Shoot Film Stills?

[mercer]

With so few opportunities to shoot video, I decided it was time to mess around with stills to keep me sane. Well, I enjoy a little bit of crazy, so I decided to start shooting film. I've never been a stills shooter, so I decided to look at some old film cameras.

After some research, I'm really drawn to the 60s/70s fixed lens rangefinders and half frame cameras. So, I threw an offer on a Fujica Half, half frame camera. The seller didn't offer a lot of information, but I figured it was worth a shot.

They accepted the $25 offer and it arrived yesterday and I was thrilled to find out it's in near mint condition and the old selenium light meter seems to function perfectly...

Does anyone else shoot film? If so, what are your favorite cameras and film stocks?

[TomTheDP]

I've been doing it lately. I got a Nikon 6006. The viewfinder is very nice and clear though it can be hard to see when the light gets dim. Battery powered so using it doesn't feel very vintage esque. I actually got a bunch of outdated film recently. Just finished a roll of Kodak gold 1600, really interested to see how it looks. It expired in 1993 before I was born haha. 

I've been wanting to get something like your with a fixed lens though, maybe even something with auto focus. 

[billdoubleu]

I shot a couple rolls on my honeymoon and had them developed last month. I guess you could say I'm into the whole vintage film thing, as my honeymoon was ten years ago.

I took photography in highschool but it didn't take. I did take all the courses because cute girls love photography. I think film is beautiful, but ultimately a pain in the ass.

If you are looking for a lab in the US, I had a very good experience with The Darkroom when developing my honeymoon photos. They seem to have a stellar reputation and didn't disappoint me.

[mercer]

1 hour ago, TomTheDP said:

I've been doing it lately. I got a Nikon 6006. The viewfinder is very nice and clear though it can be hard to see when the light gets dim. Battery powered so using it doesn't feel very vintage esque. I actually got a bunch of outdated film recently. Just finished a roll of Kodak gold 1600, really interested to see how it looks. It expired in 1993 before I was born haha. 

I've been wanting to get something like your with a fixed lens though, maybe even something with auto focus. 

Actually, the first film camera I bought, about a month ago, was a NOS N6006, too. But I haven't used it yet. Although I have a bunch of old Nikkor lenses, I don't have anything with AF. Shortly after, I picked up a Nikon P&S that was kinda fun, but the process was a bit too simple.

Anyway, like most things I get interested in, I get pretty obsessed with it, so I do a ton of research. If you're looking for something with AF, there were some pretty spectacular cameras made in the 90s by Nikon, Contax and even Konica, but they can be a bit pricey.

I really had no idea what I would like, so I wanted to try a few different cameras. In the end, I'll probably keep two or three, since they're so cheap.

I'm more concerned with the cost of film/processing than I am with the cameras, though. I guess that's why I'm excited to use this Fuji Half Frame camera... 72 shots from a 36 roll... yes please.

 

[mercer]

2 hours ago, billdoubleu said:

I shot a couple rolls on my honeymoon and had them developed last month. I guess you could say I'm into the whole vintage film thing, as my honeymoon was ten years ago.

I took photography in highschool but it didn't take. I did take all the courses because cute girls love photography. I think film is beautiful, but ultimately a pain in the ass.

If you are looking for a lab in the US, I had a very good experience with The Darkroom when developing my honeymoon photos. They seem to have a stellar reputation and didn't disappoint me.

Haha, nice. How did the rolls turn out?

I took a course in high school too and I really enjoyed it, and come to think of it, there were some cute girls in the class. I agree, it is bit of a pain in the ass, but that's kinda what I like about it. Shooting raw video on my 5D3 is a pain too, but I still love it. For me, it's more about the process. It's cathartic.

Glad to hear you had a good experience with The Darkroom. I haven't sent any rolls in to get developed yet and I plan to send a couple rolls off to a few different places. I'm on the other coast, though so I ultimately may end up choosing somewhere more local when it becomes a regular thing.

[Anaconda_]

14 minutes ago, mercer said:

 I guess that's why I'm excited to use this Fuji Half Frame camera... 72 shots from a 36 roll... yes please.

 

I went the other way, and started shooting stereo photos a couple years ago. So a 36 roll gets 18 stereo sets. I quickly learned I need to ask the developer not to cut the negatives, because they camera rolls the film at an odd length between shots. Unfortunately, they cut a few frames in half... but luckily, I had the other angle, so now those ones are just nice, stand-alone pictures.

I then process the negative at home, with a slide scanner, a touch of colour adjustments and then pairing and aligning the correct images. Quite a bit of work, but it's also simple and becomes something of a routine after 2 or 3.

I use a trusty use a Stereo Realist, it's a rangefinder camera, and surprisingly quick to use once you get used to it. It's also reasonably small, so when I first got it, I took it with me for many shoots for some lovely stereo behind the scenes snaps. Happy to share a couple, but you might need some equipment to get the stereo effect. either a stereo viewer, (those VR headsets you can put your phone in work very well) or try the ol' cross your eyes and stare through the frame - which can get a little exhausting after a while.

 

EDIT: It's a shame stereo-photography never really took off with digital. There's only a handful of models that do it well enough to be worth the time, and they're few and far between on the second hand market. Recently I've been looking at beam splitters, but even those are hard to come by. They are available for phones, but I don't think there's enough usable resolution (on mine at least) to have a good image once you've cut it in half.

[mercer]

13 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

I went the other way, and started shooting stereo photos a couple years ago. So a 36 roll gets 18 stereo sets. I quickly learned I need to ask the developer not to cut the negatives, because they camera rolls the film at an odd length between shots. Unfortunately, they cut a few frames in half... but luckily, I had the other angle, so now those ones are just nice, stand-alone pictures.

I then process the negative at home, with a slide scanner, a touch of colour adjustments and then pairing and aligning the correct images. Quite a bit of work, but it's also simple and becomes something of a routine after 2 or 3.

I use a trusty use a Stereo Realist, it's a rangefinder camera, and surprisingly quick to use once you get used to it. It's also reasonably small, so when I first got it, I took it with me for many shoots for some lovely stereo behind the scenes snaps. Happy to share a couple, but you might need some equipment to get the stereo effect. either a stereo viewer, (those VR headsets you can put your phone in work very well) or try the ol' cross your eyes and stare through the frame - which can get a little exhausting after a while.

 

EDIT: It's a shame stereo-photography never really took off with digital. There's only a handful of models that do it well enough to be worth the time, and they're few and far between on the second hand market. Recently I've been looking at beam splitters, but even those are hard to come by. They are available for phones, but I don't think there's enough usable resolution (on mine at least) to have a good image once you've cut it in half.

Yeah please share them. I kinda remember stereo photography from when I was a kid, but I don't know much about it. Photography is kinda new to me, but so far it's been a ton of fun.

What kind of scanner do you have? My goal with the half frame is to shoot dyptichs and try my hand at telling stories with two frames. For now I'm just going to let them scan the film and plan my shots accordingly from the start of the roll, but if I enjoy it, I may eventually want a small scanner and get the negatives back uncut. 

[mercer]

To add, I also bought a couple rangefinders and they are a blast. The Olympus XA is a fun little camera. And I just received a Canonet 28 I paid $20 for that's in great shape. I'm still waiting on a battery and the seals need to be replaced, but the Rangefinder patch is brilliant.

[QuickHitRecord]

I've been enjoying my Canon Elan II. It feels almost exactly like my 5Diii and I can use the same lenses too. It definitely produces a look that I enjoy. Been experimenting with different film stocks too: https://distanceelevation.com/blog/2021/7/5/northcascadesgoatmountainheliotrope

The next step will be to do some of my own scans.

[Anaconda_]

51 minutes ago, mercer said:

What kind of scanner do you have?

I use this. It's M42, adapted to EF and then just use any digital camera to scan it.

https://images.app.goo.gl/6NrDgntAbgbHg8dE8

as for snaps, here's a couple. Getting the stereo effect is easiest with some hardware, but you can do it with just your eyes if you practice a little. Plenty of how tos on YouTube.

As you can see. My camera has a light leak on the right frame. But it does ant take away from the stereo effect.

[mercer]

1 hour ago, QuickHitRecord said:

I've been enjoying my Canon Elan II. It feels almost exactly like my 5Diii and I can use the same lenses too. It definitely produces a look that I enjoy. Been experimenting with different film stocks too: https://distanceelevation.com/blog/2021/7/5/northcascadesgoatmountainheliotrope

The next step will be to do some of my own scans.

Great shots. I love the look of Portra 400. Were they straight outta camera... or did you manipulate the scanned files? I was looking at a more modern Canon camera when I first decided to give this a try... I forget the model, but apparently made a camera in the early 90s that had Eye AF... and I mean that the camera would focus the portion of the frame that you were looking at through the viewfinder... what kinda witchcraft is that?!

[mercer]

40 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:

I use this. It's M42, adapted to EF and then just use any digital camera to scan it.

https://images.app.goo.gl/6NrDgntAbgbHg8dE8

as for snaps, here's a couple. Getting the stereo effect is easiest with some hardware, but you can do it with just your eyes if you practice a little. Plenty of how tos on YouTube.

As you can see. My camera has a light leak on the right frame. But it does ant take away from the stereo effect.

Whoa!!! Those are cool. I was able to cross my eyes and see the effect pretty quickly. Nice job! Do you have any B&W samples? I can picture some fun, moody Halloween shots. 

[UncleBobsPhotography]

Cool 3d photos. It worked fine to watch them with google cardboard by zooming a bit.

I've found a Viewmaster Personal Stereo from my grandfather's collection. It uses a crop of 135 film and you take photos in both directions (first like normal and then when you rewind). However, I haven't found a single photo or film-strip from it, so I doubt my grandfather ever got it to work properly. I haven't dared loading a film in it since I've had some problems with the mechanism to change direction.

I've also been experimenting a bit with different analog cameras lately, small format, medium format and large format, and I've come to like shooting 120 film the most. It is not such a pain as shooting large format yet gives me a larger format and different experience than what I get digitally. I've had the most success with the 6x6 Rolleiflex, but I've got a few 6x9 cameras as well which I should use more.

[Tim Sewell]

I got quite deep into film stills a couple of years ago and have continued, albeit at a slower rate, since then. Of course, when I started photography, film was all there was! I cut my teeth working a darkroom and assisting/being second shooter for a freelance press/social/commercial photographer in the late 80s - best fun job I've ever had, TBH.

In my more recent forays I've mainly used an Olympus OM-1 (once my dream camera) a Canon V, an Electro 35 and various other rangefinders. Favourite films would be Portra 160, Fuji Acros and Fujifilm Industrial 200. At one point I was processing both colour and B&W, using a polythene packing case with a sous-vide wand as a tempering tank. Nowadays I get the colour processed, but I'm rather fond of stand-processing my B&W, which is a much more relaxing method of film development than the rather demanding process of home C41 processing. I use a Nikon 35mm film scanner that was the most expensive item out of all the stuff I acquired for the 'project'.

There's a selection of shots (some good, some bad, some just family snaps) on my photo website https://www.vrimage.co.uk/IShootFilm

[mercer]

11 hours ago, UncleBobsPhotography said:

I've also been experimenting a bit with different analog cameras lately, small format, medium format and large format, and I've come to like shooting 120 film the most. It is not such a pain as shooting large format yet gives me a larger format and different experience than what I get digitally. I've had the most success with the 6x6 Rolleiflex, but I've got a few 6x9 cameras as well which I should use more.

Interesting. A couple months ago when I decided to look into it, I immediately went to MF. But I quickly realized that I was looking for something that is pocketable and that I can walk around with without too much fuss. With that said, I'll probably be on the lookout for a cheap Yashica TLR eventually. I just love that look.

[mercer]

11 hours ago, Tim Sewell said:

I got quite deep into film stills a couple of years ago and have continued, albeit at a slower rate, since then. Of course, when I started photography, film was all there was! I cut my teeth working a darkroom and assisting/being second shooter for a freelance press/social/commercial photographer in the late 80s - best fun job I've ever had, TBH.

In my more recent forays I've mainly used an Olympus OM-1 (once my dream camera) a Canon V, an Electro 35 and various other rangefinders. Favourite films would be Portra 160, Fuji Acros and Fujifilm Industrial 200. At one point I was processing both colour and B&W, using a polythene packing case with a sous-vide wand as a tempering tank. Nowadays I get the colour processed, but I'm rather fond of stand-processing my B&W, which is a much more relaxing method of film development than the rather demanding process of home C41 processing. I use a Nikon 35mm film scanner that was the most expensive item out of all the stuff I acquired for the 'project'.

There's a selection of shots (some good, some bad, some just family snaps) on my photo website https://www.vrimage.co.uk/IShootFilm

Great work, Tim. Some of your shots seem familiar. Do you have a Canonet QL17 Giii and have posted some of your shots on Flickr?

I love the idea of processing my own film, but I don't have the space to do it. Have you ever used the Cafenol processing?

[mercer]

I've been shooting on cheap film stocks... Kodak Gold 200, and T-Max 100. I had a roll of Fomapan 100 but I mucked that up (when testing one of the cheap cameras I have that I shouldn't have bought) by opening the film door.

What's the best, cheap B&W film? I'm looking for fine grain, good contrast and sharp.

[TomTheDP]

18 minutes ago, mercer said:

I've been shooting on cheap film stocks... Kodak Gold 200, and T-Max 100. I had a roll of Fomapan 100 but I mucked that up (when testing one of the cheap cameras I have that I shouldn't have bought) by opening the film door.

What's the best, cheap B&W film? I'm looking for fine grain, good contrast and sharp.

Wouldn't opening the film door only kill a couple frames ?

[mercer]

35 minutes ago, TomTheDP said:

Wouldn't opening the film door only kill a couple frames ?

Yes, that's true, but I condensed the story. The camera was a total rip off but the seller listed it in a way that I couldn't get a refund.

Needless to say, when I opened the film door, it was pretty much the last straw with that camera.

Overall I've been very lucky with the few cameras I've bought, but you really have to be careful with eBay and old cameras. Luckily they don't cost too much and when you get an understanding of possible issues, you can get some deals because a lot of people will list stuff pretty cheap and as parts when they're just not checking the cameras right. 

[UncleBobsPhotography]

12 hours ago, mercer said:

Interesting. A couple months ago when I decided to look into it, I immediately went to MF. But I quickly realized that I was looking for something that is pocketable and that I can walk around with without too much fuss. With that said, I'll probably be on the lookout for a cheap Yashica TLR eventually. I just love that look.

I've got a Voigtlander Bessa II which to me is the perfect form factor. It is pocketable in jacket pockets (but not jeanspockets) and still shoot 6x9. However, the pictures I've gotten out of it has been severely lackluster, missing focus, light leaks and general lack of crispness. TLR cameras seems a lot of reliable.