I broke out a film camera this weekend

My stepmother messaged me a few days ago. I hadn't seen her since probably 1998 or so, I was not close to my dad. He passed a year ago.

But she was cleaning up for a move and asked if I was interested in his cameras. He was always very into them and I was curious what he had at the moment.

I met her yesterday and she had found these so far. I expect there will be more unless he unloaded stuff for cash, he was never much on being employed. But these will go nicely with my old F3 and the FG he gave me for high school graduation in 1985 (I bought it back from a Navy friend I had sold it to.)

Go shoot some film.

And today I put a roll Tri-X through the A-1.

Fiancee got her grandma's last film camera going again for our Maine vacation and got these shots. 

In reply to Doubleoh9 :

Very cool and thanks for sharing. Those images have a timeless warmth about them. 

That little Olympus Stylus really delivered! Your fiance did a nice job shooting too. Great images. 

Speaking of point and shoots, I can across this over the weekend–found it here in my office while straightening up. Pretty sure my friend Jeff gave it to me. I put a battery in it, and it fires up.

02Pilot said:

In reply to aw614 :

I absolutely love my Minox 35ML, but it is not tolerant of anything but gentle handling. The number of times it's stopped working mid-roll is depressing, but it's so handy and takes really nice photos that I keep going back to it (at least for casual use).

 

I've been looking at an MB/ML and I really like the way they look especially over the EL, but the prices they go for make it seem so risky. I picked up a cheap 35 GL on ebay that was sold as parts or spares, and right now it works, how long I don't know.

Then again, I went to Webster Flea Market today since  I had the week off and tried to shoot my Olympus XA and it was screwing up all day. I spent an hour yesterday cleaning the shutter button contacts. Now its working again, but Im iffy on putting film in it again. Thankfully it was just 2019 expired disposable Kodak 800. I keep telling myself the XA2 has been more reliable than the XA, and so far nothing can change that opinion for me. 

Jerry said:

...I expect there will be more unless he unloaded stuff for cash, he was never much on being employed. But these will go nicely with my old F3 and the FG he gave me for high school graduation in 1985 (I bought it back from a Navy friend I had sold it to.)

She messaged me a bit ago saying she found two more Nikons...  Does not surprise me, he had a serious collection when I was a kid and apparently more before I was born (mom recounts the bathroom being turned into a darkroom with her tucking a blanket into the door jam.)  Nikon, medium format, all manor of accessories.  So I'm curious what else she digs up.

Well E36 M3, I guess I'm getting back into this hobby.  I got my first "real" camera (the FG) for graduation in '85, took it with me into the Navy.  Bought the N2020 when it came out and almost immediately went to the 8008s when that came out.  Matrix metering, decent autofocus, so advanced compared to the old FG.  (A few years ago I managed to buy back the FG.)

At some point I bought a used F3HP (still have) from a really cool store in downtown Cincinnati - Provident Camera.  My dad treated it like a meca and it's where the FG came from.  But they always had deals on used stuff in the display window.  Pretty sure they're gone now.

When digital started becoming more robust I went with a Coolpix 995 because I could use a sync cord.  I was a member of the Camera Club of Cincinnati (one of the oldest in the country) and we had two studio spaces with Novatron lighting equipment.  Eventually I went up to a D70 I think, which started acting up at one point and I had a wedding, Indy 500 and a festival to shoot, so I bought a D5500.  I haven't touched any of them in at least 4-5 years since this cellphone is so convenient and makes great images.

Now I need to get back up to speed!  Not even sure where to buy film anymore outside of Amazon.  Trying to remember what I favored back in the day:  I liked Fuji over Kodak, but I remember some Kodak product that came out in ISO 25 and 1000, Ektar according to Google?  I remember trying B&W but it was a hassle to get developed, then Ilford XP2 came out to process as C41 but then the negs were B&W for reprints!

Sorry for the diatribe, but yeah I think I'm going to geek out in film photography for awhile again.  His hand-me-downs need some cleaning, but my F3HP should be ready to go in the Tamrac bag in the closet...

Jerry said:

Now I need to get back up to speed!  Not even sure where to buy film anymore outside of Amazon.  Trying to remember what I favored back in the day:  I liked Fuji over Kodak, but I remember some Kodak product that came out in ISO 25 and 1000, Ektar according to Google?  I remember trying B&W but it was a hassle to get developed, then Ilford XP2 came out to process as C41 but then the negs were B&W for reprints!

 

The original Kodak Ektar color print film came out in the late 1980's and lasted through the late 90's.  I recall it being made in 25, 100 (or 125), 400 and 1000.  The sharpness and color saturation on the 25 was impressive.  I'm not really sure what color film to shoot nowadays.  Mostly I'm shooting B & W using the Kodak T-Max product.  The only color film I have on hand is the Kodak Portra 400, which seems okay. 

Towards the end of the last millennium, I shot a fair bit of Fuji film, including the Reala product, which I recall was pretty good.

Sooooooo many options for film today–a bit overwhelming, to be honest. I shop at Reformed Film Lab as they’re not even 10 minutes away. 

Lately I have been shooting a bit of Reformed Day Shots (400) and Candido 800. Both are are respooled movie films. More grain but I like the look.

This is Candido 800 shot at 400.

And this is Fuji 400 shot at box speed. 

I shot a roll of Ilford XA2 and really like the look. I have a fresh roll sitting here on my desk. 

I also just got back some Tri-X. Grainy but I still dig it.

You can crib from my notes, too: I list the film stock on all of my Instagram posts. Note that the photos can look grainer on Instagram than on my computer. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I did a search for film and that shop was like #2 option. So many niche options I would have jumped on in the 80/90s. But I think I want to find some high contrast b&w, maybe try the infrared stuff finally.

Cool. Try some different films and see what you like. I have a list of films that I want to sample. 

Dropped off a roll of Tri-X today and picked up something new to try: Flic Film UltraPan 100. It’s respooled Fomapan. Why get this instead of the Fomapan? The Flic Film goes for $6.50/roll, while the Fomapan goes for $7.50/roll.

A PS on film.

I just received a gift card for the jungle. I’ll buy more film, I figured.

In almost every case, my local shop offered a better price–plus there you can get some advice, etc. The lone exception was some discounted Tri-X. 

Support your local camera store. 

I will get film for my camera and get it cleaned! I keep saying I'm going to and then forget but I am holding myself accountable haha.

David S. Wallens said:

A PS on film.

I just received a gift card for the jungle. I’ll buy more film, I figured.

In almost every case, my local shop offered a better price–plus there you can get some advice, etc. The lone exception was some discounted Tri-X. 

Support your local camera store. 

And if you don't have a local camera store, there are quite a few specialty shops that do mail-order. I've been buying from Film Photography Project for years, but there's Freestyle, Blue Moon Camera, and many others.

Reformed, our local lab, just announced a Black Friday sale–and they ship. 

Speaking of Reformed, just got my scans from my Olympus XA2. Probably the first time I have used this camera since I was 11 or 12. (I recently had it serviced, though, including new seals.)

Film is Fuji 400.