filmflation

[zahc]

I know everyone gave up on film years ago, whatever. I have digital cameras but I still love shooting film. Prices just keep going up, and films just keep getting discontinued. It's very sad. I have already lost my favorite films and had to switch; I will have to use a different type for my younger daughter's pictures than I did for my son. The ones left keep getting more expensive. A box of 4x5 Tmax was $40 5 years ago and now its over a hundred. Film has a shelf life of 10-20 years so since the prices are rising faster than inflation I have a strategy to build an inventory of film and rotate it.  I just got a box from the UPS man about the size of a half shoebox.  This is the first purchase of a half - year worth of film...$350.

[zxcvbob]

Good luck finding anybody to process your Kodachrome.  

I'm still waiting for a digicam that I really like -- I'm not impressed by high megapixels if that's the only thing they are trying to sell.  Olympus OM-D EM5 is getting pretty close.  The cheap GE digital that I got a couple of years ago on sale for $40 does an amazing job of snapshots, but I don't do many snapshots.

I like fully-mechanical film cameras (been burned before by batteries dying suddenly in cold)  Pentax MX and Ricoh Diacord are a couple of my favorites.

[mtnbkr]

I moved away from film when I learned most of the regional processors (I'm in the DC Metro area) were developing the film, scanning the negatives, and printing the digital images.  What's the point of shooting film then?  I miss the workflow and feel of old mechanical film cameras (you have my old Olympus), but I take more pictures and actually get better results because I see the output immediately and can adjust for my mistakes or changing conditions.  I dumped film just before prices started climbing.

I've been using a Micro 4/3s format digital camera for the last couple years and really like it.  At high ISOs, the digital noise looks just like grain in high ISO film.  It's smaller than a standard DSLR, but delivers results just as nice.  It can make use of just about any lens, even those old manual focus lenses your parents toted around (if you get the appropriate mount adapter).  I have a Canon FL mount 50/1.8 that I use.  It becomes a 100/1.8 on my Panasonic G3 due to the crop factor, but is still very sharp. 

Chris

[HankB]

. . . Film has a shelf life of 10-20 years . . .

Store it in the deep freeze and you'll extend the shelf life considerably - as long as it's sealed, and you make sure to let it warm up slowly in the sealed container so you don't get condensation.

[TommyGunn]

Just what the _____ is film??

[vaskidmark]

Just what the _____ is film??

http://petapixel.com/2013/01/14/a-blast-from-the-past-paul-simons-hit-song-kodachrome/

stay safe.


Well, someone had to do it.

[230RN]

I gave Son2 some of my old film cameras just to tinker with and for their possible antique value.

He suddenly got interested in them when Son1 sent us an article (see REF) on developing film using coffee as a developer and he tried it with some B&W film he got somehow.

He found it actually worked, and I explained that any mild reducing agent could be used as a developer, "stealing" the halides* from the light-sensitized silver halide molecules and leaving the opaque metallic silver grains where the light had struck.  (The article also mentions using vitamin C, as well.)

First attempts on the coffee developing were not very good, but at least a negative image formed.  Later attempts were more successful.   Then he switched to using commercial developers which he got from somewhere.  He actually also bought a developing tank.  He was amazed when I told him about the tray-developing process for film --holding the film at both ends and dipping it back and forth in the tray of developer. (Oh, and agitating sheet film ("cut film") in the developing tray.)

What was gratifying to me was I could offer my (rather extensive) obsolete knowledge to him about the whole process from exposure to printing.  He was surprised when I told him that printing paper came in different contrast levels to make up for variations in negative quality.

I'm sure the next thing he's going to get is an enlarger.  Right now, he's "printing" the negatives by taking digital photos of them and reversing them in photoshop or MSPaint or whatever.

He's even found a source of color film, but he's having that processed by Walgreen's.  I was surprised to find out that anybody is doing color processing.

Some of his color pics are rather outstanding.

So the film techniques have not died out completely, which I was very surprised to learn.

I feel less obsolete now.

Terry, 230RN

* Halides:  chlorine, iodine and bromine in the form of silver chloride, silver iodide, and silver bromide are the commonly used silver "halides" used in photography.  Google "halogen."

REF (The original coffee-developing article sent to us by Son1):
http://content.photojojo.com/tutorials/coffee-caffenol-film-developing/

[Kingcreek]

I really miss the mechanical experience of my old Pentax K1000s (the earlier version with the metal gears)
I still have 2 of the K1000s, MX, ME Super and some nice lenses.
I also have an old Revere Stereoscopic (35mmx2 but I don't expect to find film or processing)
I don't know what I'll ever DO with all that stuff, but in the meantime, I do enjoy the convenience of DSLR.

[KD5NRH]

A box of 4x5 Tmax was $40 5 years ago and now its over a hundred.

I was working on a homebuilt camera to shoot sheets cut from 120, partly because all the sheet film was so darn expensive, and partly because scanners to handle 120 are easier (and much cheaper) to come by than larger ones.  A 6x9cm negative of good quality film holds some pretty impressive detail anyway; I ran across one of granndad's negs from a photo of his parents with my grandparents' wedding photo hanging on the wall behind them, and was able to blow up the photo in the photo enough to print it at 4x6.

[230RN]

^^  "I really miss the mechanical experience..."

Nothing beats the sound of a Zeiss Ikon shutter set at one second.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzztchunk!   

[zahc]

I was working on a homebuilt camera to shoot sheets cut from 120, partly because all the sheet film was so darn expensive, and partly because scanners to handle 120 are easier (and much cheaper) to come by than larger ones.  A 6x9cm negative of good quality film holds some pretty impressive detail anyway; I ran across one of granndad's negs from a photo of his parents with my grandparents' wedding photo hanging on the wall behind them, and was able to blow up the photo in the photo enough to print it at 4x6.

I'm moving away from 4x5 not only because of the price but because quickloads are obsolete.  I cannot reliably load, store and shoot 4x5 film holders without at least occasionally getting dust on the film. If I want to print in the darkroom (which is the whole point) I can't just clone out the dust spots. I have never had dust problems with roll film.

[KD5NRH]

I'm moving away from 4x5 not only because of the price but because quickloads are obsolete.  I cannot reliably load, store and shoot 4x5 film holders without at least occasionally getting dust on the film. If I want to print in the darkroom (which is the whole point) I can't just clone out the dust spots. I have never had dust problems with roll film.

Can't find where I backed up my construction pics or the website I got the ideas from, but converting some of the big old Polaroid roll film bellows-type folders to 120/620 and/or single or double full 135 (2 35mm rolls side by side unmatted) is a great way to get a great and unique camera relatively cheap.  Had to drill a couple holes and modify some bolts to make a winding mechanism, and count turns when winding, but it's worth it for the results.  
Mine's an 850: http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Polaroid/Polaroid-850.html  People know you're serious when you whip that thing out and pop the bellows open.
When I find it in storage, I'll try to take a couple pics of the relatively simple mods.  IIRC, just the hole in the base, winding shaft, and a couple of friction-fit film guide plates (I never got around to doing the double 135 mod, but it made for nice 4.25" long strips of full width image on single.  Other folks' doubles look really cool when aligned and printed together.) and figuring out the right settings for modern rollfilms.

[KD5NRH]

FWIW, if you're going to be doing any of the things that leave you with loose film, it's worth printing up a bunch of "UNPROTECTED PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM - OPEN ONLY IN DARKROOM" stickers to seal your 35mm canisters, 120 spools or other containers with.  Bonus points if you can get some of that extremely tear resistant paper as sticker stock.

Worth doing it even if you're not hauling the film around; it really sucks to think you're just going to load another roll of TMax, and have 36 of the morning's best shots swirl out onto the floor, gone forever.