Thread: Film Cameras

Just wondering if any members enjoy shooting with film cameras. It's a hobby I picked up about a year ago after finding an old Minolta X-7 with two lenses at the thrift store (I'll post some pics later). It shoots great and I really love the way that you're not really sure what the picture will look like until its developed. Any other film camera buffs out there?

i have a nikon fm and i enjoy using it.

It may be fun when i have lots of time to stop and compose the perfect picture, it takes a while a full manual camera to set everything up so i dont take it with me always.

Then again i do get the best pics ever when i slow down and take my time so maybe i will take it out with me more often.

Yeah I agree. I'm pretty quick at focusing and setting the shutter speeds now. The only digital camera I have is the one in my phone so for trips or other purposes, the minolta does its job well.

I carry a Minolta CLE and two Leica lenses in my camera bag along with a digital Nikon D40. Not that the Nikon is bad, but technology advances suck the value out of even high-end plastic digital cameras.

Digitals are good, but have no soul.

While I don't shoot with film anymore, I think it's a great way to enjoy "slow photography". You can read a bit more about that here: The slow-photography movement asks what is the point of taking pictures? - By Tim Wu - Slate Magazine

I also moderate the Photography subreddit over at photography It's a place to discuss the tools and techniques of photography. We've got a bunch of helpful links and welcome people asking questions about how they can better use their equipment, or how to achieve certain types of shots, etc. It's not a place to post your own pictures, so it's usually pretty free of clutter and you can find interesting stuff easier. Come check it out!

Cool site aeon, I'll definitely be spending some time there. Yeah Hawkeye, there is just something too impersonal about some digital cameras. What they do is great, and I'm sure once I have the money I'll purchase a nice digital SLR, but I'm sure I'll keep the film around.

I Love film. As one of the previous posters said Digital Lacks soul. I shoot film mainly with a Minolta Maxxum 9, but I also use Old pentax's and Russian range finders. The older glass is just superb. I use a digital SLR quite a bit for day to day stuff. (cost effective and instant results, darn good pictures too) But, My best and most important pictures have always come from film. I have boxes of pictures of my kids that maybe someday their grandchildren may look at and enjoy. Where will my digital images be in 100 years ? Film is slowly dying, Kodachrome is dead, medium format almost dead, Polaroid dead, all being replaced by easy to delete digital. It's too bad,,,,, memories will be lost.

I shoot medium format B&W film, develop and print it. I use a digital camera for snapshots and color. Recently sold off 35mm film cameras and lenses. Used the money to buy straight razors and accessories. Check out APUG.com for forums and information on analog photography.

I've several film cameras, from 6x6, through 35mm all the way to large format pinholes - despite many thousand dollars spent on stuff, never found the money for a decent lens for the 8x10 beast.

I used to shoot so much that I bought TMax in bulk rolls and load my own cartridges. I've a freezer full of 6x6 and 35mm film that I'm yet to develop.

Absolutely love to shoot film, although I also own a few digital cameras.

Right now I think I have a couple of Minoltas, two or three Cannons, A Kiev66, and a couple of old large format no brand beasts.

Hell yeah.

If the moderators don't mind a bit of cross-community posting, I've been rather active at the Analog Photography Users Group (apug.org).

There are other sites, such as largeformatphotography.info and rangefinderforum.com plus a few forums left over at photo.net, and Fuji's own choose-film.com, but my other home is APUG.

I shoot with a Nikon FM2m, a Mamiya C330, a Contax IIa and an Agfa Isolette II, depending on my mood, what I'm doing, or the amount of gear I feel carrying around.

Despite what everybody will tell you, it's still worth having fun with film. Freestylephoto.biz has lots of great materials, and so do BHphotvideo.com, Adorama.com. Get your gear on KEH.com and start shooting!

This is my portfolio: http://www.apug.org/forums/portfolios.php?u=6132