Anybody Remember Film?

[Chirp]

I bet a lot of you kids are saying 'yeah I heard of that once.'

Well if you're old enough like me it was a little different than digital.

If the mods don't mind, and anybody even cares to talk about it, I would like to start a little discussion about the stuff I worked with up until I sold my studio in the year 2000. Here are a few keywords if anyone would like to start it off. Once again if this is improper in any way let me know.

• Medium Format
• 4X5
• Darkroom
• Polaroid Backs for film cameres
• Commercial photography
• Portraits
• Weddings
• Stupid stuff you did

Thanks!!!

 

[Joely-Bird]

I still shoot film, from time to time, although it's been a while. I use my Dad's old Canon A1 35mm.

I'd actually quite enjoy strapping it to my bigger rig just for fun if I could come up with a way to fire & wind it remotely.

 

[tracer bullet]

I had a Contax and some Zeiss primes but after I got a Canon DSLR I started buying L lenses. After that I just stuck with it and sold off the old stuff. I do have a Canon film body, just in case, but rarely use it.

Have an old Rolleiflex as well, 6x6 cm, had it thoroughly refurbed and use it once a year or so. When i shoot film that's what I use. I develop the old fashioned way and then use a flatbed scanner for the negatives.

 

[Whitwellian]

I certainly remember film - in the 1950's, Dad had a Box camera that took 620 film - 12 pictures on a roll. Then I eventually got a 35mm camera. For a 2 week holiday I'd make sure that I'd got 3 or 4 rolls of film with me.

At work, I sometimes helped the photographer who was employed by the firm (General Refractories in Worksop, UK) to take photographs of test firings etc, When he was on holiday I'd be called on to take pictures using his cameras. At that time the work was mainly carried out using a "Polaroid" back on a plate camera.

Happy days - but I'm glad that things have moved on from having to wait a week or so from putting the film into the post to (hopefully) getting a box of slides back.

I also remember processing my own films - both B&W and colour transparency. These kids don't know they're born

 

[Babaco]

Try to fit the film rolled camera to mavic [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] I’m glad it’s all digital now that I can see the quality of the image right away! But! Then again, no soul for digitals. Using a film camera had its little ritual regarding how to maintain equipment and tools, tabbing the film and changing film rolls... but it was a big hassle. BTW I’m 30 now which means I’m a digital child with a scent of 90’s so no retro here. It’s actually very interesting how old people manage to buy, learn and fly drones. Most of the people here in this kind of forums are old people. I’m glad to see old people interested in such hi tech equipment. Keep it up old people over 60 you guys are amazing and inspiring! My grandma is 73 and she can barely use tablet for memory game.

 

[Whitwellian]

Reading Babaco's remarks above makes me feel even older!!!

My first computer in the 1970's was a MK14 kit based on the SC/MP chip that displayed onto a LED display. I quickly graduated to a Nascom 1 - that had a large memory card that about 256Kb(?) memory and also was adapted to take a ROM chip that held a BASIC programme.

Makes me feel ancient!!!

 

[4wd]

Having used digital SLR so much without constraint of film/printing cost I would probably get many more usable shots on film now.
We used to do slides more than prints and sent them off - cost of this was included in slide film, but it was more than regular film.
It was always quite exciting when the packet came back but so many would have benefitted from little tweaks which are now so easy with digital. A common one being tilted horizons which somehow were hardly noticed at the time!

 

[LivinLarge]

I used to develop and print my own film and slides, up to medium format (Pentax 6x7.) I made prints at home up to 16 x 20 in color and black and white. I even came up with some new darkroom processes that would make acceptable prints from weak negatives and some creative tricks that would make color and black and white in the same print. It was fun at the time, but as soon as digital became good enough, I closed the darkroom and never looked back. I still have some of the old prints hanging in the house. Looking at them now, I could do much better with digital systems and for a lot less work.
My firs SLR was a Russian made Zenit that I bought in 1971 without a lens, to use on my home made telescope ( 6" diameter, 60" focal length catadioptric.)

 

[Nomand Eloc]

I was in the very last class at Brooks Institute of Photography that was required to use film and film only for the first year. B&W 35mm and 4x5. Color slide E6 process for color slides in both 35mm and larger formats up to 8x10. I still shoot film from time to time but I do not miss having to pay 83 bucks for a box of 20 type 55 Polaroids for the 4x5.

 

[Varekai]

Took photography in jr high and high school.. 1982 grad, Shot with a Pentax K-1000 and then bought a Minolta XG-1 before moving up to the X-700 when it came out. Was just telling a coworker today, if you had a picture of something, there was no refuting it, nowadays you can't believe anything in a picture... Oh how things have changed!

 

[BerndM]

My Dad owned a full service camera business in Germany after the war (WW2) and I inherited his personal camera collection that includes about 100 film cameras dated from the late 1800's up to the beginning of the digital revolution, including many folding (bellows) cameras and about 10 old Polaroid Landcameras.
I also ended up with a ton of old accessories like light meters, flash units filters and even some lenses, etc.
Since I'm not getting any younger I really should catalog them all so that I might start selling them off.

 

[Joely-Bird]

I still love the look of film and actually use these filters in LR to give my photos a more filmy feel to them, highly recommend them. VSCO Film Lightroom Presets | VSCO Examples below:

How many of you actually print your digitals now? I know I hardly ever do. so don't really get to see them as much, which is a shame.

 

[Chirp]

...I do not miss having to pay 83 bucks for a box of 20 type 55 Polaroids for the 4x5...

I haven't thought abt 4x5 Polaroids in a long time. Remember the smell after you peeled one? Instant headache! I think digital was created by the gods to get back at Polaroid for what they charged us. Those 4X5's were a great product though...

 

[Chirp]

I still love the look of film and actually use these filters in LR to give my photos a more filmy feel to them, highly recommend them. VSCO Film Lightroom Presets | VSCO Examples below:

How many of you actually print your digitals now? I know I hardly ever do. so don't really get to see them as much, which is a shame.

Walmart has a photo website (as I'm sure a lot of other companies do) where you can upload, crop etc. and pick them up in an hour or so or have them mailed to you. They're really inexpensive. If I remember correctly 15 cents for a 4X6 print. I don't recommend the one-hour because they use dye-sub printers which don't look as nice as the other. imho...

 

[Chirp]

My Dad owned a full service camera business in Germany after the war (WW2) and I inherited his personal camera collection that includes about 100 film cameras dated from the late 1800's up to the beginning of the digital revolution, including many folding (bellows) cameras and about 10 old Polaroid Landcameras.
I also ended up with a ton of old accessories like light meters, flash units filters and even some lenses, etc.
Since I'm not getting any younger I really should catalog them all so that I might start selling them off.

That sounds like a small fortune. No a big fortune...

 

[lamrith]

I shot film for a few years a long time ago, even took a class in highschool, spent time in darkroom 2 days a week. That was all B&W work, developing film, then then exposing and developing the print. It was quite rewarding.

Sadly I moved away from the photography hobby after HS and forgot more than I learned. DOH

 

[Chirp]

Reading Babaco's remarks above makes me feel even older!!!

My first computer in the 1970's was a MK14 kit based on the SC/MP chip that displayed onto a LED display. I quickly graduated to a Nascom 1 - that had a large memory card that about 256Kb(?) memory and also was adapted to take a ROM chip that held a BASIC programme.

Makes me feel ancient!!!

My first computer was a TRS-80 (Radio Shack) computer. I had a couple different models. Model 3 and 4 think.
Floppy drives only. Backup was on cassette audio tape. You had to load the OS first, then do your computing. I think it had 48k of RAM. When you turned it off you lost your operating system. When you wanted to find data on the cassette tape you had to rewind and fast forward just like if it was a song, unless you were smart enough to use the counter. This was in the 80's. I think I paid $2500 for it new.

 

[Nomand Eloc]

I haven't thought abt 4x5 Polaroids in a long time. Remember the smell after you peeled one? Instant headache! I think digital was created by the gods to get back at Polaroid for what they charged us. Those 4X5's were a great product though...

They were great just expensive as all hell. Type 55 had a negative you could print from but it was often quite delicate compared to a normal negative and would tear easy.

 

[blacksheep]

I’ve recently started back up using film, rebuilt the old mans ‘63 Pentax and happily using that. I notice film gear is way more scarce than it was 5 or 6 years ago. The only LF setup locally is good for 2 grand and nobody around here develops sheet film. Even MF is expensive, I’d love a TLR again, got some great results from my Rolleicord back in 2009

 

[Whitwellian]

Some interesting comments above about cameras & film.

My first slr was a Zenith (about £20 if I remember correctly) I mainly used B&W film, then later transparencies. I used to process my own transparencies at one stage, both colour and B&W but became so frustrated when it took basically 3 weekends to develop 6 films (36 exposure) from a fortnights holiday.

The polaroid cameras were weird - we used them at work for taking photos of test samples of refractory testing.

Didn't Kodak produce their own version of an "Instant" camera? I recollect seeing one being used in about 1979 when I went on a National Trust for Scotland cruise to North Cape, The camera owner was taking some pictures of the (almost) setting sun and the sun came out almost appearing as an eclipsed sun - black dot surrounded by a glare od white, then a fairly "normal" horizon.