Film photography

[Essiesmom]

Does anyone use film anymore?  I left it behind when I got my first digital camera in 2004.  But I have a query from a great nephew about where to start.  He apparently does a lot of hiking and thinks he would like to try taking some pictures with a film camera.  I really don’t know where to start.  I’m looking for places for him to research the idea, for a person born in 2002 who has likely never used anything but a cellphone camera.  My first suggestion is to find a real camera store to visit and ask for info.  Go to a bookstore and see if any of the photo mags still mention film.  And there is Mr. Google.  Sooo…any advice I can pass on?  EM

[TheOldBear]

Even DPreview has a film forum & features a weekly "film Friday" article.

 

I have had enough time [decades] using film cameras [and developing, printing, selling] that I cannot conceive of any reason to use film other than as a fashion statement. How are they planning on developing the film? Scanning? Printing?  My home darkroom setup went to a thrift shop about 1998.

 

For equipment, they will be looking at used - and some things will be common to dSLR bodies [e.g. the Canon EF mount for both film and digital cameras]. For a full retro experience, look for 'thumb powered' no auto anything cameras - they often have big bright viewfinders that are nice for manual focus.

 

There may be a small supply of 'new old stock' film bodies - but none as far as I know are currently in production.

 

In cruise related issues, back in 2008 I was using a Canon EOS Elan film camera and a Panasonic FZ50 bridge camera. Our first cruise was a 5 night 'taster' on QM2. I forgot to purchase a few rolls of film before the cruise, thinking it was no big deal - I could just buy some onboard. The onboard shops stopped stocking film sometime before 2008 - and the QM2 never had an onboard photo lab.

[pierces]

2 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Does anyone use film anymore?  I left it behind when I got my first digital camera in 2004.  But I have a query from a great nephew about where to start.  He apparently does a lot of hiking and thinks he would like to try taking some pictures with a film camera.  I really don’t know where to start.  I’m looking for places for him to research the idea, for a person born in 2002 who has likely never used anything but a cellphone camera.  My first suggestion is to find a real camera store to visit and ask for info.  Go to a bookstore and see if any of the photo mags still mention film.  And there is Mr. Google.  Sooo…any advice I can pass on?  EM

 

Check KEH.com 

 

They have a wide variety of used film SLRs for sale. Good reputation and give honest assessments of the condition of the used items. Here's a link to their film camera pages: 

 

Used Film Camera Store Online - Vintage For Sale & More| KEH at KEH Camera

 

As for film, they sell various brands as well:

 

Search results for: 'film' at KEH Camera

 

As does Amazon:

 

Amazon.com : 35mm film

 

I still have an old Maxxum 7000i that should theoretically still work, but 14 rolls of blank film after a different film camera suffered a shutter failure have left me with a bad taste for the medium. Still, it could be fun to drag it out and play with it.  I ran into a shooter with a film SLR on our last cruise who was about your nephew's age. Maybe it's like vinyl records or Betamax? 🙂

 

Good luck with the adventure.

 

Dave

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Thanks, everyone.  EM

[GUT2407]

I still shoot film from time to time, but can’t remember the last time I shot 35mm.

[Oviedo32765]

Try Youtube and search for "film photography for beginners."

[Host Bonjour]

On 7/7/2022 at 2:41 PM, Essiesmom said:

Does anyone use film anymore?  I left it behind when I got my first digital camera in 2004.  But I have a query from a great nephew about where to start.  He apparently does a lot of hiking and thinks he would like to try taking some pictures with a film camera.  I really don’t know where to start.  I’m looking for places for him to research the idea, for a person born in 2002 who has likely never used anything but a cellphone camera.  My first suggestion is to find a real camera store to visit and ask for info.  Go to a bookstore and see if any of the photo mags still mention film.  And there is Mr. Google.  Sooo…any advice I can pass on?  EM

 

I'm associated with a nonprofit centered around photography, and there are definitely photographers who still use film as well as other traditional types of film processes. At a recent event we had, there was a booth run by an organization (Penumbra Foundation) that does tintypes, and they have darkroom space available (for anyone in the area) plus they have education and a museum: actually, there are many places to go for darkroom space. So it's alive and well. 

 

Check out B&H photography (I have no connection to them or any camera shop/retailer other than they have locations in my area), who has online classes and seminars, plus they sell used equipment, the camera is rated in terms of its condition so you pretty much know what to expect.

 

B&H Photo has been in business for a long time, they have the most options: a decent selection of used cameras and even some new ones, though they not really comparable to the used ones in terms of functionality so it wouldn't be much of a learning curve. There is also Adorama (assortment of very inexpensive cameras) and MPB (a few used Leicas). 

 

There are indeed many YouTube videos by many people, though not everyone teaches the same way (or should teach) and not everyone learns the same way, or at the same speed. Choose carefully.

 

The best thing to do may be to look around for an adult education or community college course on film photography. The International Center for Photography has classes on film photography, but again, that's if you're in the area, however, there are wonderful photographic centers in many places throughout the US (we get to know them through alliances).

 

Not sure if grand-nephew lives near you in coastal GA, but I'd be happy to send suggestions for arts/photography nonprofit organizations to look at in other areas that may also run educational programs. SCAD is an art school nearby in Savannah which you probably know about should he get bitten by the bug and want to pursue a degree for a career. 

 

Learning film photography is much better in person because it's important to be processing and making your own prints in order to fully grasp all that goes into the image from start to finish. Work can still take place later on in the digital image making process when editing an image, but the approach is different. Knowing how to make film images also will probably increase the quality (and save post production time) with digital photo making. 

 

Let us know if you need more info and how it all goes 🙂