What kind of film for my camera?

I’ve recently become interested in film and cameras. I can’t say I know to much, as I still have so much to learn. I was wondering how I know what kind of film to buy for my cameras. I’m into the Contax, Leica, and Olympus brands. Point and shoot and rangefinders. I like the look of expired film. When i search for film it has a bunch of numbers and stuff. I understand the 35 mm, but what are the 400’s and the 200’s? How can i differentiate films for types of cameras. Thank you!

The other number…100, 200, 400, etc is the ISO rating. The ISO is the film’s light sensitivity. (Sometimes it’s also called the “film speed.”) Film with a higher ISO number is more sensitive to light. So for example, 400 ISO film is more sensitive than 200 ISO.

The exposure of a picture is determined by the shutter speed, aperture setting, and the ISO rating. I don’t know how much experience you have with manual exposure, but the shutter speed means how long the shutter stays open when you press the button to take a picture, and it’s usually measured in fractions of a second. The aperture is the opening in the lens that controls how much light comes into the camera. It has settings called “F-stops.” It’s kind of like the iris in your eye. In order to properly expose a picture, you have to set the shutter speed and aperture correctly for the lighting conditions and the ISO of the film you’re using. Film with a higher ISO rating will need a faster shutter speed andor a smaller aperture setting. Conversely, film with a lower ISO rating will need more exposure for the same given light conditions…either a slower shutter speed or a bigger aperture setting (or both).

With a manual exposure camera, you can use pretty much any film you want because you can control the shutter speed and aperture to properly expose the film. But if you use a simple point and shoot camera, you have to choose the right film ahead of time for the pictures you’re planning to take. If you’re taking pictures outside on a sunny day, you should probably use 100 or 200 ISO film. I definitely wouldn’t recommend any higher than 400 ISO or you’ll overexpose the film.

If you do decide to get a camera with manual exposure control, you should look up the “Sunny 16 Rule.” It’s a helpful guide for how to take pictures outside with manual exposure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_16

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