I've always just use a point and click and cell phone cameras. I want to figure out how to take better pictures, and want an old school film camera that has different lenses available. Photography jargon just confuses the hell out of me. Is there a site out here that breaks down what a picture can look like with different lenses and settings in the camera? That way I can figure out what I like about a certain lense or style of lense. What would be some good cameras to think about getting, I don't know what is a good or bad camera. It just seems like now with 2 kids its time to go out and take good pics of them and get out in nature and look at it differently.
Wanting to get into film photography.
- Thread starter Mediumrarechicken
- Start date
As far as a camera goes, pick up something as manual as possible, with a 50mm lens. The 50mm gives the same field of view as your eye sees, so it will help you think about your composition more when you are learning. A good camera to get would be something like a Nikon FM or FM2, Pentax k1000 etc. They have mechanical shutters, and only need the battery to run the light meter, and no auto mode to tempt you to cheat.
And, of course, if you have specific technical questions, regarding jargon or techniques, just ask us.
And, of course, if you have specific technical questions, regarding jargon or techniques, just ask us.
Years back Kodak published a line of very good books that serve as a good intro to the basics of film photography. Here is a link to one: http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Photograp...ie=UTF8&qid=1368378820&sr=1-12&keywords=kodak These are long out of print. so you may have to look in a library.
Assuming that you are used to the instant gratification of digital, you should be sure that you have a source for processing available once you start to shoot film; otherwise you will be very frustrated.
Assuming that you are used to the instant gratification of digital, you should be sure that you have a source for processing available once you start to shoot film; otherwise you will be very frustrated.
Go to your local public library and check out these 3 books by Ansel Adams
The Camera
The Negative
The Print
Once you get through those 3 books (and you can remember everything) you will know all there is to know about wet process photography
The Camera
The Negative
The Print
Once you get through those 3 books (and you can remember everything) you will know all there is to know about wet process photography
I'd probably look into a digital SLR if it were me. That way, you can take all of the pictures you want and not have to spend a fortune on developing film.
If you are looking for the retro experience, you can pick up a Nikon, Canon, or Pentax camera on Craigslist pretty inexpensively. I like Pentax, because all of the old bayonet mount lenses fit all of the bayonet mount camera bodies.
There are a lot of internet resources out there for learning about taking photographs. Try photo.net as they are pretty comprehensive.
If you are looking for the retro experience, you can pick up a Nikon, Canon, or Pentax camera on Craigslist pretty inexpensively. I like Pentax, because all of the old bayonet mount lenses fit all of the bayonet mount camera bodies.
There are a lot of internet resources out there for learning about taking photographs. Try photo.net as they are pretty comprehensive.
There is some very good advice in this thread already, but I will add a couple of thoughts.
Learning photography with a digital camera is much quicker and simpler these days. I would be happy chasing children around with a film camera, but initially your keeper rate could be virtually zero. The lack of instant feedback coupled with processing time and costs may put you in a position in which you don't wish to be.
Is there a local camera club in your area? Or do you have a friend who might lend you an old film camera to test? You will most probably end up buying your film over the internet and it is a good idea to check now as to the availability of processing services before you buy in.
Learning photography with a digital camera is much quicker and simpler these days. I would be happy chasing children around with a film camera, but initially your keeper rate could be virtually zero. The lack of instant feedback coupled with processing time and costs may put you in a position in which you don't wish to be.
Is there a local camera club in your area? Or do you have a friend who might lend you an old film camera to test? You will most probably end up buying your film over the internet and it is a good idea to check now as to the availability of processing services before you buy in.
If you are interested in b&w, you can process film at home fairly easily. I used to do all my b&w processing as well as enlarging. Once the film is processed, you'll need an enlarger and other equipment for the darkroom, or a good film scanner if you want to print it on the computer. I resisted as long as possible, but unfortunately Kodak and Fuji stopped making my favorite film.
Thats a tough question you pose. There probably isn't one single resource to show you "what different lenses will look like". Thats because a lot of factors go into determining how a picture will look. The lens essentially determines "Field of View" or FOV. While its mainly geared toward large format View Cameras, Ansel Adams book "The Camera" gives a very good explanation of how a lens changes FOV.
In a basic sense, you you are talking about a 35mm negative, a 50mm lens will give you a "normal" FOV. Smaller lenses (35mm, 28mm etc) are considered "wide angle". The smaller the number, the wider you FOV will be. Anything larger than 50mm (90mm, 100mm, 150mm etc) will in varying degrees be considered "telephoto". The larger the number gets, the narrower your FOV will get, and objects will appear closer. Again, I think the passage in The Camera that has a series of pictures taken with different lenses explains all of this much better than I am right now.
There are a lot of other considerations that come into how a picture looks other than Field of View. Does the photographer want the background to be blurry or sharp (depth of field)? Do they want motion blur, or do they want to stop the action? That is where shutter speed (how long the shutter is open) and aperture (how big the hole in the lens opens up) come into play.
As far as film goes, I'm really on the fence about that one. I've switched to all film B&W including processing film and printing in a darkroom for my personal amateur photography. All the family stuff (kids, family get togethers etc) I shoot on my DLSR. All of my film cameras are manual focus, all mechanical cameras that force me to slow down. My medium format camera doesn't even have light meter, which adds another step in using that camera. I love film, but when it comes to kids running around, taking a camera to the zoo, birthday parties, neighborhood get-togethers, its always the DSLR.
On the other hand, I know photography, I know the jargon and I know how to make just about any camera work. For a beginner photographer, DLSRs with confusing menus, thousands of options and settings, buttons everywhere etc can be VERY confusing. Most people give up, set the camera to full auto and snap away. In the end, they have a big expensive point and shoot. With modern DSLRs, I feel its less about learning photography basics than learning how to work the camera in the first place! At least witha fully manual film camera and a prime lens, all you have to do is focus, then set your shutter speed and aperture to get the right exposure.
If you want to do film photography, I'd suggest finding somewhere to take a class. Maybe a local college or tech school will still have film photography courses. You will be assigned projects that will teach you the basics of photography in a setting where you will get a lot of feedback. I'd still recommend a course if you end up with a digital camera, but its not as urgent since you can play around and have instant free feedback. There are some give and takes here, and no answer is really the wrong one. Both formats will take wonderful pictures given you take the time to learn the basics of photography.
In a basic sense, you you are talking about a 35mm negative, a 50mm lens will give you a "normal" FOV. Smaller lenses (35mm, 28mm etc) are considered "wide angle". The smaller the number, the wider you FOV will be. Anything larger than 50mm (90mm, 100mm, 150mm etc) will in varying degrees be considered "telephoto". The larger the number gets, the narrower your FOV will get, and objects will appear closer. Again, I think the passage in The Camera that has a series of pictures taken with different lenses explains all of this much better than I am right now.
There are a lot of other considerations that come into how a picture looks other than Field of View. Does the photographer want the background to be blurry or sharp (depth of field)? Do they want motion blur, or do they want to stop the action? That is where shutter speed (how long the shutter is open) and aperture (how big the hole in the lens opens up) come into play.
As far as film goes, I'm really on the fence about that one. I've switched to all film B&W including processing film and printing in a darkroom for my personal amateur photography. All the family stuff (kids, family get togethers etc) I shoot on my DLSR. All of my film cameras are manual focus, all mechanical cameras that force me to slow down. My medium format camera doesn't even have light meter, which adds another step in using that camera. I love film, but when it comes to kids running around, taking a camera to the zoo, birthday parties, neighborhood get-togethers, its always the DSLR.
On the other hand, I know photography, I know the jargon and I know how to make just about any camera work. For a beginner photographer, DLSRs with confusing menus, thousands of options and settings, buttons everywhere etc can be VERY confusing. Most people give up, set the camera to full auto and snap away. In the end, they have a big expensive point and shoot. With modern DSLRs, I feel its less about learning photography basics than learning how to work the camera in the first place! At least witha fully manual film camera and a prime lens, all you have to do is focus, then set your shutter speed and aperture to get the right exposure.
If you want to do film photography, I'd suggest finding somewhere to take a class. Maybe a local college or tech school will still have film photography courses. You will be assigned projects that will teach you the basics of photography in a setting where you will get a lot of feedback. I'd still recommend a course if you end up with a digital camera, but its not as urgent since you can play around and have instant free feedback. There are some give and takes here, and no answer is really the wrong one. Both formats will take wonderful pictures given you take the time to learn the basics of photography.
Two more books to read. Basic Photography, and The 35mm Handbook, both by Michael Langford. Try and pick up some older second hand copies, and it will not be full of digital specific info.
- Thread starter
- #10
Cool thanks for all the tips, my library doesn't have the ansel Adams books, ill have to check some used bookstores and amazon. In the meantime I got some other books. And I got the hook up on my dads old camera it's a Pentax ME super it has a 50mm lense and 62mm something or other. Anyways it was free I'm going to have a local shop look at it and get it working correctly, and give me a crash course on it. Thanks guys
There is a lot of great tips in this thread. For me, I went the DSLR route because when you are learning, it's great to be able to take 250+ pictures at an event and not really worry about it. No matter what you end up getting, take a look at some of the differences between brands and what is available. When you buy a brand, you are really buying into the glass (lenses) they have available. Regardless of if it's film or digital.
As others have done, I to will suggest a book;
Understanding ExposurePermalink: http://amzn.com/0817439390
As others have done, I to will suggest a book;
Understanding ExposurePermalink: http://amzn.com/0817439390
To be honest, the Ansel Adams books are good, and were required reading when I was a student, but might be a bit heavy for someone just starting out. Maybe get into them once you have the basics mastered.
These folks have lots of good advice http://www.rogerandfrances.com/ I also recommend Rangefinder Forum and it's about all sorts of cameras ans photography not just rangefinder cameras 
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/
Lots of good advice already. Pick up a Magic Lantern Guide for your camera, it is a third party manual that really goesinto the when and why you use certain settings, not just the how. First bit of practice should be commiting the "sunny 16 rule" to memory. This is a great first step into learning how to judge light and exposure. Also, there are some helpful apps for smart phones to help you on the fly. I have a light meter that I sometimes use to help judge a scene, or if I am setting up in the shade to shoot into bright sunlight I will meter the bright area and set my camera to that.
Get the basics down, practice for 75-100 rolls of film. Then add something new, like a flash, or a macro lense, or night shooting, or portraiture.
Seek out the rules of thumb for specific types of shooting situations, write them on index cards. Put the corresponding camera adjustments on the reverse side of the card. Keep these in your camera bag for quick access, and for flash card studying.
I will second RangeFinderForum as a good learning tool, but also Ken Rockwell has a lot of information on his site, though I dont recpmmend you read his stuff until you have an underatanding of other methods to acheive what he describes. He can be very strongly one sided in his views and techniques at times.
Most of all, have fun and if you see something interesting, SHOOT IT!!
-Xander
Get the basics down, practice for 75-100 rolls of film. Then add something new, like a flash, or a macro lense, or night shooting, or portraiture.
Seek out the rules of thumb for specific types of shooting situations, write them on index cards. Put the corresponding camera adjustments on the reverse side of the card. Keep these in your camera bag for quick access, and for flash card studying.
I will second RangeFinderForum as a good learning tool, but also Ken Rockwell has a lot of information on his site, though I dont recpmmend you read his stuff until you have an underatanding of other methods to acheive what he describes. He can be very strongly one sided in his views and techniques at times.
Most of all, have fun and if you see something interesting, SHOOT IT!!
-Xander
Buy a Pentax K1000. They are built like tanks and are cheap on craigslist or the bay. I bought mine refurbished/CLA for $75. The great thing about pentax is you can use all the lenses from a film SLR and fit them directly to a Pentax DSLR without an adapter, if you do move on to it. There are a lot of resources online that can teach you what you want to know about film photography, a good beginner source is watching youtube videos. The first thing I would suggest is downloading the camera manual online if the camera doesnt come with one. That in itself will teach you all you need to know about your camera. Once youve learned the basics like focusing, iso, aperture, etc. Go out and just shoot! When you take some good shots try to remember what you did to get that particular shot.
I learned film before moving to DSLR and im glad that I did. I still love the rawness of film photography and sometimes digital will just never look the same as film.
I learned film before moving to DSLR and im glad that I did. I still love the rawness of film photography and sometimes digital will just never look the same as film.
Excellent advice above.
Film photography is incredibly satisfying, as well as elevated to a much finer art now. It takes a lot more knowledge and skill to be a great film photographer than with super-easy digital photography.
Personally I recommend old Nikon cameras and Nikkor lenses.
Got for it!
Film photography is incredibly satisfying, as well as elevated to a much finer art now. It takes a lot more knowledge and skill to be a great film photographer than with super-easy digital photography.
Personally I recommend old Nikon cameras and Nikkor lenses.
Got for it!
I'd recommend the Amphoto series of books if you'd like easy to understand explanations of the basics of photography. Two authors in particular, John Shaw and Bryan Peterson, have authored books that I found extremely helpful when I was starting out. Shaw's explanation of exposure in his first book on nature photography was the simplest I've ever read. Peterson has a series of books devoted to exposure... I'm sure you'd find them helpful, too. It's a fun process shooting film! You might want to try shooting slide film at first. It's cheaper than having prints made from negatives, and there is a narrower exposure window; you will see immediate results as to whether you've over or underexposed your shots. Have fun!
Don
Don
ABSOLUTELY shoot only slide film in color (that you take to a very reputable lab). Master the slide/transparency film, then master the print film (negatives) in color.
Of course, if you are learning in b & w, then you will learn how to expose for great, printable negatives that way.
Of course, if you are learning in b & w, then you will learn how to expose for great, printable negatives that way.
