Have we talked about film cameras lately?

High time this thread gets a bump, so here are a couple recent shots with my Zeiss Ikoflex Ic TLR. FP4+, Caffenol.

I have a roll of Ektar in the Minolta XG-M  that was gifted to us by Slowride. I'm pleased with the way it handles thus far. Should have some good stuff in it once I develop it...

Nice pics! And, glad to hear it's getting used! I'm working through a couple of old hand-rolled rolls right now, may have something new to post in a few weeks.

Thread bump!

Reconkid decided to go digital, and I fell in love with the Minolta. I'm posting this here first- if anyone is interested in a Pentax K1000, I'm selling mine. Comes with a strap, SMC-A 50mm/f2 and Osaka 200mm/f4 lenses. All shutter speeds are accurate, light meter works, and the camera functions beautifully. PM me if you're interested.

Far too little activity here, so here are a few recent photos. Shot on HP5+ with my Canon P and several lenses: a Voigtlander 21/4, Canon 35/1.8, and a Canon 100/3.5.

In reply to 02Pilot :

The last one is neat.  Where is that?

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

It's the spillway for the New Croton Dam.

02Pilot said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

It's the spillway for the New Croton Dam.

Very cool.  I remember kicking around Upper Saddle River, NJ and around Nyack, NY area thirty years ago, so I was close, but never knew about it.

Glad to see a film photography thread on here! I got a roll of 2011-expiry Vietnamese-market Fuji Superia 200 the other week to throw in my Canon Rebel G and I'm excited to see the results.

I've a roll of 120 from the Flexaret and a roll of Ektar 100 from the Minolta due back any day now. Will post pictures as soon as I have them...

One from the Minolta-

And one from the Flexaret-

I apologize for the image quality. These are low res screenshots of the files, cause I'm on mobile. Once I get them uploaded to the computer, I'll be able to post some higher quality scans. 

I'm going to do something naughty.  I'm going to post digital photographs of an old film camera.  Scored a couple weekends ago at a barn sale.  Not usable without a lot of work, so I'll probably just add it to the non-working collection, although the shutter works nicely.  It's a No. 2 Folding Hawk-Eye Special, sold by Kodak between 1929 and 1933.  Takes 120 rollfilm.

Write up on the camera here:  https://www.mikeeckman.com/photovintage/vintagecameras/hawkeyesp/index.html

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

I have a Kodak No.2 Brownie Autographic that I made operational and shot a roll or two with some years ago. It starts to get sharp around f/16. An interesting experience, but fiddly and not really worth the effort. Also incredibly crude when compared with the Zeiss folders from the same era.

I spent a year away from race cars and filled my time with my photography. I did a documentary of the homeless in Las Vegas. Shot on TRI-X mostly. Shooting with an EOS3,   Zenit, and a Kiev88. 

I recently went to an art show with a bunch of black and white photos and my interest is piqued. Any cheap recommendations for a black and white film camera anyone can make?

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Any film camera should be able to take black and white film. Are you looking for something you can build yourself? If so, there are some 3D printed cameras out there that shoot 120 film but generally use Mamiya press lens or there are pinhole kits.

93EXCivic said:

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Any film camera should be able to take black and white film. Are you looking for something you can build yourself? If so, there are some 3D printed cameras out there that shoot 120 film but generally use Mamiya press lens or there are pinhole kits.

I... actually just got my Ender 3 together. I could do that lol

GIRTHQUAKE said:

93EXCivic said:

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

Any film camera should be able to take black and white film. Are you looking for something you can build yourself? If so, there are some 3D printed cameras out there that shoot 120 film but generally use Mamiya press lens or there are pinhole kits.

I... actually just got my Ender 3 together. I could do that lol

I will say those 3D printed cameras have no focusing device like an SLR or rangefinder. You have to scale focus (basically guess the distance to what you want in focus). Also they use 120 film which is significantly more expensive to shoot then 35mm due to getting fewer shots per roll (generally 8-12 depending on frame size) and development/scanning cost staying the same. There is also this kit from Lomography that does use 35mm but I haven't heard good things about actually using it. https://shop.lomography.com/us/konstruktor-flash-slr-diy-camera Chroma also has a 35mm pinhole camera diy kit https://chroma.camera/product/kitcube-self-build-35mm-pinhole-camera/ Pinholes you basically open a shutter and hold it open for a bit to get an image. You can make a pinhole with a beer can and photo sensitive paper though.

I'd honestly suggest getting an inexpensive SLR to start and then if you really want to build a camera do that later. Film Cannon Rebels can be found very cheap and have all the features of a modern camera and use Cannon EF glass which is pretty common. Or there are cheaper K Mount SLRs like the Ricoh KR5, KR5 Super, etc (and the Sears branded models) which are super simple fully manual cameras that can be found for very little money. I picked up a KR5 Super with 50mm lens and old zoom lens for $30 of the shopgoodwill website. K mount lenses can be found for not much money.

Things may have gotten a little out of control.... in January I only had the OM10, the Zorki and the micro 4/3

From left to right, Olympus OM-1MD, OM1N, Belomo Vilia, Agat 18k, Rollei 35 TE, Ricoh KR5 Super, Zorki 4, Nikonos iii (plus Olympus micro 4/3). Also not pictured my mom's OM10 that is out getting serviced. Also have ended up with 6 k-series lens (2 Ricoh 50mm 2.2, a Pentax 35mm f3.5, a Sigma zoom and a Ricoh 135mm), 8 Olympus lens (50mm 1.8, 28mm f3.5, 135mm f3.5, Sigma 28mm macro, Vivitar 19mm f4, Vivitar 35mm f1.9, Vivitar zoom) and 3 ltm lens (Industar 50 50mm collapsible, Industar 61 55mm and Jupiter 3 35mm).

I just got the Nikonos iii and the Vilia was a slightly tipsy $20 ebay purchase. I am planning on getting a OM 100mm f2.8, 50mm f3.5 macro (to replace the Sigma), an OM 35mm f2 (to replace the Vivitar 35mm f1.9), and maybe a 50mm 1.4. I'd love to add an Olympus Pen F half frame SLR this year.

If you want cheap MF and aren't looking for lots of sharpness and resolution, the obvious choice is a Holga 120N. No fuss, easy, fun. For 35mm, anything will work for starting out with B&W. I've been offered so many free SLRs over the years that I lost count, and they haven't become more popular all of a sudden. I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to find something cheap. The fewer electronics it has in it, the better.

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

I'll second a Holga, but also say look at cameras like the Minolta SRT101, Canon EOS3. Super good camera to get started with. 

In reply to 93EXCivic :

DUDE that is way cool! I went on a run of Russia for a while Bough a bunch of Zenit's and Kiev's. 

VegasNick said:

I spent a year away from race cars and filled my time with my photography. I did a documentary of the homeless in Las Vegas. Shot on TRI-X mostly. Shooting with an EOS3,   Zenit, and a Kiev88.

How do you like the Kiev 88? When I decide to make the jump to medium format, that, the Kiev 60 or a TLR are kind of what I am considering

In reply to 93EXCivic :

So much that I own two of them. Don't get me wrong, they have idiosyncrasies. They are temperamental, but for a economic MF camera, they can't be beat! If you can find one that has been to ARAX then go that route. If not, a straight Kiev is fine. If going TLR, The Yashicamat is the way to go, althought getting pricier now because it's a hipster thing. LOL

Embracing my inner Helmut Newton shooting some TRI-X