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Anyone have expertise with film cameras? I’d like to maybe buy one if it’s not too expensive of a hobby to pursue. Saw a bunch of the internet for pretty cheap aswell.
Got to be careful when buying them it’s easy to buy one that looks good and doesn’t work. I currently shoot 35mm and 120 film and tank develop my stuff
CabbyArrantGot to be careful when buying them it’s easy to buy one that looks good and doesn’t work. I currently shoot 35mm and 120 film and tank develop my stuff
man i see all these white girls taking only group
pictures on them i really wanna get into these mfs they look real interesting compared to dropping bank on a dslr i’d never use
I mostly only shoot film. In fact, my digital camera only gets really gets used for long exposures or for high iso stuff... and for scanning said film.
Its really not too expensive of a hobby at the end of the day. Especially if you develop all of your own stuff and dont fall deep into gear acquisition syndrome. I recommend getting one camera that works well, perhaps an older mechanical SLR a set of 2 or 3 lenses, and spend most of your money allocated to the hobby on trips and on film.
Jemscompared to dropping bank on a dslr i’d never use
You do realize that you have to buy a roll of film ($~8) and then have it processed ($~15) for every ~30 photos taken? Thats going to add up quick compared to the "bank" you'd drop on a decent dslr and never have to pay for photos unless you get prints. Not bashing film, I love to shoot 35 when i can afford it and when it feels right, but it gets expensive no matter what. And you might miss shots that you could have other wise easily nailed on a dslr (exposure, shutter speed, instant playback, etc)
grantlewis_dntmYou do realize that you have to buy a roll of film ($~8) and then have it processed ($~15) for every ~30 photos taken? Thats going to add up quick compared to the "bank" you'd drop on a decent dslr and never have to pay for photos unless you get prints. Not bashing film, I love to shoot 35 when i can afford it and when it feels right, but it gets expensive no matter what. And you might miss shots that you could have other wise easily nailed on a dslr (exposure, shutter speed, instant playback, etc)
If you do your own processing it gets a lot cheaper. Around 300 investment for the scanner and equipment but I can drop the cost to around $2 per roll for development by doing my own.
Jemsman i see all these white girls taking only group
pictures on them i really wanna get into these mfs they look real interesting compared to dropping bank on a dslr i’d never use
I just got so burnt out with digital and Instagram bullshit and I switched completely over to film. It’s a much more deliberate process and pretty much every photo has a story behind it. I shoot with a Mamiya RB67 and I’m happier with that than I was with my full frame canon and Sony cameras
grantlewis_dntmYou do realize that you have to buy a roll of film ($~8) and then have it processed ($~15) for every ~30 photos taken? Thats going to add up quick compared to the "bank" you'd drop on a decent dslr and never have to pay for photos unless you get prints. Not bashing film, I love to shoot 35 when i can afford it and when it feels right, but it gets expensive no matter what. And you might miss shots that you could have other wise easily nailed on a dslr (exposure, shutter speed, instant playback, etc)
Okay, yeah you get 'free photos' on a SD card, but the cost is that youre taking a million shitty photos just because you can. I believe that everyone should have a film shooting experience and try to take that into digital. I take SO many less shots on digital now, and everything is so much more deliberate. Unless I am really working a difficult scene where I dont want to blow through my pricier film trying to nail something, I almost always just shoot film.
Not to mention, the experience of shooting a film camera is just so so much better than a digital camera. No stupid bleeps when youre in focus, no distracting settings, no chimping, no focus peaking or pixel peeping... just deliberate, well taken shots. You set your exposure, you smash some shutter, and you dont fuck around with the rest and you get great photos later.
and yeah.. Youre going to make mistakes, sure, but you learn so much more from them because you give a shit about your film shots.
Digital absolutely has its place... you can make a digital workflow thats so damn quick... and the cameras that are out today are amazing, and also double as video cameras which is so cool... but its just not quite the same as film. (not to mention, with film you could rock 6x6 or larger Medium format, as well as Large format stuff, which just poos all over anything digital.
As for the cost, its a lot cheaper than you realize... and you really cant put a price on having your negatives forever.
**This post was edited on Jul 14th 2021 at 1:31:20am
grantlewis_dntmYou do realize that you have to buy a roll of film ($~8) and then have it processed ($~15) for every ~30 photos taken? Thats going to add up quick compared to the "bank" you'd drop on a decent dslr and never have to pay for photos unless you get prints. Not bashing film, I love to shoot 35 when i can afford it and when it feels right, but it gets expensive no matter what. And you might miss shots that you could have other wise easily nailed on a dslr (exposure, shutter speed, instant playback, etc)
I think part of the magic of shooting film is that whole like, I was out in the field- trusting my instrument and if I did it right I’ll have a good shot. I chose my film speed ahead of time, I planned what kind of shots I wanted to do and I got a little experimental with my exposures because in the moment I felt something cool might come out of it. I am not a great or even good photographer by the gears in my brain were spinning about how to use this roll of film.
Now that everyone has color correction endless filters and stories etc on their phone I feel like it waters that down quite a bit.
It's been a while since I was shopping for film cameras, but you cant go wrong with an Olympus OM1 and a decent 50mm lens. Or a Pentax K1000 is another great choice. You could always go a little more modern and get something with automatic settings or autofocus. Fully manual is the best way to go in my opinion because you slow down a little more and are more deliberate with your shots. Also important to note that some older cameras use weird batteries (Olympus OM1) that die quickly and sometimes cant just be bought in a drugstore, so I often end up just using an external light meter or an app on my phone for exposure.
CabbyArrantI just got so burnt out with digital and Instagram bullshit and I switched completely over to film. It’s a much more deliberate process and pretty much every photo has a story behind it. I shoot with a Mamiya RB67 and I’m happier with that than I was with my full frame canon and Sony cameras
I used to have a RZ67 and a few lenses and backs and a tripod, and everything packed up into a backpack was about 30+ lbs. I hiked up a peak overlooking Canmore, AB near Banff National Park in March in the snow one year with my friends thinking I was going to get the best photos of my life. Developed the roll a couple months later and it was completely blank. Otherwise those huge negatives were so awesome and such a wonderful experience to shoot with. I love looking into that huge viewfinder and being able to swap the film backs easily.
Medium format is awesome but the full setups are absolute bricks. I have since sold my RZ, but if I were to get into it again id probably want something a little smaller like a Mamiya 645 or a Mamiya 6 or 7
realtalk though... for anyone interested here is a list of 35mm SLRs I would recommend for someone who wants to get into film photography, but wants to spend as little as possible and still have a great experience shooting. You shouldnt have to spend more than about 50$ with a lens for any of these. Just make sure the meter works, or the electronics all work as it will help you when you're just starting out and motivate you.
PentaxSpotmatic (disregard the number, 'SP-500' or 'F' or whatever) You can get a PentaxK2 if you want nicer
OlympusOM10 (OM1 if you want something a little nicer - personally I would since theyre awesome)
Canon FTB (or FT, FTBn or any other designation) You can also get an AE-1 or A1, but they're more money.
Nikon FG. Hands down the best value Nikon SLR. Lenses get expensive though. go with a Nikon FM for reliability.
Minolta SRT (101,201,202, doesnt matter the number.. just SRT-whatever theyre mostly the same. Get a Minolta XD-7 or X700 if you want something a little nicer.)
Note; These are all Manual-focus. Auto focus film cameras are generally a bit more of a crapshoot as to whether they operate after 20-30 years. They can be had for super cheap though, and they work with DSLR lenses a lot of the time (just not Nikon DX or Canon EF-S)
There are plenty more to go for, but thats a list of cameras that are generally pretty easy to find from the 5 main Japanese camera brands and that also aren't overhyped/overpriced. They mass produced these things like crazy, and you shouldn't have much trouble finding any of them. I would probably stay away from secondary Japanese brands like Yashica or Petri or Fujica or Ricoh because there is less known about them and while they often work great and can be had for cheap, they dont seem to work as often and less compatibilities as with the aforementioned 5 brands.
**This post was edited on Jul 15th 2021 at 4:27:11pm
Yeah man, film photography has been around for 200 years almost, so its an absolute labyrinth to break into if you dont know where to start.
Here's what I recommend... get one of the cameras from the list I provided above (a Pentax Spotmatic or a Minolta SRT will probably be the cheapest). They should come with a 50mm lens or something basic, which will be perfect for starting out. There is a plethora of Youtube information on both of them as well, so youll be able to find out how they operate pretty easily. HMU if you need assistance in sourcing one.
For choosing which film, I would say you should spend 15$ on one of these 3-packs of Kodak Gold 200. It will give you over 100 shots to play with. Each roll gives you up to 36 photos, so thats 108 shots. It is a really nice color film that gives a really nice warm vintage look. Like, your photos will just accidentally look like photos your parents took in the 1980s, its pretty cool.
(skip this next bit if you already know about photography)
From there, you can learn about how to properly expose your film (with any photography, you are directing light through a lens, and exposing it onto either a sheet of light-sensitive film in this case, or a digital sensor).
Each film carries a certain sensitivity to light, some higher, some lower (as indicated by the '200' in the film above, or your ISO setting on your digital camera. That is 1 part of the equation. The second part is the aperture, or the amount of light that enters the camera through the lens (think about how your eyes work - if your pupils are dilated, they let more light in. If its a bright day, you can see more of the iris, or coloured part of your eye, because its closing up and limiting the amount of sunlight getting in) and the third part is shutter speed setting which is how long the shutter of the camera is open for to expose the film. It will be indicated by the '30, 60, 125, 250' etc. settings on a camera.
These three things are calculated together to produce a proper looking photograph. Learning to balance these three things is fairly important in producing a good film image, and shooting film can really help you develop a better sense for how photography works and your photographs will absolutely improve if you give it time. Some cameras are fully manual where you have to decide which shutter speed and aperture you want, and some offer automatic modes where one or both of those settings are chosen for you and you dont even need to worry about them, but you have less ultimate control.
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Film photography is awesome man. There is a big reason why a lot of people like myself nerd out on it super hard. Its not always the cheapest thing, obviously... and if you get into '120' or 'medium format' or '4x5' film (medium format is like.. IMAX, and 4x5 is like wayyy beyond IMAX) then the cost goes up quite a lot, but at the 35mm level - which is your standard 'film' so to speak, you can take a lot of photos and it wont cost all that much for a fun hobby that will give you photos you can cherish forever and wont just take up space on your hard drive.
Film is not cheap. A nice cannon AE-1 in good condition for 175 maybe less. Film is expensive though depending on what your buying and what you want developed and how good you want the scans or if you want prints. You will likely have to send it to a place don't get it developed at cvs unless your using a disposable.
OP film is fun, I used to shoot 120 and 35mm, developed it myself and everything. I went all digital quite some time ago. Don't get me wrong, I miss my bronica, but I wouldn't go back. To me, doing the whole film process and scanning to digitize it kind of defeats the purpose and digital cameras are just so capable nowadays.
DummyBearsFilm is not cheap. A nice cannon AE-1 in good condition for 175 maybe less. Film is expensive though depending on what your buying and what you want developed and how good you want the scans or if you want prints. You will likely have to send it to a place don't get it developed at cvs unless your using a disposable.
175? jesus thats a ripoff... it better be like new old stock for that price. Ive had 3 or 4 AE1s and none cost me more than 30 or 40 on craigslist or thrift shops. ~100$ for one in good condition with a basic lens is acceptable. Anything over that is a bit much for what I consider to be a pretty amateur, overhyped camera. Id spend 50$ on a Minolta SRT or Pentax Spotmatic all day rather than an annoying all-electronic AE1.
One could easily just get a bulk roll setup and have film for days for around 50-60$. Kentmere and Arista and Ultrafine Extreme area all good, cheap black and white film that you can bulk-roll for 100$... ends up being less than 3$ per roll of 36exposures and you get about 18 of them from a 100'/30.5m roll. Its great. I have been doing that with Tmax for the last year or 2 and its absolutely the best way to do it.
Let my homie Travis from back home explain how easy it is and how cheap it can be....
I always suggest developing on your own. Especially with black and white. You can get really minimalist with it. Even colour print film like Kodak Colorplus or Fuji Superia is extremely easy to develop and costs only 30$ for all the chemistry. Hell, I dont even worry about temperature with my C41 colour film... I just do stand development for 45 minutes and it works great almost every time.
Here's Ted Forbes explaining how minimal you can go when it comes to developing film.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1006950/Minimalist-Darkroom-pt-1All told, Doing your own film from exposure to print is really easy and not all that intimidating once you realize you dont have to be as technical or perfect as some people say. I Live in a tiny Tokyo apartment and Im able to store everything I need for color/black and white, as well as silver gelatin printing under my sink alongside all my normal bathroom stuff.
It was old stock I believe thing was practically new very little wear the lens was really what I wanter tho because it goes to f1.8 which is the real reason it was that expensive.
DingoSean175? jesus thats a ripoff... it better be like new old stock for that price. Ive had 3 or 4 AE1s and none cost me more than 30 or 40 on craigslist or thrift shops. ~100$ for one in good condition with a basic lens is acceptable. Anything over that is a bit much for what I consider to be a pretty amateur, overhyped camera. Id spend 50$ on a Minolta SRT or Pentax Spotmatic all day rather than an annoying all-electronic AE1.
One could easily just get a bulk roll setup and have film for days for around 50-60$. Kentmere and Arista and Ultrafine Extreme area all good, cheap black and white film that you can bulk-roll for 100$... ends up being less than 3$ per roll of 36exposures and you get about 18 of them from a 100'/30.5m roll. Its great. I have been doing that with Tmax for the last year or 2 and its absolutely the best way to do it.
Let my homie Travis from back home explain how easy it is and how cheap it can be....
I always suggest developing on your own. Especially with black and white. You can get really minimalist with it. Even colour print film like Kodak Colorplus or Fuji Superia is extremely easy to develop and costs only 30$ for all the chemistry. Hell, I dont even worry about temperature with my C41 colour film... I just do stand development for 45 minutes and it works great almost every time.
Here's Ted Forbes explaining how minimal you can go when it comes to developing film.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1006950/Minimalist-Darkroom-pt-1All told, Doing your own film from exposure to print is really easy and not all that intimidating once you realize you dont have to be as technical or perfect as some people say. I Live in a tiny Tokyo apartment and Im able to store everything I need for color/black and white, as well as silver gelatin printing under my sink alongside all my normal bathroom stuff.
DummyBearsIt was old stock I believe thing was practically new very little wear the lens was really what I wanter tho because it goes to f1.8 which is the real reason it was that expensive.
Thats not why it was expensive. The FD 50 f1.8 is a dime a dozen and very cheap. They were the kit lens for that camera. The value of that camera is entirely due to the camera body being the hype amongst brand loyal canon dorks.
DingoSeanThats not why it was expensive. The FD 50 f1.8 is a dime a dozen and very cheap. They were the kit lens for that camera. The value of that camera is entirely due to the camera body being the hype amongst brand loyal canon dorks.
I'd say that's a heavy claim to make. Lower f/ comes with a higher price that's just how it goes.
DummyBearsI'd say that's a heavy claim to make. Lower f/ comes with a higher price that's just how it goes.
Most 50 mm f1.8 are reaosnably cheap, even new ones. Maybe things have changed but I have multiple manual Nikkor 50 f1.8s which imo are nicer than than the canon one, and none of them cost more than $50 CAD. 1 was given to me.
For 50 mm primes, when you get into 1.4 or 1.2 territory things start to get expensive.
DummyBearsI'd say that's a heavy claim to make. Lower f/ comes with a higher price that's just how it goes.
You want receipts? well, here you go. 20$ for that lens.
(and thats from Ebay which isn't known for giving you the best deals - one could do cheaper)
f1.8 isnt that fast for a 50mm prime lens.
After maybe like 1966, nobody was making normal prime lenses slower than f2 even in budget cameras.
Even a new 50mm f1.8 from either Nikon or Canon isnt going to cost you very much... so a 50 year old one from the 70s is going to be far more affordable than even that.
been shooting on the k1000 (canon makes their version the ae-1). Been a solid choice and picked it up from my parents who originally bought it back in the early 80's
I’m only shooting film from now on. Unless it’s something like skiing or mtn biking. Anyone have any film recommendations for taking photos of skating?
WoFlowzI’m only shooting film from now on. Unless it’s something like skiing or mtn biking. Anyone have any film recommendations for taking photos of skating?
ilford hp5 pushed to 800 or 1600 and a decisive finger
DingoSeanThose were the days man... That thread was so fun hahaha
Honestly that thread was the biggest motivator for me to go out and shoot, there was consistent discussion and lots of content, constructive criticism, and advice. It's a shame M&A has slowly died.
No.QuarterHonestly that thread was the biggest motivator for me to go out and shoot, there was consistent discussion and lots of content, constructive criticism, and advice. It's a shame M&A has slowly died.
Yeah, I have had to switch over to reddit and instagram and podcasts for my film shooting 'fomo-tivators'
Then again, I have so so much possible content to take photos of right outside my door right now so that makes a big difference... When the summer months kick in and I'm not skiing all the time or focused on as much work, I really get stoked to take photos.
DingoSeanYeah, I have had to switch over to reddit and instagram and podcasts for my film shooting 'fomo-tivators'
Then again, I have so so much possible content to take photos of right outside my door right now so that makes a big difference... When the summer months kick in and I'm not skiing all the time or focused on as much work, I really get stoked to take photos.
I got really discouraged when I sold my RZ67 and no longer have a local shop I can get my film developed and don't have the motivation to self develop. I really ought to keep a camera in my bike bag and spend my lunch breaks taking pics.
No.QuarterI got really discouraged when I sold my RZ67 and no longer have a local shop I can get my film developed and don't have the motivation to self develop. I really ought to keep a camera in my bike bag and spend my lunch breaks taking pics.
I recommend always having at least a little half frame camera on you.
You'll have a million shots you can take, you only have to send in one roll if you're doing lab development - I recommend Thedarkroom.com since their services are cheap and amazing - and half frame cameras are so small you can just, throw them in anything...
I always have my Pen-D or on me loaded up with cheap bulk B&W that I self-develop in my 4 reel tank... if I'm not scooting around with something bigger, I always have it on me. It's been a total gamechanger and its allowed me to really document my surroundings without worrying about lugging around a kilogram on my shoulder and I can fuck around because 72 shots on a roll lasts forever.
A 5 pack of 35mm Portra 400, which isn't even in stock on B and H right now, is 60 bucks. That's insane. 10 bucks for a roll of Ektar. Even Superia is like 7 bucks a roll. Slide film is crazy high too. Pro H is dead. Neopan 400 is dead too. Then you either buy all the developing stuff and do it yourself or mail it out. Mailing it out will add up extremely fast. Developing stuff is a higher up front cost with lower costs per roll after that. Scanning is also very annoying.
I haven't shot film in years. I bought an X100V and have been working on getting it to produce great images straight out of camera. It's sort of like film in, though I have the raws, the image that comes out of the camera is as it is, and usable. I would still enjoy shooting with my TLR though and I still want one of those massive Mamiya TLRs. 35mm is more or less dead to me.
**This post was edited on Aug 4th 2021 at 11:02:49pm
A 5 pack of 35mm Portra 400, which isn't even in stock on B and H right now, is 60 bucks. That's insane. 10 bucks for a roll of Ektar. Even Superia is like 7 bucks a roll. Slide film is crazy high too. Pro H is dead. Neopan 400 is dead too. Then you either buy all the developing stuff and do it yourself or mail it out. Mailing it out will add up extremely fast. Developing stuff is a higher up front cost with lower costs per roll after that. Scanning is also very annoying.
I haven't shot film in years. I bought an X100V and have been working on getting it to produce great images straight out of camera. It's sort of like film in, though I have the raws, the image that comes out of the camera is as it is, and usable. I would still enjoy shooting with my TLR though and I still want one of those massive Mamiya TLRs. 35mm is more or less dead to me.
**This post was edited on Aug 4th 2021 at 11:02:49pm
I use to just buy whatever expired colour film I could find really cheap. That worked in 2009-2011. Obviously not an option if you are into consistent results though.
