Slide film 6-8 stops
Reversal film is viewed as a challenge to use resulting from the limited dynamic range. Golden hour is the ideal time to use slide.
Film Type
35mm film that comes in metal canisters is used by the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000. It can also be described as 135 film, and it’s the most often used type of film.
The only other type of film you are likely to encounter is 120 or 220 film that is used by medium format cameras}.
Swapping the film stock you are using will alter the look of your images. This is one of the terrific things about film.
DX Coded Film
Nearly all new 35mm film on the market at this point has a DX code. This lets cameras to detect and set the ISO of the film loaded into the camera.
The ASA (ISO) on the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 must be dialed in manually. Which means that DX-coding isn’t going to matter.
Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 Resources
Where to Get 35mm Film Developed?
You will find a range of choices for where to have 35mm film processed. For a more extensive explanation of the options see my guide on Where to Develop Film.
WARNING: Big box stores and pharmacies have ended processing film on location. They ship film off to be processed by a separate company. As a consequence, you will not get your developed negatives back.
- Develop Film at Home
- Use a Local Photography Lab
- Use a Mail Order Photo Lab
- Pharmacy or Big Box Store
The most convenient method and what I would suggest using if you are just beginning to shoot film is to mail your film to a lab to be processed and scanned. A drawback to this is that it can become very expensive if you are consistently shooting film.
There are two actions that can be done to decrease the costs involved in shooting film, assuming that you are using a medium to high volume of film.
Bulk Loading Film
One of the common methods to spend less money on film is to buy a roll of 100 feet of film and load canisters by hand.
A 100’ roll of film should fill up roughly 18 canisters of film containing 36 exposures. Based on the film you are likely to save 20%-30%.
Take into account that you are only going to be able to purchase 100’ rolls of black and white film. This is due to black and white film is much easier and cheaper to develop yourself.
Home Developing and Scanning
All film can be developed at home. It is an excellent way to save money so you can shoot more film with your Yashica FX-3 Super 2000.
Black and white film is significantly less complicated to develop. Developer temperature and time are both not as crucial to do correctly with black & white film as they are for color negative or transparency film.