Curious about shooting on film..

MindofMel

MindofMel

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I have always been digital and the more I get into photography - the more I get curious about shooting film... and I just wondered if anybody had any advice for a noob looking to dip his toes in? What are the 'advantages' of shooting film?

I currently have a d300, 50mm f1.8, 135mm f2.8, 24mm f2.8, 18-70mm f3.5-4.5

Also, a full break down of the process I am assuming is I buy film (of the ISO i want) and then i snap away and then have to go 'boots' to get them developed etc? How do you get digital copies? do you have to scan everything in? A I going to be spending 3872197381729 pounds on film?

Any recommendations for a nikon film camera to indulge my curiosity with?

Lots of questions I know... :help:
 
MindofMel said:
A I going to be spending 3872197381729 pounds on film?
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I've only had a film for just over a week, and my experiences so far are that I take my time with film, and I'm more careful with what and how I shoot. That has meant I've not taken all that many shots, compared to what I would have done with digital.

MindofMel said:
Any recommendations for a nikon film camera to indulge my curiosity with?
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What sort of camera do you want? Traditional sort of manual focus SLR? If you want AF, but have loads of G lenses, you'll need a F5 or a F6.
 
Don't try it.. it's addictive.. once you start you won't stop. I even found myself going out for a walk to day with a film camera in each pocket and leaving the DSLR at home.

By the way.. have you spotted the film section of the forum?
 
I shot film for several years - 35mm, medium format, 5x4" - and although it was great, compared to digital these days, the once key issue of repro quality doesn't hold water in the majority of cases. However, it's a fun medium to shoot onto, especially these days when we're used to seeing image results within milliseconds of pressing the shutter....

For me, the beauty of film was self-processing. Handing a film over to a high-street lab just takes away all what i enjoyed about shooting film... a bit like handing over a digital file and asking someone else to process it as they see fit and not to your specification.

Find a good processing lab and they'll do you proud; use a crap one and you'll soon be reaching for digital....
 
Film's great fun - I had many 'happy' years shooting it! It will make you slow down a lot and think before pressing the button, and if you hate menu's its wonderful.

However, the whole process is snails pace compared to digital, and there's now't worse than waiting for your films to be processed then realising you shot a right pile of ******!!

The real fun was in processing B&W, then manipulating it in the darkroom.

If you fancy a go, get an F90 of ebay and have a crack. Be prepared for it to lead to losing a room in your house to a darkroom conversion though!!
 
The more I read into the process / the more I understand about the process of "getting" my photos - I realise I'm far too impatient to be developing photos myself / have the time to (I'm a medical student). Also, the point of developing your pics at a high street / lab takes the main "fun" out of film - let me know my curiosity should for now remain just that.
 
I like the total involvement of film - from selecting the correct film to put into the camera for the effect I want to achieve, through to getting the shot correctly in the camera without the aid of histograms, blinkies or chimping (I get a kick out of occasionally achieving that level of mastery of the cameras hardware), through to processing the film in my choice of chemicals (again to get a specific look - be it contrasty/grainy/smooth etc.) - and finally to the finished print - currently by digitising the shot, applying similar techniques as I would have in the wet darkroom (dodging/burning for example) and then either printing or sending the shot out for external printing.

Some of the most satisfying shots i've taken have been done with the most minimal of kit - Pinhole cameras for example - though that doesn't mean I'm some kind of a luddite - I'll happily shoot on digital if the circumstances dictate - if it's for work, or for money, or if the situation is just something that I'll not be able to replicate, I'll shoot on digital, use all the tools I can to ensure i've got the shot in the camera before I leave location. But, when I want to challenge myself, to see if I truly understand what i'm doing with a camera, and for my own personal fun and satisfaction, I seem to be shooting film more and more.
 
MindofMel said:
..............- let me know my curiosity should for now remain just that.
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so are you not having a go...?

I have a Canon A1 35mm camera and lenses so somewhat biased to Canon

but recently picked up a Nikon EM with 50mm 1.8 lens cheaply off eBay
colour film [C-41 process from Boots] 5 rolls for £8
develop, 6x4 prints [ which i didn't want] plus hi-res CD ...all for £9 for 1hour service

so not a great outlay ......and quite fun to use again after 30years

try it ...you dont 'have' to do your own developing and scanning...:thumbs:

the colours ARE different to a DSLR system
 
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