man grab some Kodak Tri-X 400 or Fujifilm Superia 400. TriX is like five bucks a roll if you buy in bulk, saved me a ton over paying pro prices...

Buy Kodak Portra 400 for color or Ilford HP5 Plus 400 for black and white. Check the Massive Dev Chart website for developing times and use the Exposure Calculator app on your phone since the M3 lacks a built-in meter.

The M3 is a legendary rangefinder. Since you are walking around Boston, you want something with latitude that handles varying light well. I have spent years testing stocks, and for a beginner, you cannot beat the consistency of these two options:

• Ilford HP5 Plus 400 ISO is the gold standard for black and white. It has a forgiving exposure latitude, meaning it handles overexposure better than almost anything else. It looks great in high-contrast urban settings.
• Kodak Portra 400 35mm is the best color negative film available. It produces incredibly natural skin tones and handles the bright, harsh light often found between skyscrapers in a city like Boston. It is expensive, but worth the output. I personally shoot Ilford HP5 Plus 400 ISO when I am just testing a new lens because it is reliable and the grain structure is beautiful at 400 ISO. If you want color, Kodak Portra 400 35mm is much more stable than the cheaper consumer stocks. Stick to 400 ISO film for now; it gives you the flexibility to shoot in the shadows of the city or in the bright afternoon sun without needing to swap rolls constantly. Just load the camera, set your shutter speed to 1/125 or 1/250, and focus on your composition. The M3 rangefinder patch is the best ever made, so use it to your advantage.

Oh man, seeing that M3 just gave me a rush — totally agree with the HP5 mention above, but if you want something with a bit more punch for walking around the city, grab a couple rolls of Ilford Delta 400 instead. The sharpness is just insane compared to regular HP5, especially when you pair it with an old Summicron. Anyway, bottom line is just shoot whatever and have fun with that gorgeous finder!

> my head is spinning I'm no expert but I just went through this whole panic last week, so I totally feel your pain. To add to the point above: just grab whatever cheap color roll Kodak ColorPlus 200 or generic stuff you find at the local shop (wait, no — I mean any basic drugstore film works fine while you're figuring out the advance lever). Oh man, speaking of local shops, did I tell you guys about the crazy parking ticket I got in downtown last month? Anyway, just go shoot!

TL;DR: Stop overcomplicating film choices. Just load up Ilford Delta 100 and pay attention to your manual settings. Jumping in here because this thread is giving me a headache. Everyone acting like a rocket scientist over a simple strip of plastic. Listen. Back in the shop I dont guess clearances and I sure as hell dont guess tolerances. You got a precision instrument in your hands with that M3. The tolerances on that rangefinder mechanism are tighter than a properly torqued head bolt. So why are people telling you to just grab whatever junk is on the shelf? Makes no sense. If you put garbage through a precision block you get garbage out. Period. Look. Grab a roll of Ilford Delta 100. Its got a crystal structure thats flat as a machined valve cover. The grain is practically invisible. When you are walking downtown Boston and the sun hits the old brick, you want something that records the actual detail without turning into a fuzzy mess. ISO 100 means you gotta watch your shutter speeds, sure. But thats how you learn. You cant just rely on auto-everything. Back in my day we didnt have forums spinning our heads off. We just read the specs and did the work. Idk why people gotta make it so complicated now. Just shoot the damn thing.

idk why people overthink this stuff so much tbh. Just grab whatever is cheap at the local shop and go shoot downtown. Ive been through three of these bodies over the years and honestly half the obsession with specific stocks is just pure hype. Back when I lived in the North End I tried shooting some random expired import roll I found in a drawer and it was garbage... though things may have changed since then with emulsion prices getting completely ridiculous.

• stop worrying about the gear specs
• the rangefinder patch matters way more than the brand on the cassette
• nobody cares what stock you used on the internet anyway reminds me of this one time I drove all the way out to Worcester just to find a specific deli my grandfather talked about, only to realize I left my wallet on the kitchen counter and had to eat gas station peanuts in the car while listening to talk radio for three hours. anyway lol

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