Comments on: Getting Started in Film Photography – What Camera Should You Buy?

By: Andrew Shippin (@ADShippin)

Andrew Shippin (@ADShippin) — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 02:34:27 +0000

In reply to eric. With no disrespect I have been involved with various levels of both film, and digital photography for over 40 years. When it comes to point & shoot cameras. The entire Contax T "series of point & shoots", the Nikon 35tI and couple of others ARE FAR SUPERIOR to the more affordable rivals. Especially if you are shooting E6 where accuracy is extremely important. I have owned several of those cameras over the years and I will forever kick myself for selling them. These days however E6 shooters are in the minority, and how good C41 or Black & White prints are is very much dependant on the lab and/or the person processing the film.

By: m for film

m for film — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 17:15:02 +0000

This article is exactly what I needed! I am from the born-and-raised-in-analog crowd and yet when a friend recently asked me where to get started, I wasn’t sure where to direct them. This overview is just what’s right for that I think: it’s a great starting point that gives quite enough to follow through and yet not too much to feel overwhelmed, thanks Jim.

By: Jim Graves

Jim Graves — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 18:06:59 +0000

Thank you everyone for your comments. I went into this with a view to appeal to the millennial generation, the kids who never knew film as the dominant media we used to document history as it happened. Film Photography is enjoying a renaissance that it really shouldn’t have been able to. Digital dominates our world as much as film did in the 20th century. It has killed off many formats of film and who shoots video anymore?
I appreciate your suggestions and comments about various cameras that didn’t make this list, but that doesn’t mean they were ignored. Many of them were above $100 at the time this article was written and are still rising in value. The electronic camera market is the sleeper as just about all of them are ignored as the means to repair them is either lost or way too expensive to justify their purchase. Whilst that may be true, they still provide a decent entry into film photography for someone who never knew the joy of film photography in the first place.

By: VTScoot

VTScoot — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 14:56:21 +0000

The Spotmatic was my first camera, and I learned a lot from having a mechanical, all-manual camera. I think it was a good choice not only because the basic’ness (not a real word) of it made it necessary that I learn basic photography, but the basic’ness made it approachable. Minimal settings to have to figure out, twist this thing or that thing and make the needle go up or down. An AF camera from the 90’s has so many buttons and modes to keep track of that it can be intimidating.

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 14:43:13 +0000

In reply to Kevin Thomas. Nor did the author mention the Nikon F80/N80 which, I think, is the best bang for your buck Nikon AF 35mm SLR. You can find these for $50-75 and they offer about 75-80% of the capability of the F100. The F80/N80 has multiple focusing points, multiple metering modes, fully customizable settings, front and rear command dials, 1/4000 max shutter speed, 1/125 flash sync, and depth of field preview. The F80/N80 was introduced in 2000, so it's basically the same age as the F75/N75. And like the F75/N75 the F80/N80 is lightweight, compact, easy to carry, and cannot meter with vintage manual focus Nikon lenses. In terms of being a more pro-spec 35mm SLR, I think the F80/N80 has the edge. I have one myself and have used it to shoot sports, street photos, and portraits using both screw-drive Nikon AF-D and electronic Nikon AF-S lenses.

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 14:25:22 +0000

In reply to Jim Graves.

I agree, in part, with both Jim and Ross. Spotmatics are a great camera, but their meters require obsolete 1.35v batteries. In order to use modern 1.5v batteries, you need to either deal with metering that is inaccurate and requires compensation, or you have to buy a rather expensive adapter/voltage modulator to get proper metering. This really seems like a consideration which is far beyond the consideration of most film Noobs, to be perfectly honest. I personally have a Nikkormat FT2 which takes a single 1.5v SR44 battery for the meter. Additionally the Nikkormat offers open aperture metering. But the big drawback of the Nikkormat is the required lens mounting and indexing process in order to properly engage the camera’s metering prong and ensure accurate metering. To me, performing the “Nikon Shuffle” every time I change lenses on my Nikkormat FT2 is no big deal. I will stipulate that the M42 lens mount opens up a large number of interesting, high-quality, and diverse lens options, at all price points, even if the screw mount itself is a bit cumbersome. Looking at Simon’s Utak YouTube channel is a great way to learn in-depth about the wide world of M42 lenses. I highly recommend the channel. https://www.youtube.com/c/Simonsutak