In January 2015 I started shooting film again, mostly black and white at first but after discovering that it is also easy to process color negative film at home I am giving it a try. I have shot film before but was an early adopter of digital. The last rolls of film I shot were in 2004 with a Nikonos IV, after that I have only shot digital for 10 years. Why going back to film now? Not entirely sure but it is a lot of fun. This page summarizes and links to my journey with film, film camera, processing, scanning, etc... The main point of this page is for me to keep track of my experiences. Let me know if any of it and up being useful for you!
Film Cameras
My current favorite 35mm is the Nikon FM3A and I am learing how to use the Pentax 6x7. I also plan to experiement with a 4x5" camera...
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One good thing about shooting film is that there are tons of different cameras to choose from and they are typically very affordable. Features range from very basic to very advanced but in terms of image quality no matter when the camera was built the sensor is just as fresh, it is the film! A cameras from the 60's and 70's with good optics will produce perfect images today.
Films stocks
In terms of black and white film, after experimenting a bit I am currently using almost exclusively Ilford HP5+ and shooting it either at 400 or pushing it to 1600 if needed. I am still experimenting with different color negative films to figure out which I should use and when.
Pushing Ilford HP5+ to 1600 ISO : In this article, I compare side by side negatives shot at ISO 400 and negatives pushed to ISO 1600 and discuss the differences in terms of grain, contrast and overall image quality.
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Film Processing
Processing Black and White Film
Processing C-41 Color Negative Film Push processing Film |
HP5+ in HC-110
APX 400 in Rodinal Tetenal C-41 Kit |
Film Scanning
I am scanning 35mm film with a Nikon LS-2000 dedicated film scanner. For medium format film, I just bought a second hand Epson V600. Dedicated medium format film scanners seem to be off budget :-).
Printing in the darkroom
One of the main difference with film is that the negatives can be printed in the darkroom. I had to give it a try so I setup a small darkroom in my basement and so far I have manages to print a few 13x18 photos. We will see how much more use the darkroom will get!
Links to other ressources
Matt Day Photo Youtube Channel is a great channel with tons of information on film photography. I really like the channel and it is actually the videos on black and white development which finished to convince me to go back to experimenting with film. I am very grateful for that and all the great info shared on the channel.
The Analog Photography Users Group is quite active forum on all aspect of analog photography. It is a great place to ask questions and find information on all aspects of film photography. Like all forums it has all kinds of people with all kinds of strong opinions but for all questions which I have asked I have found the replies to be very quick, helpful and constructive.
Some more links:
The Analog Photography Users Group is quite active forum on all aspect of analog photography. It is a great place to ask questions and find information on all aspects of film photography. Like all forums it has all kinds of people with all kinds of strong opinions but for all questions which I have asked I have found the replies to be very quick, helpful and constructive.
Some more links:
- The Art of Photography Youtube Channel: Anything about photography, including quite a lot of film photography stuff
- Ben Horne Youtube Channel: Large format landscape photography channel
- Japan Camera Hunter Blog: Lots of articles on film and film cameras
Why shoot film?
That is a good question which I have been asking myself for a while before jumping into it without having found an answer or a clear purpose for it. Are there some situations in which film can provide significantly better pictures than a good digital camera? In general, I do not think so. Yes, due to its analog nature, film has a specific look to it, there is grain, a non-linear response to light, etc. However, while I do like the look that film provides, I am not especially after that for all my pictures so it is not the argument that will justify film for me. If we discard the picture quality and the specific look of film images, the big difference between film and digital is the process. This is the difference in process and the impact it has on the images which I am getting which for me is surprising, interesting and educational. I am not expecting to replace my digital camera but to complement it and apply the lesson learned to my digital shooting. We'll see how it goes!