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Tips and recommendations for a beginner photographer?

I recently got into photography, and know very little, especially when it comes to buying film. Currently, I own an antique Baby Brownie Special that takes 127 film, a Holga 120N with 120 film, and will most likely get the Vivitar 3800N with 35mm film. The Vivitar was recommended to me by my school's photography teacher as a good beginners camera. I've been looking through films (in the 120, 35mm sort) and will order a combo. of Kodak and Fuji film. Are there any good films to use (I do realize that this may be based on a person's opinion) or websites to order from. Right now I'm ordering from Adorama. I also don't know much about the different numbers associated with ISO speeds. If you know any good websites, films, tips, they all would be greatly appreciated.

I shoot a voiglander r3m, using 35mm film.

I typically carry 2 kinds of film on me.

Fuji Velvia 50 - great scenic and colour. Not so great when you take pictures of people, they look a little red. www.kenrockwell.com is a huge advocate of this film. He believes it is the greatest thing on this planet. While I find his opinion is pretty excessive, it is still very good film.

note: keep in mind velvia is slide film, requiring the E-6 process. make sure the developer knows this. or else they may use the wrong process and your film will look like someone puked on it. Slides typically take a little longer to develop because it is less commonly used (although now i think it is used more than negatives just because everyone who uses negatives have already swiched to digital) And it is a little more expensive. Look at kenrockwell site, he suggests a few mail order developers.

The second film i use are ilford xp2 400. It is a black and white film
I use it because it is fast, i can shoot in low light. and i don't need to worry about white balance adaptations. I'm happy with the results i get with it. And it can be processed traditionally.

note I don't use the XP2 800 or 3200 because I didn't like how hte pictures look, and it seems like the picture was severely degraded. I don't use Delta because that uses a chemical process that is a little more expensive and I'm happy with the XP2 400.

About iso speeds.
Iso or ASA measures the sensitivity (or something about silver flakes). Basically, the higher the ASA / ISO number, the less light you need to expose the picture. In practice, I use the illford XP2 400 (ISO 400) in low light, dim light, in doors etc. And I'll use the Velvia 50 (ISO 50) in daylight, sunrise/sunset on a tripod.

Typically when you raise your ISO image quality degrades. it is up to you to compromise and find a balance between functionality and quality.

Final note:
I also shoot traditional film like kodak gold 200 etc. However I only use this to test out my camera, or to try something new. In my personal opinion it just doesnt' look as good as Velvia or Illford XP2.

Enjoy

Beginning Photography Tips & Techniques : Loading Film in 35mm Camera

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