My back to using film story

Kiwi Paul

Kiwi Paul

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I must start making contributions to this thread as I've quite a bit of film kit now and enjoy using it so much.

I used to use film back in the 80's and 90's, a Canon T70 then a T90, with a variety of lenses but eventually I lost interest and sold it, then later went digital.
However a year ago I was having a clean up at work and found a long discarded Olympus OM2SP body, in perfect order, really mint.
I was enthralled and bought Zuiko OM 28mm and 50mm primes to test it out. I was hooked and before long had bought a whole set of Zuiko OM primes (21, 24, 28, 35, 50 f1.2, 85, 100, 135 and 200!!), then an OM2n, (one camera for colour and one for B&W lol).

For some reason I decided I wanted a Canon A1 so ended up with 2 of them and a whole set of Canon FD primes 24mm through to 135mm.

For any buff that should have been enough but I saw a guy unboxing a Nikon F4 on You Tube.... and you guessed it I wanted one so bought one from Japan in mint condition for £145 followed by a set of 5 Nikon AF - D series primes (24 through to 85mm).

That's where I am at the moment, they all get used regularly, I develop my own film (B&W and colour negs) and scan them using my A7R3 + 90mm macro or Nikon D780 + 105mm macro.
I do have an enlarger and all the darkroom equipment but still have to set up the darkroom shed.

So that's my smitten with film story, all because I found an OM2SP a year ago to reignite my interest.
 
Love it. Really glad to hear that you found the love for film again, and indeed that the GAS is strong with you, long may it continue :D

I would be in dereliction of my duty if I did not at least ask if you had any thoughts/interests about other formats (bigger and smaller!)?
 
Now I’m concerned. T70 and T90 ..... the guys will fully understand my reasons for being unnerved :runaway: :LOL:

And the the mention of an F4 also installs fear into the heart of me , not becausethe cameras are no good ( well the first two mentioned are definetly dodgy in the hands of some:exit: ) , but there is some history with a certain active member of this forum ........ oh lawd i darent say more for fear of losing a potential new addition to f&c:ROFLMAO:

Putting the humour and the wind up @excalibur2 aside, I welcome you to this side of the forum and hope that you find us to be a helpful and friendly crowdeven if we are a bit:wacky::LOL:
 
I love my T90. It's the only SLR that managed a battery "grip" that doesn't feel over-sized. I drew the line at a T70 though. I have standards.
 
Asha said:
:ROFLMAO: So does Bri , just not as high as yours :exit: :LOL:
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Ah the T70..I'm amused by comments here in that it's a camera that does what it says on the tin very well and the only complaint is it's ugly h'mm are you all poseurs or want to take photographs :rolleyes: It would knock spots off any Canon A model except the A1 (as it is more versatile but the T70 can do 2.7 frames/sec)......for no door seals to replace, no cough, takes AA batteries and accuracy of shutter speeds and exposure meter.
And if anyone says my T70 broke down, well same for many other famous makes of old cameras as well and if the T70 did break down no need to try and get it repaired just throw it away and buy another one as they are so cheap to buy.
 
You know it's all about the aesthetic Brian. I for one will only use cameras that make me look cool :cool:
 
Woodsy said:
Love it. Really glad to hear that you found the love for film again, and indeed that the GAS is strong with you, long may it continue :D

I would be in dereliction of my duty if I did not at least ask if you had any thoughts/interests about other formats (bigger and smaller!)?
Click to expand...

Thanks, yes GAS is too strong, thank God I've an understanding wife :D

I've no interest in any other formats, I like the portability of the kit I have and hate using tripods etc that I'd need for medium format and above.
 
Kiwi Paul said:
I've no interest in any other formats
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Well if I was a digi guy and wanted to try\use film also....would use the digi for everyday common use but if I wanted to relax and the challenge of getting the shot of a subject with a few shots (not machine gunning), would use a medium format film camera for quality and different perspective with their lenses.
 
excalibur2 said:
Well if I was a digi guy and wanted to try\use film also....would use the digi for everyday common use but if I wanted to relax and the challenge of getting the shot of a subject with a few shots (not machine gunning), would use a medium format film camera for quality and different perspective with their lenses.
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Ahh well in that case, you really are wasting your time: being a tiny film format person, you really should just snap away with all that tiny stuff and relax a little and shoot LF for quality and the different perspective control.

I suppose by the same logic I should just shoot 5x4 for every day stuff and join the big boys and girls with 20x24:rolleyes:

;)
 
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Andysnap said:
You know it's all about the aesthetic Brian. I for one will only use cameras that make me look cool :cool:
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And there was me thinking it was the way you rocked tweed, but it was your cameras after all. ;)

excalibur2 said:
and if the T70 did break down no need to try and get it repaired just throw it away and buy another one as they are so cheap to buy.
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Quite often there's a reason for that! ;) :exit:
 
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Kiwi Paul said:
I must start making contributions to this thread as I've quite a bit of film kit now and enjoy using it so much.

I used to use film back in the 80's and 90's, a Canon T70 then a T90, with a variety of lenses but eventually I lost interest and sold it, then later went digital.
However a year ago I was having a clean up at work and found a long discarded Olympus OM2SP body, in perfect order, really mint.
I was enthralled and bought Zuiko OM 28mm and 50mm primes to test it out. I was hooked and before long had bought a whole set of Zuiko OM primes (21, 24, 28, 35, 50 f1.2, 85, 100, 135 and 200!!), then an OM2n, (one camera for colour and one for B&W lol).

For some reason I decided I wanted a Canon A1 so ended up with 2 of them and a whole set of Canon FD primes 24mm through to 135mm.

For any buff that should have been enough but I saw a guy unboxing a Nikon F4 on You Tube.... and you guessed it I wanted one so bought one from Japan in mint condition for £145 followed by a set of 5 Nikon AF - D series primes (24 through to 85mm).

That's where I am at the moment, they all get used regularly, I develop my own film (B&W and colour negs) and scan them using my A7R3 + 90mm macro or Nikon D780 + 105mm macro.
I do have an enlarger and all the darkroom equipment but still have to set up the darkroom shed.

So that's my smitten with film story, all because I found an OM2SP a year ago to reignite my interest.
Click to expand...

A good Canon A1 is hard to beat as a classic manual focus 35mm SLR, I've had one from new since 1980 and it's been a great camera. If you're looking for a good, cheap zoom for it then have a look at the Canon FD 35-70 f/4 (the metal bodied constant aperture one, not the later plasticky looking variable aperture version). Watch out for play in the zoom mechanism (parts are no longer available to fix this), but apart from that it's something of a secret gem. They're sharp even wide open and don't suffer too much from barrel or pincushion at extremes of zoom range, so for the £50 or so they seem to fetch for one in 'mint minus' condition, it's well worth a punt.

Also, if thinking of adding a Canon EOS 35mm SLR to your collection, then perhaps have a look at the EOS 30, which is still quite reasonably priced (expect around £50 to £80 for a mintish one in full working order, if you're patient on eBay). The spec is very good (enthusiast grade) and the 7 point eye controlled focus system (you just look at an AF point in the viewfinder and half press the shutter button to select it!) is really handy, plus you can turn it off an use the camera normally if you find it doesn't work for you. Being an EOS SLR, the 30 will work with full functionality on all genuine Canon EF (not EF-S) lenses, even the latest L spec ones with image stabilisation, which I believe you could use via an adaptor on your Sony AR7? So an EOS 30 with Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens might make for some very light weight and compact (for an AF 35mm SLR) fun. Just saying. :D
 
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Mr Badger said:
A good Canon A1 is hard to beat as a classic manual focus 35mm SLR, I've had one from new since 1980 and it's been a great camera. If you're looking for a good, cheap zoom for it then have a look at the Canon FD 35-70 f/4 (the metal bodied constant aperture one, not the later plasticky looking variable aperture version). Watch out for play in the zoom mechanism (parts are no longer available to fix this), but apart from that it's something of a secret gem. They're sharp even wide open and don't suffer too much from barrel or pincushion at extremes of zoom range, so for the £50 or so they seem to fetch for one in 'mint minus' condition, it's well worth a punt.

Also, if thinking of adding a Canon EOS 35mm SLR to your collection, then perhaps have a look at the EOS 30, which is still quite reasonably priced (expect around £50 to £80 for a mintish one in full working order, if you're patient on eBay). The spec is very good (enthusiast grade) and the 7 point eye controlled focus system (you just look at an AF point in the viewfinder and half press the shutter button to select it!) is really handy, plus you can turn it off an use the camera normally if you find it doesn't work for you. Being an EOS SLR, the 30 will work with full functionality on all genuine Canon EF (not EF-S) lenses, even the latest L spec ones with image stabilisation, which I believe you could use via an adaptor on your Sony AR7? So an EOS 30 with Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens might make for some very light weight and compact (for an AF 35mm SLR) fun. Just saying. :D
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Thanks for the info.
I love the A1, and I love the FD primes lenses, they are nice to use and have excellent IQ. I like to use primes mainly and don't have any zooms for my film cameras except a Canon FD 70-210 f4 lens which was included with one of the A1's I bought but I've not used it yet.
I have the adapters for mounting the Canon FD lenses and Zuiko OM lenses to the A7r3 too.

I'm not intending to buy any more film gear, but never say never, I keep resisting the urge to even consider a Nikon F6.

I've just bought a Nikon D780 with 24-120 lens and 105mm macro and was intending to sell the Sony gear but my wife said keep it if you want, so for the moment I will but I haven't got the nerve to buy anything else for the foreseeable.:giggle:
 
Mr Badger said:
And there was me thinking it was the way you rocked tweed, but it was your cameras after all.
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..I don't think Andy is the sort of person that wouldn't enter a camera club (to join) with an Ilford Sporti or Brownie around his neck :D
 
A gentleman in tweed is prepared for any eventuality.
 
The world was, almost literally, conquered by British gents in tweeds and stout brogues.

A good look at the Ngorogoro crater, but Crewe???
 
mstphoto said:
I had a Canon A1
Great camera but suffered from Squeeky Shutter Syndrome in the end.
Didn't affect the images though
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Mine developed that after about 10 years, so was sent for professional repair. That lasted 30 years before I noticed it was just starting to come back again, plus I was getting the occasional slightly overlapping frame, so it got sent for a full service last year before our 'Uncle Miles' the camera doctor retired! So hopefully that should keep it going for a while longer yet. :)
 
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simon ess said:
The world was, almost literally, conquered by British gents in tweeds and stout brogues.

A good look at the Ngorogoro crater, but Crewe???
Click to expand...

I will admit that full tweed does raise an occasional eyebrow, so I mainly just go with deerstalker and plus twos :)
 
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