How often do you use your film cameras?

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I’ve shot two rolls through my Oly 35RC this week and it suddenly occurred to me that this is the first time I’ve used it in 18 months. I, like many here I expect, have built up a collection of film cameras - not a huge collection, about eleven that get used, and three or four compacts that I’ve acquired, but not yet shot - but probably more than enough.*

There are cameras in the collection that tend to get far more use than others, either because I like them a lot (my OM-1), because they are convenient and always deliver (my Nikon F70), because I keep them in a coat pocket (Canon Sure Shot Telemax), or because they are unique in my collection some useful way (the Yashica Mat and Mess-Ikonta MF cameras). That said, I do try to shoot with the lesser used cameras too just to give them a workout, so I’ll need to think about giving the Olympus Trip 35 an outing sometime soon.

What about you? Do you ensure all your cameras get used, or do you tend to favour specific machines while the rest sit slightly forlornly on a shelf because you don’t feel like using them but can’t bear to part with them either?


*this almost certainly won’t prevent me buying more!
 
I haven't got as many cameras as do you, but, yes not all of them see the light regularly. My pocket (and therefore most used) camera is Oly XA and my favourite has been Rollei T. Though for the last couple of month Mamiya 645 Pro has taken over that post and in future I expect to use Rollei and Mamiya equally.

The rest are just sitting there on the shelf doing mostly nothing. Not because they are bad cameras, I just don't have time for all of them.
 
I have about 50 film cameras and do try to use them all but that quickly gets expensive. Some, like my Zorki 4 and Olympus OM1, get used more often than, say, my Pentax SV which is a good camera but does not excite me as much.

I have a couple for which it is not possible to get film (Ensignette, for example) because they use a non-Kodak film size and their own spool design. They do not get used at all.
 
I dust them off from time to time and have a play, but I have not used one since I went digital.
though I still have viable developer and fixer powder, developing tanks and a number of unexposed films.
I even went to the expense of fitting new bellows to my 5x4 MPP monorail. and replacing a few seals in others.
 
Other than snaps of the family going out.......I'm a sunny warm weather shooter as I like using the motorbike and push bike for new places. What I do is rotate my cameras to give them all a workout and many times wind the film back so e.g. 24 roll for two cameras, even then it could take 2 years to get through them all.
Odd innit I've created this problem because cameras and lenses were going for peanuts in the past when I really should have stuck to two cameras and bought say a set of top Nikon and Canon lenses...e.g Nikon 24mm AIs I could have bought for £35.
Anyway it's fun playing with lots of cameras and lenses and know I should reduce them.
 
I had that problem and ended up selling nearly all of my equipment. I've tried to limit myself to just a few cameras and I've been fairly good until recently. Now however I've noticed that a few more are starting to creep in again. I'm currently fighting a losing battle with G.A.S. every time I see an RB67 for sale as I regret selling my RZ.

I intended to focus on using my M2 more but have been getting more use out of my Dynax 9 lately. The last 2 photo outings have been with my etrsi. I hadn't used it for nearly a year but couldn't bear to part with it. These last 2 outings have reminded me why I like it so much and left me determined to use it more.

I guess I'm trying to say that mine get used in fits and starts depending upon my mood. Just lately I've been a bit lazy so I appreciate having a built in meter and possibly auto exposure.
 
Oh crumbs. I have tried so hard to slim down the collection recently but I love them all. I keep telling myself they are just things and I don't need things, but I always promised myself an F3/T if I found the right one, so when one came available, I bought it. I think the thing that stops me selling them is I would probably not get into some of them again in the future due to price increases, etc.

I only shoot film and take photos most weekends and always have it with me in the week, but the day jobs usually puts a stop to me taking anything. I would love to just have a camera again. Just one camera with a lens and perhaps I will soon if I can bring myself to sell off some of them. Deciding which is a problem, though hence my recent thread on here about MF vs 35mm. :/
 
I don't shoot for the sake of shooting.
I don't have loads of spare time to spend just wandering about looking for something to shoot.
Couple that with a "shoot with intention ideology", and an over sized camera count.....no I don't use them all, my time is too scant to spend shooting cameras because they haven't had a run out for X number of months...:)
 
I had that problem and ended up selling nearly all of my equipment.

Ditto here!

I now possess 7 film cameras and one digital all of which see daylight fairly regularly ( once every fortnight or so)

In between that time I'll dig one or two out if they've sat for a couple of weeks to wipe over, ( open the bellows ( LF kit) work the shutter(s), remove the lens cap(s) and sit in the sunlight for a coupe of hours.

I'm considering reducing further by selling another three of the cameras although my attachment to them is not making that move an easy one.
 
Just sold one (35mm)...................and just bought another (6x6 - bugger!)

Only going to keep one 35mm; My F3 - the other 3 are 6 x 6 and have Rollei written on them.

Maybe get film shot through them once every three weeks at the moment.
 
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I have around 25 film cameras , Keeping them for my retirement . Most get very little use due to my long hours worked and other interests when I have some free time , I love them all , even picking them up looking through the viewfinder and manually focusing the pressing the s***ter release and hearing the old school clank gives me enjoyment :film::nikon::olympus::canon::pentax:
 
Only one of my film cameras gets used and infrequently, partly due to the cost and also because of storage restrictions at home of the negs and photos.
 
Ditto here!

I now possess 7 film cameras and one digital all of which see daylight fairly regularly ( once every fortnight or so)

In between that time I'll dig one or two out if they've sat for a couple of weeks to wipe over, ( open the bellows ( LF kit) work the shutter(s), remove the lens cap(s) and sit in the sunlight for a coupe of hours.

I'm considering reducing further by selling another three of the cameras although my attachment to them is not making that move an easy one.

Come on Asha get out with your camera:-
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/sti...ased-stunning-collection-photo-165258022.html
The gothic church is amazing
 
I shot two rolls through my Olympus OM10 in London last weekend, that's the first time it's been used since November last year. It probably won't be used until I go on holiday in June now. My film camera is just for fun and days out, it's something I'll only ever use occasionally. I have my DSLR for my motorsport photography but I find that a bit cumbersome to take on a day out. My wife has a lovely little Fuji mirrorless camera now too so that tends to come with us on walks etc.
 
Come on Asha get out with your camera:-
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/sti...ased-stunning-collection-photo-165258022.html
The gothic church is amazing

Some nice photos in that link Brian.

Not unlike in the UK if I understand correctly, a lot of those derelict location are out of bounds.

I have regularly visited old forts which sometimes offer interesting shots.
They are often out of the way and easy enough to wander around without being caught.
The potential problem arises with the fact that many are in quite a dangerous state and although that doesn't bother me personally, if one has an incident and require the emergency services, the French authorities ( perhaps the UK ones too?) don't take lightly to the trespass, so much so one can end up in jail in addition to a hefty fine!
 
I have only used four frames so far this year. This time last week it was none. Roll on spring.
 
I've had my Rolleicord for less than a year and only shot one film to try it out. It's just back from a service and recalibration and this year I aim to at least get a roll a month out of it alongside my digital camera.
 
I tend to go through phases of using different cameras. I've been using the 'blad and the R3a for the past year or so, before that it was the Nagaoka or the ETRS. I have about 30 film cameras and a couple of digital, and I find that if I switch between them too often then it takes me a roll or two to remember how each one works :LOL:

Think I've only used one roll of film so far this year mind, and that was just 12 different versions of the same image for my FPOTY entry!
 
I have around 20 cameras, all working except two, and I try to use them all, like on rotatition, so it takes some time to go full circle, but it is a way to force me to change between 35 and MF, and also to use different lenses. So far, so good.
 
I have around 20 cameras, all working

Well I worked in reverse for many of my twenty four 35mm cameras as always considered the "joe public "camera bodies as a light tight box, so sought out all the lens hidden gems recommended on forums and picked up the camera body later (or at the same time) e.g. at the bootie was Minolta Xd-11 for £16 well I didn't buy it cos it was a Xd-11 (already had X-700 and SRT) but because it had a Minolta 50mm f1.4.
Of course I couldn't do this now (without a lot of luck) as prices of lenses (and camera bodies) have shot up and it was a time years ago when they were going for peanuts.
 
I restarted with film largely due to Poundland Agfa and wanting to find out if my old cameras still worked, so clearly there was a financial aspect to that. The "what to shoot" question was partly solved by joining in with the FPOTY as an incentive to use different film cameras more often. Some of the subjects are suited to LF, while others are better tackled with MF or with 35mm with tele or wide angle lenses, so with a year long list of subjects it is possible to shoot topics for forthcoming months, rather than be stuck on the current topic.

As Brian and others have said, shooting a full 36 exposure can be difficult in poor weather and a month-end deadline, whereas 12 or 16 on MF is relatively easier and reasonably priced if it is mono processed at home. I find I'm happier with MF, and running down my stock of 35mm film, so I'll have a decison to make on what I keep for the future. I think I have 7 SLRs and 3 operational Olympus compacts/rangefinders, plus a Minox 35 and a mainly unloved Kiev 4a. :eek:
 
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I've got too many film cameras ! I don't deliberately rotate them but this does seem to happen slowly as I come across them in the cupboard, This has an unintended bonus in that some times I have forgot what is on each film so I get a nice suprise. I like my little Lomo (Leningrad Optical Mechanical Association) Cosmics because they are relatively small and a bit more of a challenge to use ( no light meters so sunny 16) Plus I used these as a kid. The problem I do have is I forget their little quirks, I forget whether I've wound them on ,on the cameras that don't auto set the shutter, I forget how to rewind them ie what button to press to allow them to run in reverse and other things such as what sort of photos/conditions they are good or bad at. This summer I intend to stick with the Cosmic 35 and 35m Although I wouldn't mind a genuine LOMO built LCA. In answer I don't use them half as much as I would like too mainly due to costs.
 
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I recently sold my brace of Bronicas, my OM1's languish and the results of a small fetish for renovating 6x6 folders a few years ago take up a corner of the cupboard. Last week, I cleared out some rather over-aged chemicals. I think the answer has to be "not a lot", then
 
I recently sold my brace of Bronicas, my OM1's languish and the results of a small fetish for renovating 6x6 folders a few years ago take up a corner of the cupboard. Last week, I cleared out some rather over-aged chemicals. I think the answer has to be "not a lot", then

Hi Hamilton, and welcome... I think the correct response here is "you need to get out more!"... but in the nicest possible way. ;)
 
Ah yes. Out. Outside. I remember that. Cold? Wet? that the one?

Actually, 50% of the reason I joined up here was to give away some film related stuff (the other 50% is to start looking at wildlife photography before embarking on a Safari), I suppose I have to join in 'afore I can put stuff on the "freebies" board.

So, hi.

ETA:
Full access is given when you have been a member for 60 days and made 25 non-spammy posts.
Ah. Maybe not, then. Oh well.
 
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That's as may be, but I'm going to get shot of them sooner rather than later (half a box of 10x8 multigrade been sitting around for years, and a bunch of Clear File archive stuff, some other bits), it'll be down the charity shop or bin.
 
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Ham, while I sympathise with you - you only want to give away some stuff, and we're making you "jump through hoops" for access - but sadly, we can't just give access to one bit of the classifieds section without all the other bits, and it's been decided by the owners of this nice free forum that they want the classifieds to be for participating members only.

Now, at your current rate of posting, 25 posts isn't going to be a problem - and 60 day's isn't that long, especially when things have "been sitting around for years".

But, if you choose to bin or take to the charity shop, that's your decision. Just, please don't try and trade (even giveaways) outside the classifieds, as it's probably the one rule that does get enforced quite strictly - as some of our regulars who "forget" the rules can probably vouch for...
 
TBY, I understand, and although I'm a newbie here I'm a seasoned forumite. It was more of an ironic observation rather than a moan, I joined despite the forum setup and rools is rools, mods have a thankless task at the best of times. As to the "Sitting around for years" (did I hear someone whisper "APS" ?), while that's true, the little b*stard things are on the move and participating in daily life more than they have done in the past.
 
Well, one bit of good news is that a fellow moderator pointed out to me that it's currently set at 30 days... So,not quite as bad...
 
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