Film Photography

[Guest Honey_Babee]

I have to say that I don't know a lot about film either but here is some information.

Films have different ISOs and the higher the ISO, the less light you need for the same exposure (so you can take photos in a darker place without having the shutter speed really slow and whatnot), but the photos are more grainy (like how a digital camera can have lots of noise at higher ISO). ISO 100 and 200 is good for when you shoot outdoors, ISO 400 is more for all-around purposes (indoors and outdoors), and ISO 800 and 1600 are usually for indoors or really dark environments.

I think the best thing to do is just use a lot of different film and see which you like. After you shoot the same film for a while and then switch to a new one, you'll notice differences between the film (i.e. Kodak Ektar is very colorful). I personally recommend Fujifilm Superia or Kodak Ektar for starting out -- they're cheap but still great.

Oh, and lastly, film has an expiration date but if you refrigerate the film (there are specific temperature ranges that the film should be stored in but I just keep mine in the fridge -- don't put it in the freezer), you can pretty much ignore the expiration date. Some people even prefer expired film because the colors come out differently. You can probably get expired film at cheap prices from local photo stores and whatnot.

I actually really love expired film, the colors turn out so funky and you never know what kind of pictures you get<3

But, haha i usually just go for the cheap film XD. since i'm a broke richard simmons student, who would rather spend her money on clothes. LOLL

Film lasts a looooong time and since the guy bought it 3 weeks ago I bet you have at least 6 months before you have to worry about it expiring. Even if it is expired film, it works fine it's just that colors get funky.

So agreed. Love how pictures turn out for expired films <3

Here is a picture that my I took of my friend.

[Guest deeism]

^There are soooo many film cameras that I don't know which one is right for you. Do you want a point and shoot (little camera) or like an SLR (bigger camera)? I don't think you should invest too much money from the beginning... It depends on budget but you can start right off the bat with the more modern SLR cameras (i.e. Canon EOS ELAN 7NE, Nikon F80, etc) which are just like DSLRs and can autofocus or you can buy used manual cameras like the Nikon FM2n that was mentioned above. I'd probably get something cheap that works on eBay first... Like Nikon EM or FM and 50mm f/1.8 for lens. I'd make sure that the camera has a built-in light meter at the very least so that you don't have to carry around a light meter along with the camera. Just in case you don't know, a light meter can measure the amount of light and help you get the right exposure.

i think im more for the point and shoot type.. im going to keep my eyes open for a nikon em or fm i think. thank you so much for helping me : > hopefully i'll be able to share some of my future photos here as well, haha.

[Guest erure]

^Wait, if you want a point and shoot film camera, then the EM or FM isn't what you want... The EM and FM are manual SLR cameras... When I mean point and shoot, they're like point and shoot digital cameras, except they use film. Like Contax T3 for example (albeit an expensive example haha).

[Guest 8D_heeeeeeeee]

If you're more of a point and shoot kind of person, but still want to try out film, I recommend getting a Olympus Trip 35. Awesome little cameras :]

[Guest leeahh]

I second the Trip! lovely little bugger

[Guest elgrache]

[Guest elgrache]

[Guest rinCode]

I actually really love expired film, the colors turn out so funky and you never know what kind of pictures you get<3

But, haha i usually just go for the cheap film XD. since i'm a broke richard simmons student, who would rather spend her money on clothes. LOLL

So agreed. Love how pictures turn out for expired films <3

Here is a picture that my I took of my friend.

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc...100386_5689.jpg

omg, fancy running into you here........ how was ur shoot yesterday?

[Guest 8D_heeeeeeeee]

Haha I totally get what you mean. I've used both for considerable amounts of time- actually I've used the Nikon FM2, not 2n. Not sure what the difference is. The Nikon is a classic, beautiful lens and well built, and yes the focusing mechanism is really cool. But the Olympus is so light and quick in auto if you neeed to get a shot and you can take it everywhere without it weighing you down. There is a certain, very classic look to the Nikon that I really admire, but the OM-2n was my first camera and I'm kind of in love with it. Hahaha, so biased, I don't know if this helps, but feel free to ask me more questions.

Yeah, doesn't help me make a decision, just strengthens my current feelings about both cameras >< The heart says Olympus, but the head says Nikon.

The Nikon is a fully manual camera, which will be great for developing my "skills" with judging the current exposure for different situations, but I've always been a fan of the aperture priority mode on my D60. You say the auto is fast, but how good is the system in real life on the Olympus? Can you rely on it, or is it better to just make your own judgement?

I really wish I could afford both cameras.

[Guest echoism]

What's a new or different film you've tried lately?

My friend bought me some Fuji Trebi 100C slide film which is only available in Japan. It comes out very blue on overcast days but I like it. Can't wait to try it when it's finally sunny!

Both of these were taken in NYC>

[Guest elgrache]

[Guest JJ no Baka]

I'm okay with film photography. It is a bit expensive.

Here's a picture I took with my Canon SLR.

[omegach]

some recent shots, more on flickr

neopan 400

[lilveggie]

Yeah, doesn't help me make a decision, just strengthens my current feelings about both cameras >< The heart says Olympus, but the head says Nikon.

The Nikon is a fully manual camera, which will be great for developing my "skills" with judging the current exposure for different situations, but I've always been a fan of the aperture priority mode on my D60. You say the auto is fast, but how good is the system in real life on the Olympus? Can you rely on it, or is it better to just make your own judgement?

I really wish I could afford both cameras.

I just recently started to play with film photography -- I'm lucky that my dad was a photographer and he kept his old Nikon EM and F. He still loves them dearly so he only let me go out with the EM... I just finished two rolls, but haven't had time to develop them yet >< Given that it is aperture priority, it might bother you a bit that you can't play with the shutter speed (thus why I just got myself a cheap vintage Smena 8M from ebay, which hopefully still works!)... all you have to do is fix the focus, then turn the aperture until the light meter tells you that it's about 1/60 to 1/125. I guess if you want that 'point-and-shoot' feel then the EM would give you that through the auto mode, where all you do is set the focus and aperture, and still benefit from the manual mode when it runs out of battery (1/90)

[Guest rainbowstarshine]

I'm planning on taking a film photography class in my senior year, it looks fun! (:

[Guest jjennuhhferr]

where do you guys develop your film?

i remember my first time, i took it to walmart

& regretted it so much -___________________-

[Guest erure]

where do you guys develop your film?

i remember my first time, i took it to walmart

& regretted it so much -___________________-

I use NCPS because I live ~20 minutes away from there, but other times when I just want it done for cheap (and fast), I go to Costco haha.

[Guest kelvin6]

I guess lucky for me, I was given bulk rolls of 35mm B/W film. I would take the film into my workplace's darkroom (x-ray department) and run everything through our x-ray processor. Forget the 1 Hour processing, when I can do it in 90 sec! The film is bulk rolls (comes in 250 and 500 feet rolls!) and is made by Agfa. I wish I had a film scanner to show you guys some examples, but it has definitely brought back B/W photography for me.

I personally have a Olympus OM system and I can definitely recommend this to a begining film photographer. The system is very practical in use. It has a full manual mode as well a aperture priority auto mode. This mode is incredibly accurate (center weighted metering), it uses TTL metering during the actual film exposure to compensate for any changes that may occur suddenly, that the first set of meters (that give you the expected figures) can sometimes get wrong. Coupled with a olympus (or compatible) TTL flash, I have gotten very good results over the years shooting film. It started with the Olympus OM-2 and eventually grew out to have a lens collection and three more film bodies (OM-2S, OM-PC(OM-40), and OM-G(OM-30).

[Guest eternaldarkness4]

i bought a olympus trip 35 off ebay and i got it today =]

cant wait to play with it after exams!

[Guest __JBM*]

mmm I'm just getting into film photography.. what do you guys recommend as a beginner camera? something not too expensive (lol, college student expenses ;/).

editt;

haha sorry! i didn't see that someone asked this in a previous post. i might go for the nikon em!