How to Get Into Film Photography on a Tight Budget

How to Get Into Film Photography on a Tight Budget

Many photographers out there who have grown up on digital
cameras want to try film photography, but are reluctant to
do so because of the cost of buying a camera and getting
film developed. Here, then, is a guide to shooting film on
a budget.

!! Steps !!

Buy a camera and lens cheaply. Check eBay or other online auction
sites to find a used camera. There are several things you can do to
find the best camera at a good price:

_ A tiny plastic Nikon F55 film SLR camera, dwarfed by an
enormous Nikon digital SLR. *Buy a cheap plastic autofocus SLR*
if you already have compatible lenses for it (if you have a
digital SLR, for example). Plastic consumer cameras like the Nikon
F55 and Canon EOS 300 sell for absurdly low prices. You may look
silly shooting them, but the results you will get from these
little cameras will be identical_ to those you would get from a
much bigger and heavier professional SLR costing thirty times as
much.

Beware, however, of lenses that are specifically designed for digital
SLRs, which usually have smaller sensors than 35mm film. They either
won't mount on your camera (like with Canon lenses marked EF-S), or
they won't cover the full 36x24mm frame (Nikon's DX lenses).

* Cameras and lenses from obsolete camera systems, like
this Canon A-1 and 50mm f/1.8, sell for absurdly cheap prices.
Buy into an obsolete system. Demand for lenses from obsolete
camera systems, meaning those completely incompatible with today's
digital SLRs, is much lower, because nobody is buying them for use
with digital. A couple of examples are Canon FD mount cameras
(like the Canon A-1 and T90) and Minolta manual-focus cameras.

* Prime lenses in normal focal lengths are very cheap and
sharper than lenses that cost several times as much. Buy simple
prime lenses. "Prime" means a lens of a fixed focal length (i.e.
not a zoom). "Simple" means lenses that are easy to manufacture.
Very wide, and/or very fast, lenses cost more because they need
very complex optics; lenses of sensible speed in normal focal
lengths don't require complex optics and, consequently, are much
cheaper. Best of all, these will permit you to shoot in less light
and get sharper pictures than you would with a slower, more
expensive, and heavier zoom lens. Look around for a 28mm f/2.8,
50mm f/1.8 (or f/2 if you're looking at Pentax), and 135mm f/2.8.

* Alternatively, *don't buy a camera.* You probably already know
several people who have an old, unused film camera or two whom you
might be able to convince to lend one to you, or even give it to
you.

Even though shots from colour negative film won't jump
off the screen and punch you in the head like slide
films will, you can still get superb results from them.
Shot with an Olympus Trip 35 and Fujicolor C200. Shoot
colour negative film. Colour negative film can be
developed very cheaply just about anywhere; slide film
requires a very different process called E-6, which only
a very small number of photo labs do. You won't get the
same punchy colours that you can get on slide film
(though some negative films, like Kodak Ektar 100, come
close), but then you won't need to take out a bank loan
to pay for each roll to be developed, either. On the
other hand, the slides only need processing and then can
be directly seen on a projector but with film you need
prints, which can be expensive.

If you like the look of black-and-white film, there are a couple of
films that can be developed in the standard C-41 process used for
colour negative films. Look for Kodak BW400CN (relatively
low-contrast, great for people photos) and Ilford XP2 (high contrast).

* _ Shot with a c. 1954 Voigtländer Vito B, a 35mm
camera. Stick to 35mm. While other film formats will offer more
surface area (and, consequently, more resolution, and less grain
at a given enlargement), many minilabs will not be able to develop
and/or scan it, which means you'll have to go to a much more
expensive lab to get it developed.

* Buying several films in one go usually works out cheaper
in the long run. Buy lots of film. Buy as much as you can afford.
Like everything else, buying things in bulk works out much_
cheaper. Also, if you buy film that is close to the expiration
date it's cheaper. Wrap it tight in plastic and throw it in the
freezer. It will keep for years. Just make sure you defrost it in
the plastic-otherwise you'll get condensation on the film.

* _ This shot was scanned automatically in a minilab. (Shot
with a Canon T90 and Kodak Ektar 100.) Don't buy a scanner. Your
lab owns some incredibly expensive equipment and nearly all of
them will have a scanner built into their minilab. Most labs will
get great results with their automated scans. Shop around.

* Film is best suited to still subjects, not things that
move. (Shot with a Canon T50 and Fuji Velvia 50.) Shoot film for
what it's best at. Film is ill-suited to action (sports, wildlife,
and so on) that require split-second timing and usually need
several shots taken in a second. That gets expensive; get a
digital SLR for that kind of thing. On the other hand, film is_
great for stills, like landscapes, statues, and plants.

* _ Get out when the light is good. (Shot with a Pentax ZX-M
on Fuji Sensia 400. Get out when the light is good. Meaning,
don't_ shoot in boring midday sunlight. Great light happens in the
early morning and late evening, within about a one-hour window
before and after sunset and sunrise. The better the light, the
fewer mediocre pictures you'll take, which means more winners per
roll, which means you're not blindly shooting tons of film in the
hope of getting one or two good ones, which saves you money!

* _ Take a few moments to simplify and refine your
composition. (Shot with a Canon T90 and Kodak Ektar 100.) Think
before you shoot. Rather than blindly shooting, learn to see_.
Spend a few minutes refining and simplifying your composition.
More winners per roll means you'll be spending less on film.

* _ Your motor drive might look cool, but keep it turned off
so that you don't waste film. Shoot a frame at a time. If you've
got a motor-driven camera, set it to its single-frame mode. If
you've got an add-on motor drive, leave it at home (or keep it on
your camera but turn it off, because they look seriously cool_).
You can easily find yourself taking several shots of the same
thing if you have some film-burning motor-driven monster. Your
roll won't go as far, which means you'll be wasting money.

* Don't get prints. If you're looking to show off your work on the
Internet, the following process usually works out quite a bit
cheaper: Just get your scans toasted to a CD, and if there are
some you _really_ like you can always get them printed later at a
very reasonable price.
Longer developing times usually work out quite a lot
cheaper. Although some labs will give you a free film if
you go for one hour; which has reasonable results, like
this shot.[1] Go for a longer development time. Unless
you're terminally impatient, rather than go for one-hour
developing, get it developed next-day, or maybe over a
few days if you're extremely patient.

On the other hand, some labs will give you a free film if you go for
one-hour developing. Sometimes these give superb results, so take one
for a spin.

!! Things You'll Need !!

* Online auction account

* Film camera

* Film

!! Related WikiHows !!

* How to Shoot Film

* How to Get Into Photography on a Budget

* How to Become a Professional Photographer

* How to Do Landscape Photography

* How to Clean a 35mm Film Camera and Lens

!! Sources And Citations !!

* ↑ Lewis Collard, Tudor colour negative film,
http://lewiscollard.com/cameras/tudor-colour-negative-film/

* Lewis Collard, How to get great results from film cameras,
http://lewiscollard.com/cameras/shooting-a-real-camera/. Original
source, shared with permission.

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