Jump to content

Film Photography


Guest strawberry.llamas

Recommended Posts

I've been a lurker of this thread for like the past week lol.

I'm excited to say that I'm buying a Canon AE-1 tomorrow from someone off of Craigslist so I can't wait to start taking pictures.

I'm a total noob with photography even though I took it in high school.

I understand general things like the aperture and shutter speed (kind of~~).

I'm just wondering what the differences in film are if anyone can explain them to me?

And if you have any tips or anything I'd love to hear them.

I'm completely new to this and would appreciate any help/insight :]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 221
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I'm just wondering what the differences in film are if anyone can explain them to me?

And if you have any tips or anything I'd love to hear them.

I'm completely new to this and would appreciate any help/insight :]

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest raspberrii

Ah...really superb quality. I tried explaining to my friend one time why film trumps DSLR quality-wise but she's very in-the-moment oriented and loves taking 5 bajillion pictures. So I guess there is a certain mindset, or appreciation. Don't get me wrong, I own both SLR and DSLR and love them both to death, but film has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi feeling to it. I took a class and fell in love with film and perhaps the most rewarding part is processing it yourself, its very stress relieving to wash your photos through a bunch of chemical washes. Plus I always get amazed when my pictures start showing up. Only worked with b&white so far, very elementary stuff, but still amazing nontheless.

By the way, a quick question: I have a Ricoh KR-10 which is pretty ancient I assume since it was my grandparent's at one point in time. It was given to me with this great zoom lens which is nifty and all but I'd really like to buy a simple prime lens! I don't know where to start or what to look for (I know it has to be compatible with the brand/model/mount etc etc). Any advice or suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest tofu plushie

I've tried film photography once and it was actually really fun =) Too bad I don't have money for a good camera, but the experience of using a film camera was great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest babytina

did you try making sure the film was loaded correctly?

Yup what foreverursVi said, have you loaded the film correctly? Because if you haven't you're just shooting blank shots... =\

Is it coming out completely blank (like film is all the same color) or are the frames black, and does it have the film markings on the sides or is that not there too? If it doesn't have markings, it's a development problem. If it has marking but is black, it's overexposed. Markings + blank = underexposed.

well.. i think i loaded it correctly? i hooked it on to the wheel and everything.

and there's no marks or anything, it's just completely blank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest rinCode

I've been a lurker of this thread for like the past week lol.

I'm excited to say that I'm buying a Canon AE-1 tomorrow though from someone off of Craigslist so I can't wait to start taking pictures.

I'm a total noob with photography even though I took it in high school.

I understand general things like the aperture and shutter speed (kind of~~).

I'm just wondering what the differences in film are if anyone can explain them to me?

And if you have any tips or anything I'd love to hear them.

I'm completely new to this and would appreciate any help/insight :]

heyyyy ^^ im using a canon ae-1 ^^

my mom bought one in the 80s when it came out and barely used it... and its been in some closet for ages.... but now that im getting into photography, ive taken posession of it ^^ its an awesome film camera; i love it! ^^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

raspberri prime lenses are awesome! :D I did a bit of research for you and I found that the Ricoh KR-10 has a PK (Pentax K) mount.

pentax.jpg

they should look like that on the back.

print the photo out so u can just bring it everywhere with you haha

are there any shops in your area that sell vintage things? you can check around some thrift stores or secondhand markets for some lenses.

oh I found this too. it's a manual for your camera :] give it a read it should get you started :]

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ricoh/kr-10/kr-10-splash.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest strawberry.llamas

whoa i can't believe this thread reached 5 pages :D

I can't wait till spring, so i can start taking prints. My canon ftb-n can take double exposures!!! not like the holga. but it's pretty cool :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest 8D_heeeeeeeee

I'm tossing up between a Nikon FM-2n and a Olympus OM-2n. On one side there's the amazing viewfinder that people rave on about in the Nikon, but my inner fanboy says get the Olympus. Hmmm...some input?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest echoism

I'm tossing up between a Nikon FM-2n and a Olympus OM-2n. On one side there's the amazing viewfinder that people rave on about in the Nikon, but my inner fanboy says get the Olympus. Hmmm...some input?

I've never used the OM2n, but I can definitely say that the FM2n is pretty much one of the best Nikon film cameras I've ever used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest breathless.

hasselblad 501cm fuji 120 film 400asa

scanned through a flextight

major dust, I still have to go through and clone clone clone heal clone until my eyes fall out.

i love the look of medium format.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

how long will film expire? I bought a set and someone gave me film with it. Unfortunately it's already in its canisters so idk the expiry.. unless it's there somewhere.. um, he said he bought the film 3 weeks ago.. if that helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

how long will film expire? I bought a set and someone gave me film with it. Unfortunately it's already in its canisters so idk the expiry.. unless it's there somewhere.. um, he said he bought the film 3 weeks ago.. if that helps.

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

expired film = for lomography? lol I rli don't know and 6 months? Wow that sounds great =)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest echoism

expired film = for lomography? lol I rli don't know and 6 months? Wow that sounds great =)

Expired film doesn't have to be for lomography. People use expired film in regular cameras all the time - myself included.

The expiration date is more of a "guaranteed to work by" date. Just because film is expired doesn't mean the quality will decrease by any perceivable amount, especially if you store it well in a dark and cool place. Freezing film keeps it good for years and years past its expiration date.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest 8D_heeeeeeeee

Seconded what echoism has said. I bought some expired film from FourCornersStore and threw it in the fridge a few days after I received it. Needless to say, I saw no difference between the normal unexpired rolls I used and the couple of expired rolls I used. So if you store your film properly, they'll last much longer than stated on the box before going funky...which is good and bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
Guest insertnameHERE.

7 months after i get a canon DSLR , my dad tells me he had a nikon SLR .

The Nikon F801s , complete with 35-105mm lens and SB-24 flash :(

it's pretty heavy to lug around and haven't used it quite as much yet ,

but i'm learning, i'm learning :)

meanwhile, i have been playing with my two lomo cameras - white slim angel and my recently acquired fisheye 2 :) they're so fun and light to carry around !

i need some advice on film though - ISO400 for indoors ? 100&200 for sunny outdoors ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Guest echoism

7 months after i get a canon DSLR , my dad tells me he had a nikon SLR .

The Nikon F801s , complete with 35-105mm lens and SB-24 flash :(

it's pretty heavy to lug around and haven't used it quite as much yet ,

but i'm learning, i'm learning :)

meanwhile, i have been playing with my two lomo cameras - white slim angel and my recently acquired fisheye 2 :) they're so fun and light to carry around !

i need some advice on film though - ISO400 for indoors ? 100&200 for sunny outdoors ?

There's no set rule for what you should use. Usually, if you don't want to use flash indoors, and it's dark, then anything above 400 (probably 800 or 1600 is better) would be good. ISO 100 has the least grain so when I do have enough light, I use it the most. I find 200 ISO to be kind of useless. You can still use ISO 400+ outside, you'll just have to use smaller apertures and/or faster shutter speeds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest deeism

hey everyone!

i'm completely new to film photography, but i'm looking into buying a film camera. does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions on a camera for a newbie??

: D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest erure

^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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..