I am curious also about using film which produces contact sheets, also color slide film; -as opposed to prints and negatives. I know the first two look more professional. What are the benefits of using film that makes contact sheets and color slides -(as opposed to prints)? If anyone has worked with the first to mediums I've mentioned please let me know why you use those types in particular. Any info is much appreciated! Lynn Baker

-- Lynn Baker (Traxer5@aol.com), April 13, 2000

Answers

Lynn, I find your question very confusing.

You get contact sheets from negative film [b&w and color] and then prints from the negatives.

With slide film, the film [slide] is the final product. [except for specialized uses]

Are you asking about the difference between slide and negative film?

Also remember, this is a black and white site. In b&w the question of negatives versus slides does not come up much, since there is only a very limited use of b&w slide film.

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), April 13, 2000.

I'm not sure that I understand the question properly. Any negative film can be contact-printed to give contact sheets. Slides are a bit tricky to produce from negative originals, but it can be done.

If the idea is simply to have contact sheets for presentation; it's probably best to start with slide film and have it returned unmounted in strips. The film can then be contact printed on reversal paper or Ilfochrome and put into slide mounts afterwards.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), April 13, 2000.

Question 1:

Contact sheets can be made "without" an enlarger with use of a large format camera. Any brand that has e.g. 8 x 10 sheets (negatives) are useable. e.g. Ilford HP5. It's a camera question and not that much a film question. For best results however, IMHO processing should be completely done by hand to have maximum control. This gives maximum quality possible in photography. Relatively expensive process.

Question 2

Slides give more brilliance than common prints. They are also more suited for publishing. Relatively cheap process with a lot of excellent films available on the market.

-- Marc Leest (mmm@n2photography.com), April 13, 2000.

Lynn, I think you are talking about APS format and 35 mm format, aren't you? I'm not a pro, but I'll tell you what I know. APS and 35 mm need different cameras to work with. I'm not very familiar with APS, but It seems to me that is a format that take cameras easy to use and you can get both color prints and slides - I don't know if you can shoot black and white. You never get to see the negative, it works with a cassete (I'm not sure if this word exists, hope you know what I mean), and it's the lab that does all the work, and yes, they do give you a contact sheet. 35 mm is another format, with wich you can do anything - color and black and white prints, and slides. It takes a different type of camera, you can take the film to be processed by the lab and you can ask them to do a contact sheet to. You can also process the film at home, but that is another long story... I hope this was the answer to what you were asking for, but it might be preferible to visit the "Camera equipment" forum here at Lusenet and put your questions there. I4m sorry for my english, and if I wrote anything wrong... Please forgive me that too and correct me, O.K.? Regards, Alexandra

-- Alexandra Castro (vaipipo@yahoo.com), April 17, 2000.

Christian and Pete are on the right track, but I'll try to add a little.
A contact sheet is a print of a negative or several negatives (the whole roll) where the negatives or transparencies are placed in contact with paper and exposed to give a sheet of actual sized prints, usually for analysing to select individual frames for enlargement and possibly estimating exposure adjustments, both in camera and enlargement times.
The difference between using negatives or transparencies (slides) would be the paper you print onto. I have never seen a contact sheet print of slides however, although I'm sure it's been done. Normally, slides are analysed using a loupe on a light table.
What's the benefit of using slides to a B&W Photog... none! However there's advantages (and disadvantages) of using slides over colour negative film.

-- Nigel Smith (nlandgl@eisa.net.au), April 17, 2000.