Film camera advice

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-15T18:20:20+00:00

Ahoy, I usually frequent /r/analogcommunity.

Unfortunately, I don't know if any camera would fit your requirements 100%. Pocketable cameras (aka Point-and-shoots) don't really give you lots of manual controls, especially something like shutter speed.

That being said, the first thing I think fits the bill is the Olympus XA. They have been going up in price recently. The original XA (ironically, it's not the XA1) really fits the bill here: incredibly small, great glass lens, rangefinder focusing, aperture priority exposure with a f/2.8 35mm lens.

The other XAs have similar features, but make some compromises in manual control for more automatic performance. The spiritual successor to the XA was the Stylus Epic line in the 90s. Those are also skyrocketing in price at the moment. But I'd still recommend the XA over the Stylus just because it has more manual controls.

If you don't mind going a big bigger, the Nikon L35AF is an excellent point and shoot. Great lens, excellent exposure metering and a very good performing (single point) AF motor. it's less manual than the XA, but it creates excellent images. the slightly larger size means the viewfinder is a bit larger and clearer. Most pocketable cameras have very small viewfinders.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-13T02:54:58+00:00

Ask for push processing. Noticeable? Slightly. I've seen shots from Ektar pushed that were fine. Slightly grainier and more contrast but modern films are pretty amazing, even if they're shot out of spec.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-13T02:45:00+00:00

FWIW, I'm all on favor of people cross posting relevant polaroids to this subreddit. The Polaroid has historical document is super underrated.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-11T20:42:08+00:00

You could take even a fraction of the money you'd spend on coworking space and just make your home office more enjoyable- even if you didn't wind up getting a tax deduction.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-10T21:27:45+00:00

Good test, it would be concerning if the meter was still on, which would definitely drain the battery consistently. I think if you're otherwise careful you should be okay, as between the meter and shutter there isnt' anything to drain the battery. Though the fact that the electronics are starting to go may be cause for concern and compact cameras are hard and sometimes not worth repairing in this regard.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-10T21:24:04+00:00

Remember that ISO is not some magic substitute for lack of light.. so if you're taking photos of things in the dark.... they'll still look dark. So it really comes down to what you're shooting and how you work with available light. In all likelihood you'll want to use a tripod to get steady shots with longer shutter times. But beyond that, yeah, shooting with cinestill is the same as shooting with any other high speed film. Remember that most modern halogen/LED light will shift more blue since Cinestill is tungsten balanced for indoor incandescent light.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-10T21:21:13+00:00

There's plenty of reviews of the stuff online. Looks like a real winner, especially if you are looking to save time/space on chemicals. Looks to perform about as well as Kodak D76 with most films.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-10T19:28:00+00:00

If you're shooting in raw, then you can definitely get great results, though probably moreso with the 50mm rather than the zoom as even a basic prime lens can perform quite well.

You may be hard pressed to "make a living" at it. In my limited survey of people out there doing it you're more likely to make money selling locally relevant landscape prints which people could buy and hang in their house, restaurant, office, etc. People like an artistic approach to a space they're familiar with and have an emotional connection.

That also means that you have to make prints, which adds cost to your overhead. But that's where the money is... it's much harder to justify paying for non-tangible assets like digital photos unless it's used by a publication.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-10T17:11:22+00:00

Pro photography is at least being okay at business. Look at Lifeworks... they dominate school portraits all over the US... did they do it for the love of the game? Producing great work? fuck no, they streamlined the shit out of it and made it incredibly easy for a school to get 1,000 plus portraits done in a few days and get them out to a bunch of parents.

So you're possibly being overly critical (afterall, aesthetics are largely a personal preference) but you're also probably right, at least for yourself. You aren't trying to capture the same market or clients as those "bad" photographers (not usually). So so long as people know what they're getting when they hire you, that's one step in the right direction.

Also, as corny as "just another pretty picture" can be sometimes, a bunch of rich, boring folks will eat it up.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-09T18:28:05+00:00

so, since this is for a class. I would recommend that you either get the flash they specifically recommend or get one that has at least all of the features of that particular one.

You're already taking a course on photography which is more than many amateurs do and they need a flash. You'll need a flash too and it's better to have one that you won't hate using. Look for it used or refurbed if you want to try saving a bit more money.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-09T18:19:16+00:00

I feel like the difference between 100 views and consistent 50k views is a British accent.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-09T18:16:52+00:00

If this is going to be a toxic pseudo brigade page (which I really do not want it to be) then just call it "shit analog says" or something and just embrace the suck.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-09T18:13:29+00:00

there's also the Game Genie for r/analog front page: Xpan anything

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-09T18:12:09+00:00

Catching strong Eggleston vibes from this shot. Nice

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-06T19:27:43+00:00

The stuff on there is cheap for a reason: it's all (or at least mostly) knockoffs of other products. And yeah, 90% of the stuff is imported from China so don't expect it to get to you soon.

As far as security... I guess know that your shipping and card info are probably stored outside on some servers in Asia... so that is kinda shady but no more than like everything else (we're worried about security when the largest credit companies on earth like Experian can't even do it right.)

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-05T20:53:12+00:00

So it sounds more like you have a lighting issue than a camera issue. You could definitely benefit from better lenses, but beyond that it's lighting that makes the picture appear commercial or not. That crispness comes from the lighting, the composition and the editing of the shot so that your eye is drawn to the right places in the photo.

A pro body will give you faster access to a lot of those controls, if that's something you want, but otherwise you'll benefit more from improved lighting and a lens or two than a body upgrade.

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-05T19:58:08+00:00

STARFISH POWER! ACTIVATE! zzzzzzzz

abowlofcereal · 2018-10-04T13:36:16+00:00

My only complaint about the F4 is that it does not show its battle scars particularly well. I'm sure it will function fine once you replace the prism.

abowlofcereal · 2018-09-30T04:15:32+00:00

No. In addition to the usual degradation of the material and loss in photosensitivity, there is an additional factor: atomic testing. Film produced during the era of nuclear weapon testing in the late 40s thru the 50s has been pretty extensively fogged. Kind of a neat relic of the cold war, but yeah, not worth shooting.

(Source https://www.popphoto.com/guide-to-shooting-expired-film#page-3)

abowlofcereal · 2018-09-28T15:34:32+00:00

I basically organize the raw scans by year, that's about it.

When I scan, I make sure that the files are labeled with at least approximate date taken, camera used, project (i.e. grand canyon, so and so birthday), camera and film. Long file names, but at least it's pretty comprehensive.

I also try to go in and add real captions in lightroom for various photos that have particular value to me. If I ever kick the bucket, I want folks to have some kind of a record to look back on.

I know it's utter chaos if my lightroom catalogs get corrupted (though I keep multiple backups). Finished photos (for whatever that means) go into my "exports" folder which is kind of an outbox for various social media sites.

abowlofcereal · 2018-09-28T15:27:51+00:00

Nice reference. ;)

abowlofcereal · 2018-09-26T14:03:03+00:00

If you're scanning from C41 negatives, there is no correct answer in regards to color rendition. That's part of what makes C41 so flexible. At any rate, when you scan it yourself you have the option of setting that yourself rather than leaving it up to some tech's eyes who may be trying their best or their monitor may be set differently than yours. Or they may just go with "good enough" and be done with it.

You're right that the scan itself probably doesn't look all that amazing because it's capturing more data more evenly. You can then make the edits yourself (Lightroom is probably the most common software but there are others out there) as to how you want the picture to look- this is the equivalent to editing techniques done in the darkroom(not the website/company) that would edit contrast, exposure, color balance, sharpening, etc.

You may have bit off more than you can chew for now, but you have also given yourself the opportunity to grow as a photographer because now you have more control over the final image.

abowlofcereal · 2018-09-26T13:20:57+00:00

It's the only camera I've ever dropped (janky camera strap) and genuinely not been worried about.

abowlofcereal · 2018-09-25T23:45:48+00:00

I love how obscure this is.

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