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If you’ve been following along, I inherited some old film cameras from my dad recently and I’ve been doing some film photography.
I still primarily shoot digital because I have yet to win the lottery, but I have at least shot enough film now to have some thoughts that I’d like to share.
First off, the time shifted nature of shooting on film is very strange for someone used to the instant gratification of digital photography. I’m writing this post on May 3rd. I got the Pentax on April 18th, so two weeks have passed since I got my first film camera. I shot three rolls of film, and sent them off to be processed on April 26th. I still don’t have any pictures to show you, and since then I’ve bought a Olympus OM-2n and a 50mm f1.4 lens for it, and I’ve shot a roll of Portra 800 through it, and a roll of Portra 800, a roll of Ilford HP5, and roll of Fuji Superia 400 through my dad’s Nikon FG. I haven’t even sent any of that off to be developed yet. Even if you send stuff off as soon as you shoot it, which doesn’t make sense really because the shipping is about the same for one roll vs 10 rolls, it’s still going to be weeks between taking a picture and seeing it. That’s kinda cool in some ways, but it’s frustrating when you’re, say, trying a new film stock and you don’t know if you like it yet.
I’ve also noticed that I tend to be way more deliberate when I shoot film. You get a limited number of exposures on each roll of film, you can’t use the spray and pray method that so many digital photographers employ (looking at you, me!). You need to match your film to your situation. While you can stop down and shoot 800 speed film outside, you can’t really shoot 100 speed film inside unless you’re also packing a flash. All of this, combined with the tactile nature of having to manually wind the film to a new frame, makes you really consider every image you take.
I’ve also noticed that I like manual focus a LOT more on old film cameras. The split prism focus screen is SO much better than anything a digital mirrorless camera has to offer. I understand why it won’t work on a digital camera, but I still hate it. I would love to be able to have a split prism on my Fuji X-S20 so I could use old manual lenses on it.
If you’re unfamiliar with split-prism focus screens, this is how it works. The very middle of the screen has a spot with a prism and a dividing line. When what you have the spot on is out of focus, the two parts of the prism are not aligned.
As you turn the focus ring on the lens, the two parts come closer together (assuming you’re turning the correct way), and once they line up, the thing you’re pointed at is in focus.
Manual focus with focus peaking sucks to me. I probably just need more practice, but I almost never use manual mode on a digital camera. I was honestly surprised as how natural manual focus feels on a film camera. If you’re avoiding film because you’re scared of manual focus, give it a shot. You may very well be pleasantly surprised.
Well I think that basically covers it for now, I’m mostly just rambling because I feel like I should be posting updates but since the film hasn’t been processed yet there’s not a whole lot to update. Hopefully that changes soon.
