What ISO film should I take to India?

Question

I'm traveling to India this summer, and will be taking a film SLR with me but don't know what ISO film to take.

If it helps I will be trekking in the himalayas through the Lug valley, visiting Delhi, McLeod Ganj (the residence of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan government in exile), Jaipur, Rajasthan, Agra.
A lot of my time will be spent outside, however my trek will go through woodland which I am presuming to be darker, and there will be many indoor areas and markets etc. that I will want some great photos of.

Would 200 ISO be able to cope with indoor / woodland lighting? Would 400 ISO be able to cope with the bright light outside? I won't be able to swap around film very easily so I'll be sticking to just one ISO film.
Thanks.

Answer 1

bring a variety of film. However the choices are ultimately yours? B/w or Colour? How many rolls do I need?



B/W choices:

Ilford Pan F 50 (iso 50)

Ilford HP5 400 (iso 400)

Ilford Delta 3200 (iso 3200)



Colour:

Fuji Veliva 50

Fuji Realia 100



Usually when I travel, I just carry some HP5 and Velvia. Veliva for daylight landscapes. HP5 for everything else. I do a lot of b/w work so I find HP5 very versatile. HP5 can be pushed or pulled during development for better negatives



Additional Tips:

- carry a camera that doesn't require batteries to operate. it would suck if in the middle of the trek, your batteries crap out.

- i.e. leica MP or Voigtlander r3M. If the meter craps out, i have a small Sekonic back up meter. But even if hte batteries crap out, i still have a good camera to rely on.

- ND filters are great, but also carry a ND grad and polarizers for landscapes.

Answer 2

I live in India and I must tell you that in summers temperature in Rajasthan is not gonna be less than 40 degree celsius (daytime). And it's gonna be very sunny in Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. But chances are that it may be cloudy on the Himalayas.



So, I would suggest that you bring along some fast film like ISO 800 and ISO 1600 for the himalayas.



And, get only a few rolls of ISO 200 and 400 as you can easily find them in India. In Delhi, you can get most of you photographic supplies, even quality films like the provia and ektar.



ISO 200 should be able to do most of the work done from morning till evening. After that you will need ISO 800.



Lastly, my suggestion would be that you bring along a backup camera (digital would be good) that can be set on a high ISO if your primary camera has a low ISO film in it or vice versa.



Bon voyage!

Answer 3

You need to bring a wide variety for changing conditions.



90% of what I should is with Fuji Velvia which is only ISO 50, but you can't beat the sharpness and color depth.



I also bring Provia 400 and come 3200 black and white film.





You can also push and pull film. So you can shoot ISO 50 at ISO 100, and then just have the entire roll push processed. You can also pull ISO 400 and have it processed at 200, or even 100 in a pinch.



So if you have both 50 and 400, that basically opens up the range from ISO 50-1600.

Answer 4

I'd bring a variety of film. Some 200 and 400 as my main stay. I'd prefer Fuji for that. But also pack some high speed stuff, 1600, perhaps some slides or B&W as well.

If you're worried about bright light buy a ND filter, can save you 2-4 stops easily and it's a lot easier than swapping film

Answer 5

Yeah, 200!