Guide to Film Photography

I just want to SHARE some new information about film photography that i’ve learn, did some researches and read a lot in the past few months. So basically this is the compilation about film photography, what you need to know,the basic, the cameras, the films and others. Yeah, i know that i’m stil new and amateur in film photography but who cares, i knew something, and i would like to share with others. If you think i don’t have the capability or enough knowledge about film photography, just stop reading this post. So here we go……

FILM FORMAT

Most people know about 35mm format since DSLR widely used nowadays and maybe you own one. Yes, some DLSR cameras actually in 35mm format or they call it full frame or FX- DSLR. Since they are using build in sensor instead of film, this means that the sensor of most of FX-DSLR camera is in 35mm format. But there are crop factors for DX-DSLR such 1,5 for Nikon, 1,6 for Canon and 2,0 for Olympus.

Green: Canon 1.3x, Red: Nikon DX, Blue: Canon 1.6x. Nikon FX and Canon full-frame are the same size as the image in the film. 35mm is the world’s most popular film format and they are a lot of 35mm films and cameras still sell in market. And than we have MEDIUM FORMAT and they have various of sizes:

645

Also called 6 x 4.5 cm and you can shot up to 16 shots per roll 120 film, 32 shots per 220 roll film.

6x6cm

Also called 6×6 and you can have 12 shots per roll 120 film, 24 shots on 220 film. Most people use this film on medium format camera.

6x7cm

10 shots per roll of 120; 20 shots per roll of 220.

6x9cm

6 x 9 cm : Also called 6 x 9. You can have 8 shots per roll of 120; 16 shots on 220.

6x10cm

7 shots per roll of 120.

6x12cm

This is a special panoramic format and you can have 6 shots per roll of 120, 12 shots per roll of 220.

6x17cm

This is a special panoramic format, just like 6 x 12 and you can have 4 shots per roll of 120, 8 shots per roll of 220.

6x24cm

This is a crazy panoramic format for 3 shots per roll of 120, 6 shots per roll of 220.

Most of us don’t know that there is LARGE FORMAT in photography like 4 x 5″, 5 x 7″, 8 x 10″, 12 x 20″ and 20 x 24″. Picture on left is an example of a large format camera. This old-fashioned sheet film camera was the dominant format for professional landscape photography in 2005 and some of serious landscape photographers still using 4 x 5″ format camera nowadays. So, i would say 35mm is a SMALL FORMAT in photogprahy.

The comparison of size between 35mm format and 6x6cm format and therefore also show the different between 35mm film size and 120mm film size (in general)

FILMS

In order to explore more about film photography you need camera that shoots film and film. The most common size of film is 35mm. This is the cassette that everyone thinks of when they think of film. It’s also known as 135 Film. The exact size is actually 36mm x24mm per frame. The other common film being used in medium format photography is the 120 film, which has a larger size almost up to four times the size of a 35mm negative. That’s four times the resolution, four times the detail!! Maybe i’ll explain more details about the comparison in the next post. You can find 35mm film in almost every camera shop but 120 films are hard to find these day in camera shop. But you can just search 120 film on ebay or amazon,  there are bunch of them.

FILM TYPES

Basically there are 2 types of film; slide film (E6) and negative film. Negative film divides into another 2; color negative(C-41) and black and white negative film. The most common film type is color negative or C-41 film and black and white negative film. But what is slide film?? Slide film or also called E6 actually creates a positive color image. It’s actually the same as slides that were shown with projector (the old one). Slide film has a latitude similar to that of digital cameras, but it can produce a very high quality, high resolution image and reproduces vivid colors brilliantly.

When you buy a film, there is a value like 100, 200, 400 or 800 etc. written outside of a film or on the box. That is the ISO value or the film sensitivity. For example; 100 film is “slow” or not very sensitive, it needs a lot of light to make an exposure. 3200 film is “fast” or very sensitive. I would say that low sensitivity films like 100 or 200 are best for bright outdoor situations and high sensitivity films are best for action or low light, but that is a general guide line. There’s one important thing to remember, the more sensitive a film is the more “grainy” your photos will be. Most of the time, 100 speed film will have greater detail and stronger, richer colors than 3200 speed film (the same principal as in DSLR in term of grainy or noise).

There are many brands of slide, color negative and black&white films on market. It’s a common thing that beginners might get confused on choosing the right film. For me there is actually no ‘right’ film because each film has its own characteristics and colors. But for a starter or guideline you can read the article about film recommendations. Don’t be afraid to try out different kind of films and maybe you will find a film that suit your taste and later on stick with it.

CAMERAS

The Point-and-Shoot

This kind of cameras are actually small, light, simple and you can carry them everywhere. Have you heard about Lomographic Society? For the past few year they have developed and reproduced a lot of these little cameras. Most of them are simple cameras with minimum control of the settings, all you have to do is just click the shutter. They even got their own rules which called 10 Golden Rules. If you interested, just go to the website and explore more. As my personal point of view, their cameras are ‘for fun’ and not for a serious or professional photography as all the basic setting being set in the camera itself and you don’t have the full control of the camera ( in term of settings) and i would say most of their cameras a little overpriced, but they have some cool stuff too such Fisheyes Camera, Multilens Cameras, Pinhole Camera.

SLR

To understand more details about SLR, see the pictures on left. A cross-section (or ‘side-view’) of the optical components of a typical SLR camera shows how the light passes through the lens assembly (1), is reflected by the mirror (2) and is projected on the matte focusing screen (5). Via a condensing lens (6) and internal reflections in the roof pentaprism (7) the image appears in the eyepiece (8). When an image is taken, the mirror moves upwards from its critical 45 degree angle in the direction of the arrow, the focal plane shutter (3) opens, and the image is projected onto the film or sensor (4) in exactly the same manner as on the focusing screen.

There are a lot of SLR film cameras out there made from companies like Nikon (FE,FM,FM2,F3), Canon (A series, F series, T series), Yashica and many more. Just search on Google and tons of them will appear. Most of SLR film camera operate using 35mm film.

Rangefinder

A rangefinder is like a brother to SLR (Single Lens Reflex). It just the term to describe how the camera is focused. With an SLR, a prism and a mirror allow you to see directly through the lens and a ground-glass allows you go focus. A rangefinder camera is a camera fitted with a rangefinder: a range-finding focusing mechanism allowing the photographer to measure the subject distance and take photographs that are in sharp focus. Most varieties of rangefinder show two images of the same subject, one of which moves when a calibrated wheel is turned; when the two images coincide and fuse into one, the distance can be read off the wheel. Confuse??? I know. Because i was little confuse too when i first knew about it. Just see the video below and you might get the idea of what i mean.

One of the famous companies that produces rangefinder camera is Leica. Go google yourself Leica Camera and see how much the cost for a camera. Ohhhh yeaaahhh..they are all VERY expensive. If you want to try out a rangefinder camera, there is also a cheap one made by the KMZ factory in Krasnogorsk, Russia named Zorki 4K.(Leica Copy)

TLR (Medium Format)

There are several types of medium format camera. A twin-lens reflex camera (TLR) is a type of camera with two objective lenses of the same focal length. One of the lenses is the photographic objective (the below lens, the lens that takes the picture), while the other is used for the waist-level viewfinder (the above lens). In addition to the objective, the viewfinder consists of a 45-degree mirror (the reason for the word reflex in the name), a matte focusing screen at the top of the camera, and a pop-up hood surrounding it. The two objectives are connected, so that the focus shown on the focusing screen will be exactly the same as on the film. However, many cheap TLRs are fixed-focus models. Most TLRs use leaf shutters with shutter speeds up to 1/500th sec with a B setting and operate with 120 format film. The main disadvantage to these cameras is that they have a fixed lens, meaning you’re limited to the one focal length lens the camera comes with (Mamiya produced the only interchangeable lens TLR).
If i’m not mistaken, the production of TLR has been stopped but you can still find the used one out there such as Seagull, Yashica, Mamiya, Rolleiflex or other TLR camera.

SLR (Medium Format)

Medium format SLR cameras look a lot different compare to normal SLR cameras. They operate using 120 roll film and it cost more compare to TLR cameras. They usually come up with a kit, you’ll need to buy many pieces because the systems were designed to be highly customizable. The kit included lens, body, viewfinder and film back. Hassleblad is the most famous company producing this kind of camera and they all are really expensive such Hasselblad 503 CW or other Hasselblad 500 Series (V Series). Mamiya also come up with their own SLR medium format such as Mamiya RD67 and Mamiya 645 PRO TL. Both Mamiya and Hasselblad are very expensive. But you can also find a cheaper one like Zenza Bronica and Kiev 88 (Hasselblad Copy).

PROCESSING FILM

This is the most important part of all, developing film, because this is the process where your film slides merge to pictures that can later on be scanned. Maybe later on I’ll write more details about developing films. There are two ways to develop films. The first way is the easy way. Send them to labs, which mean send to the camera shops and they will develop your films for you but it will cost you more in long term. Second way is the hard way but cheaper which means you need to develop them yourself. If you’re shooting black and white film, I would suggest developing the film yourself because it worth it. There’s a great tutorial on this site about developing black and white film and also lots of video tutorials.

Developing color film can also be done at home, but you need to be really careful of the temperature tolerances. So i suggest send it to labs or if you have enough confidence, then try develop it yourself. Why not??Most developing labs will be able to send out medium format film for you, but it will cost quite a bit. In long-term, developing the film yourself will save you quite a bit of money and so doing some online research will really pay off. Try it.

SCANNING

In order to scan your film, I would highly suggest getting a flatbed scanner with a light in the lid. There are several models from several different manufacturers available such as Epson and Canon. A normal scanner just for 35mm film can cost up to 40 Euro above. There are dedicated 35mm film scanners that accept medium format film, but they are really expensive (above 150 Euro) such as Epson V500,V600 or Canon 8800F.
The flatbed is a solid option and will yield wonderful results! A scanner like Epson V500 allow you to scan film strips up to 2×22 cm long of 35mm film, 4 frame of 6x6cm negative, and a 6cm x 9cm negative. The resolution can be up to 6400 x 9600 dpi resolution. Just look for flatbed scanners instead of a normal scanner because it’s really pay off in the long-term.

CONCLUSION

You see, film photography is actually cost you lots of money in the long-term compare to digital camera. By digital camera you can shoot and then see the result on the play screen, but by film photography, you need to wait for about a day or more to see the result; after develop and scan the film! I love that kind of feel, the challenge, the passion. Most of the time you can imagine how the outcome will be after each of your shot even you have not see the result yet. I hope this will help and go out there and shoot!!