film photography help

bastomatic wrote: 4 good shots off a roll is not bad actually. 35mm film just looks great. I think your shots look very good actually. Keep it up!

thank you! I really like the 2nd and 4th shots, the other 2 are okay in my mind, and the rest of the roll kind of sucked (I think mostly due to lens selection)
I'm still using the 49mm, I have another 49 and a 205 that came in the bag too.
I'm wanting to, with my next roll of color, do some super long exposure shots of traffic in Charlotte, maybe the bus station too because it is always very busy
gotta find my tripod and fill up this b/w roll first though!

corytate wrote: I took enough shots today to fill up my color roll, except the film didn't feed because it popped out of the little slot and didn't advance. Doh!

That's why I said to crank the roll back a bit with that little lever on the knob, so as you advance it you will see it turn right away and know it hasn't popped off. When you get really good at film installation you'll find you can get an extra frame or two out of a roll.

Your b&w shots are already superior to anything I've ever taken with it.

I'm so pleased you're having fun with it. I could have pieced the package out on ebay and made more money, but this sale was far more satisfying. And yes, the KM is a weirdo rare version of a K1000 that has 2.5 more features (the self timer being the most notable).

ddavidv wrote:

corytate wrote: I took enough shots today to fill up my color roll, except the film didn't feed because it popped out of the little slot and didn't advance. Doh!

That's why I said to crank the roll back a bit with that little lever on the knob, so as you advance it you will see it turn right away and know it hasn't popped off. When you get really good at film installation you'll find you can get an extra frame or two out of a roll. Your b&w shots are already superior to anything I've ever taken with it. I'm so pleased you're having fun with it. I could have pieced the package out on ebay and made more money, but this sale was far more satisfying. And yes, the KM is a weirdo rare version of a K1000 that has 2.5 more features (the self timer being the most notable).

I'm very very very happy with it, and as soon as I saw that the film didn't advance, I immediately thought of you telling me that I need to make sure it feeds correctly. lmao.
I'm going to stick with the black and white for a bit, I really like it. I need to buy a big batch of film online though, because it's $10 a roll at cvs now
(I thought it used to be like $3/ea?)
I really appreciate the deal you gave me on it, I've seen just the body go for about that much! You, sir, have some excellent karma coming to you

$10/roll?! That's lunacy. You can get basic consumer-grade C41 for under $3/roll, and traditional B&W for not much more, from the big online photo outfits.

02Pilot wrote: $10/roll?! That's lunacy. You can get basic consumer-grade C41 for under $3/roll, and traditional B&W for not much more, from the big online photo outfits.

I'll be buying my film online from now on, I had a feeling the prices were a little ridiculous, but the last time I had bought film was when I was still in High School.

I was preparing a few shots for printing and I figured I'd throw them up here to give the OP a little inspiration. The B&W shots are on Kodak Tri-X shot with a FED-2 and an Industar-26 50mm lens (basically, a Soviet-made copy of a pre-war Leica with a simple Tessar-type lens); the color shot was taken with a Pentax SFX and a Sigma 100-300mm zoom on Kodak Portra 400VC.

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1988RedT2 wrote: You can still buy film at CVS? I thought they dropped that years ago. All I see lately are single-use cameras.

Would you believe my mom was able to accidentally buy SLIDE film there?? She called me in a fluster because they first couldn't find her order, then when they did they said her slides were ready. "I didn't order slides". Uh mom, you don't ORDER them, it's a different type of film that gets made into slides.

Sure enough, she picked them up and they were slides. I ended up scanning the best ones and made 4x6 prints for her.

My Nikon F3 and MD4 motordrive is collecting serious dust.

The only 35mm I use any more is slide film actually. I use it (rarely) in my Stereo Realist.

02Pilot wrote: I was preparing a few shots for printing and I figured I'd throw them up here to give the OP a little inspiration. The B&W shots are on Kodak Tri-X shot with a FED-2 and an Industar-26 50mm lens (basically, a Soviet-made copy of a pre-war Leica with a simple Tessar-type lens); the color shot was taken with a Pentax SFX and a Sigma 100-300mm zoom on Kodak Portra 400VC. - - -

quite nice! I need to get to work! lol

Thanks.

It occurs to me I should probably have explained why I posted those three photos in particular. One of the problems that digital has is that most sensors have trouble dealing with very high contrast scenes, those in which there are both bright sunlight and deep shadow. Techniques like High Dynamic Range (HDR) can mitigate this problem for static subjects if used carefully, but are of no use on moving targets.

Film has far greater latitude. If you look at this crop of the color photo I posted above you can see what I'm talking about (I dialed the contrast way down to make it easier to see). If you look at the very dark shadow area below the car, you can see some texture on the pavement, yet you can still make out the crease in the sheet metal of the hood extending forward from the cowl vent, an area of very bright reflected sunlight. Digital has difficulty showing detail in both very bright and very dark areas in the same exposure.

Just figured you might want one more reason to keep shooting film. Keep it up.

FWIW, Ritz Camera is the only place around that still sells and processes film in any volume and with any measure of skill. If you have questions or need help with creative processing, get to know the resident film geek at your nearest Ritz.

pinchvalve wrote: FWIW, Ritz Camera is the only place around that still sells and processes film in any volume and with any measure of skill. If you have questions or need help with creative processing, get to know the resident film geek at your nearest Ritz.

Ritz disappeared from these parts years ago. Fortunately one of the local places that's been around for decades is still going strong. They're still out there in some places. Regardless, maintaining a relationship with the guy running the machine or doing the B&W by hand is a really good thing to do.

Failing that, sending out to a place like Dwayne's or another pro lab is an option, but can get pricey. I've heard (second-hand) that places like Costco and Walmart send all their stuff to various pro labs, and much cheaper than sending it direct, but I haven't used that service.

It also depends what service you want: develop only, develop and print, develop and scan, etc. Some places develop well but can't scan to save their lives. Personally, I bought a film scanner so I could have that part under my control, but that process may be a bit tedious for some.

corytate wrote: I'll be buying my film online from now on, I had a feeling the prices were a little ridiculous, but the last time I had bought film was when I was still in High School.

You may want to check out Freestyle photo (google it). Great place specializing in film and darkroom that has been around forever and is (IMHO) really doing a service for those of us still shooting film. Otherwise there is always Adorama and B&H.

One other thing to consider since you are shooting 35mm is buying film in 100' bulk rolls and putting it in canisters yourself. I'm sure I have an extra bulk loader around here somewhere you could have if you choose to go that route.

Glad to see someone getting in as I'm getting out of shooting film. I'd still be shooting film if it didn't cost between 15.00-20.00US to develop a roll. While the digital has some problems, I find I take better looking pics with the digital.

pinchvalve wrote: FWIW, Ritz Camera is the only place around that still sells and processes film in any volume and with any measure of skill. If you have questions or need help with creative processing, get to know the resident film geek at your nearest Ritz.

No Ritz here anymore. I've used these folks on and off for the last 20 years or so. http://www.actionpho.com/

Very nice people, reasonable pricing, and excellent service. Glad to have them here in town.

lewbud wrote: Glad to see someone getting in as I'm getting out of shooting film. I'd still be shooting film if it didn't cost between 15.00-20.00US to develop a roll. While the digital has some problems, I find I take better looking pics with the digital.

Yipe. If it cost that around here I'd be hesitant to keep shooting film too (or start developing my own). As it stands, I'm get 35mm C41 done for under $4/roll, and B&W for about $6. 120 is slightly higher, but not much. Cost aside, I still want to start developing my own, though.

Processing your own film is a snap, and doesn't even require a darkroom. I've processed dozens of rolls of B & W film, and more than a few rolls of C-41. I always loaded the film onto reels in my apartment bathroom at night, Once it's in the can, the actual processing can take place in full light. It will take a bit of practice before you can easily open a film cartridge and load it onto a developing reel in total darkness, but it's not hard. It's been a long time since I've priced the chemistry though, so I have no idea what your cost per roll would be.

I'm getting rolls scanned onto a cd for $4 a pop now, I'm pretty happy with that price

I don't feel the need to get prints, if I take something I feel REALLY good about, I'll take the cd and get a print made of it then

02Pilot, nice shots. I have a FED-2, too.

David S. Wallens wrote: 02Pilot, nice shots. I have a FED-2, too.

Thanks. I find it's a really fun camera to shoot with. Being as simple as it is, I find it much easier to concentrate on composition (and I need all the help I can get).

I'm itching to take osme long exposure shots, probably of uptown charlotte traffic.
Do I need to set the shutter speed to bulb, focus on something stationary, get the light right, and then just hold it for 30 seconds or so?
I have a tripod somewhere around here, and I believe I have a remote for the shutter.

In reply to corytate:

I assume it will be night. If not you will need slow film and a strong ND filter, perhaps with a smaller aperture. Otherwise it sounds spot on. If there is a mirror lockup feature, use it.

For exposure, especially long exposure or dim conditions, this site is the bible.

Yeah, unless you're shooting at night you'll seriously overexpose anything without a major ND filter in 30 seconds. There's isn't much out there in slow film these days; Ilford Polypan F is ISO 50, which is about the slowest I know of (Efke went out of business last year; they made an ISO 25).

If at some you want to do really long exposures, look into pinhole photography. This was a 22 second exposure on Fuji Acros 100 with my pinhole-converted Kodak Brownie Flash Six-20:

BTW, Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day is next Sunday.

Thank you both, it more than likely will be at night, with city lighting being the only light source.
I've found a good amount of 100iso film, do you htink that would be slow enough to, say, do 15 seconds maybe of traffic moving at about 40mph? I basically just want to get a really nice light trail. I'll be taking multiples for sure.
And I'll definitely look into the pinhole technique!

Go to the site that bastomatic linked to and check the chart for exposure times. Depending on the film, you may also have to contend with reciprocity failure; basically, this means that some films become less reactive to light over time, so you have to expose them longer to compensate. Every film is different, so you'll have to do some research.