Getting into Film

Somelier said:
I'm going to be a wet blanket here. I used film for 40 years. Once high quality digital came along I switched and would never go back. I've still got a lot of my film gear, which includes a Rollei 6006 with several lenses and accessories and a full working darkroom, but it's not been used for a number of years now.

The images you take with film will probably end up being digital anyway, so why bother. Just concentrate on your digital skills and get far more enjoyment out of your photography!
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Richard, I can understand where you're coming from - I too shot film for many a year - because there was nothing else. Eventually, digital has caught up with the quality side of things, and of course the ease of use aspect. Couple this with the fact that you can KNOW when you leave site, you've got the shot in the camera makes working in digital a no-brainer when it comes to paid work. The fact that additional frames shot are at a negligeable cost (not free of course - theres the wear and tear on the camera and depreciation on the kit to consider, plus your time in weeding out the dross) also make shooting sports or wildlife natural places where digital is the go-to option.

However, the OP expressed an interest in purchasing a old-school type film camera. My guess is that he wants this as a complete contrast to the EOS-1D in his camerabag. If this makes the OP enjoy a different discipline of shooting, then to me that's cool. You may no wish to shoot film - after all you've been there, done that, worn out the t-shirt. But personally, I think anything that makes going out with a camera different and fun, is worthwhile. Buy a half decent camera and lens, a couple of rolls of C41, get process and scan from the high-street, and if it doesn't float your boat, sell the camera for what you paid for it and you're out maybe £20 - what's that - less than a decent night in the pub?
 
s162216 said:
Actually the ESII was released in 1974, the ES was released in 1971. Also Voigtlander released a limited production run M42 film SLR, the Bessaflex TM, a few years ago and to my knowledge Pentax didn't cease producing the Spotmatic F and ESII until at least 1976. The Spotmatic didn't actually get released until 1964 so none of them are 50 quite yet apart from the prototypes. Plus don't forget the Russian Zenit series, right up to the end of the Soviet Union (and beyond for some models) most of them used an M42 mount.
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Thanks for the clarification - I'm only really clued up about K-Mount onwards, never really dabbled in M42. But 30, 40, 50 years, whatever the exact number of years; my post still stands, especially if you pick up a camera that has never had a service before. Most were designed with the intention of going about ~20 years max before needing a CLA. Most were not even professional in the same way that a Nikon F2 or Pentax LX would've been either - built well, but not within the same exacting tolerances that those top end cameras would've been.

I know it sounds like I am putting down the idea of M42, but I'm just wishing to point out the potential pitfalls - a pitfall that affects buying film cameras full stop, certainly, but especially M42 SLRs, as they are some of the oldest film SLRs on the used market.
 
My ESII is wonderfully slick and accurate, I wish my canon would do aperture priority long exposure stuff as accurately and simply. With the ESII you stick it on the tripod, dial in an extra stop or 2 to cover reciprocity, push the button and wait. I did some real low light stuff on adox CHS25 in november and was getting spot on exposures in auto mode, the exposures were 5-10 minutes though, with the canon you have the do that with the remote on bulb. Ok so the max shutter speed is only 1/1000sec but pick your film right and its not a problem. There is a cracking range of lenses available to cover all budgets.

Yes you might buy a lemon, out of 6 old film cameras I bought 1 off ebay that was duff (it was advertised as 'not tested', which I believe actually means 'I've had a play and I'm pretty sure its broken'). But then again you could get a good done.
 
SimonUK said:
Thanks a bunch guys! This is all really helping :) I'm just started looking around at gear and already has some serious GAS for some bits :) Unfortunately i can't afford any of it :p
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That will change with age :)

If there any way i can check me Zenit to make sure its ok to put film through, without putting a film through it? As much as i dont like it, i am really eager to get out and shoot :) So living with the Zenit is teh best option until i can get a Pentax or the likes :)
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Yes - you have to run just about every test: shutter release; wind advance; sprocket engagement; film curtain; mirror up; all the different shutter speeds; film rewind crank; inspect the film pressure plate (some were known to scratch and drag film across it); light seal and closure of film back; tripod plate for 1/4" hole; check the lens mount; then put the batteries in and check the exposure values when raised to light, and then to dark, with the 58mm Helios lens in place.

The lens is very low contrast - not very good without a lens hood. I'd be surprised if you couldn't get a decent Olympus OM10 with a standard lens for <50 pounds these days.

The price of the film stuff has really surprised me aswell! I assumed because you can get DLSR bodys for like 100 quid second hand, that film stuff would be super cheap.

Its not!
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That's true. Digital hardware tends to be much more expensive, and costs for software and flashcards etc, and then upgrading in the next year for a bigger chip; and then upgrading the next year to add some fish to those chips - all that's absorbed into amnesia lol.

Film is dear :( European film is cheaper though! Do you know how to use a bulk film loader? That makes it considerably cheaper :)
 
***Film is dear :( European film is cheaper though! Do you know how to use a bulk film loader? That makes it considerably cheaper :)***

On TP market place film going cheap, also Poundshop fresh Kodak film going for £1 (good enough for starters e.g. try Kodak Ultramax).
 
The Zenit takes a battery? That might be why teh build in meter isn't working! :p

Can you get C41 film in bulk to cut yourself?
 
The Zenit doesn't take a battery, the selenium cell generates its own voltage from the light. You can get bulk C-41 film but I've not seem it for sale anywhere ever.
 
s162216 said:
The Zenit doesn't take a battery, the selenium cell generates its own voltage from the light. You can get bulk C-41 film but I've not seem it for sale anywhere ever.
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Ahh ok, in that case i think that the cell is dead! The meter doesn't move at all! But i have a external one so all is not lost! Meeting up with someone on here soon next week to have a shoot and buy some film and stuff :)
 
SimonUK said:
Can you get C41 film in bulk to cut yourself?
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I think Silverprint or maybe Macodirect did stock some, but I'm not sure if they currently do. It came to near enough very similar prices to what you could get many rolls for cheaply from 7dayshop, with the additional hassle of messing around with reloading cartridges and potentially having dirty felt traps.
 
s162216 said:
You can get bulk C-41 film but I've not seem it for sale anywhere ever.
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AG photographic had some fuji superia in last time i checked
 
400 ISO Fuji Superia colour 'security' film in C41. £15 for a 30m/100ft (approx) roll IIRC, figure about 4ft for a 36 exp film.
 
I found some Fuji 160NPS (soft portrait colour film) and Konica Impresa colour film in bulk rolls in the US auction site.

The postage cost 3x more than the film, and was still cheaper than £15 altogether.

I'm really liking both. Konica Impresa is a really strange film. It's rated at ISO 50. Very cool film, but great if you don't want Disneyworld colours for people. Incredibly fine grain! I haven't seen anything quite like this, so I'm savouring it :)
 
Sorry, it was silverprint not AG:

http://www.silverprint.co.uk/ProductByGroup.asp?PrGrp=2616

I've got some Kodak Vericolour C-41 in bulk if anyone wants to try a roll, its a film for making optical slides off colour negs with a slide duplicator. Virtually no red to it (to take account of the red base layer of Kodak films) and tectonically slow (ISO 8 by my reckoning). If you fancy doing a very cold looking long exposure Its great :)
 
I have some vericolor which I got free too. But mine is definitely out of date producing wacky colours.

With the cost of film processing going up, I haven't been shooting much, but I thought it was a slide film?
 
It is 'slide film' technically as you get a positive image at the end, but you process the film in C-41 to get a positive image from a colour negative. The wacky colours will be because its designed to not produce the orange/red colour of the negative film base and you need to use colour correction filters with it depending on the image to get a good result.

It says all this in the datasheet:

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC4QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kodak.com%2Fglobal%2Fen%2Fprofessional%2Fsupport%2FtechPubs%2Fe24%2Fe24.pdf&rct=j&q=kodak%20vericolor&ei=Fm3rTcCiG8mFhQeL_LG6Bg&usg=AFQjCNH0qHrBKcvqAJquVBqiBsimKV0Dng

Confusingly another Vericolour actually was a normal colour negative film before it was a slide copying film and was designed for portraiture like the Portra films.
 
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s162216 said:
...Confusingly another Vericolour actually was a normal colour negative film before it was a slide copying film and was designed for portraiture like the Portra films.
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:shakes fist: Damn you kodak for re-usiing names like that...


Wasn't Ektar a lens once? before it became a film??
 
Simple steps:

  1. Have one colour negative you want a positive/slide copy of
  2. Using a slide copier or similar photograph the negative using Vericolour and the relevant CC colour correction filters
  3. Vericolour is a C-41 film so it reverses the negative colours to positive but without the orange/red film base colour as it is insensitive to red
  4. Process in C-41 and you get a positive of an negative

I think that actually it was part of the Vericolor family of normal negative films rather than re-use of the name and was just not replaced in 1997 or so when they were.
Ektar was also the name of Kodak's pro quality lenses up until the early 60's although some later lenses in the 70's were also branded as them.
 
Cool.

Thanks guys.

Slide copier ...hmmm....!

I'm sure I've got one somewhere ... for 35mm...! Need a 6x6cm one.

Nice blue shots. Have you tried using a colour correction (81A/B/C) series with it?
 
Happy_medium said:
Cool.

Thanks guys.

Slide copier ...hmmm....!

I'm sure I've got one somewhere ... for 35mm...! Need a 6x6cm one.

Nice blue shots. Have you tried using a colour correction (81A/B/C) series with it?
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probably nearer the mark with one of those orange filter's intended for B&W shooting - or maybe the Cokin Sepia filter. :shrug: Dread to think how slow it'd be at 8 ISO and a 2 stop orange or brown filter on the front of the lens though :LOL:
 
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I will probably take the last frame unexposed of the roll of portra 400 that is in the ikon and try using the clear base later as a filter and see what the ttl metering makes of it :)
 
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