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Cameras come in all shapes and sizes, consider the size of camera you are comfortable using. 35mm SLR’s have great versatility and are generally not intrusively large, compact/point’n’shoot cameras are great for travel or always having a camera with you, medium/large format cameras provide great detail and quality but may be heavy or take up too much space.
The most common film camera type found, also the easiest to have developed.
Cameras from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Minolta, Olympus, Leica, Lomography, & just about every other camera company ever
Check out this Video about 35MM cameras here
Medium format film has a larger exposure area and thus higher fidelity (basic idea is the more space, the more detail can fit and/or be enlarged before quality loss).
Cameras from Hasselblad, Rollei, Bronica, Mamiya, Pentax, & others.
For the highest fidelity available the negatives are huge, however the cameras and the film especially are much less produced and available nowadays. These cameras/formats can be rewarding with their amazing detail, but are less approachable and film/developing can get expensive due to size and availability.
Cameras from Graflex, Sinar, Toyo, Calumet, Zone VI, & others.
After a long run of great popularity followed by a massive crash in the market and availability, instant film is making a comeback, though it likely will never hold the place it once did. The best part about instant film is that there is no waiting, no developing, no printing to be hassled with; simply shoot, and have a fully finished print in minutes. Classic options like Polaroid have returned to the market, however prices are higher than in their heyday, expect more than $1 per photo. Newer options are available from Fuji and others. Fuji’s Instax Mini film produces credit card sized photos and is widely available at many stores and can be bought in bulk for often less than $1 per shot. Larger Instax Square and Wide options are also available.
Cameras from Polaroid, Fuji, Lomography, Mint, & others.
Formats such as Kodak Instamatic, 110, 127, 220, 620, peel-apart instant, etc aren’t easy to find film for, be sure the camera you're choosing still has film available!
Viewing directly through the lens that will take the picture, one of the most common and the most accurate way to see what will be in your frame and be sure you are in focus when taking the picture.
Viewing through a window separate from the taking lens, framing is often by frame-lines in the window and focusing is by a split-image patch. often allows one to view outside of the picture area, useful to see things moving into the frame and predict the “decisive moment”.
As the name implies, the camera is typically held lower than eye level and one looks down into the finder for framing. This can be tricky for those unfamiliar as left-right are reversed
This is mainly reserved for large format cameras, can be nice, but confusing if you’re not familiar with using. (images are flipped and inverted!)
Some smaller cameras will provide a window seperate from the taking lens, similar to rangefinder shooting, but without the split-image focusing patch which are more common on point and shoot cameras.
Choosing to shoot black and white or color involves a little forethought. Some individuals may prefer the look of black & white over color, or visa versa. When it comes to film, this choice can have more impact than digital shooting, as different film stocks will carry with them different visual properties (grain, contrast, tonal/color range, color rendition, etc). If you’re unsure, or want the option of either, then keep in mind that shooting color and digitally converting to black and white is an option, just like digital shooting.
The oldest and original form of photography. Black & white offers a timeless look, and is perfect if you're wanting to focus on the core elements of photography. Most black and white films are developed with traditional chemistries, and can't be developed by every lab. Some black and white films can be developed in C-41 color chemistry though (like ILFORD XP2), and can be developed by almost any photo lab in the world.
The most popular form of photography. Different color films will have different color profiles. Some are famous for vibrant, saturated colors and high contrast (like Kodak Ektar), while others are famous for softer, more pastel colors and tones (like Kodak Portra). Color film can be negative, like normal black & white films. But you can also get slide film, in which the image is actually a positive and will show all the normal correct colors right on the film.
ISO is the international standardized measurement for how sensitive a given film stock is to light (Prior to the ISO rating scale, there was ASA or DIN ratings, these will be found on many vintage films and cameras. ASA numbers are equivalent to ISO numbers.) Basically, the higher the number of the ISO rating, the more sensitive the film is and therefore will require less light to create a proper exposure. If you’re familiar with how ISO affects the results on your digital camera, then you can apply the same principles, however you won’t be able to change this setting on the fly, like you can with digital.
A stable tripod is a necessity for low ISO films. Good for landscape or long exposure work. Often produces extremely little film grain.
Good for bright outdoor shooting or studio shooting with flash lighting.
More versatile and more light sensitive, good for outdoors, or indoors with flash.
One of the most versatile options, works well outdoors or indoors with decent light or with a small flash.
The threshold for “high-speed” film, works well for shooting fast moving action that requires higher shutter speed (which means less light to the film plane), also works well for decently lit indoor scenes and may not need flash.
“super” high-speed film, great for shooting indoors or at night (situations with little light available). These film stocks have a very high degree of grain visible.
What is grain? Grain is the optical texture of processed film due to the presence of small particles of silver material from developing. Grain is usually seen as a crucial aspect to black and white film especially, and there are different B&W films that cater to different film grain preferences. Generally the lower the ISO rating, the less grain will be seen, and the higher the ISO rating, the more grain will be seen. Grain can be used creatively to give a scene a certain feel or look. Grain is one of the most defining aspects of shooting film. The grain in the image is often one of the main reasons for “the film look.”
Sending your film to a lab is one way to get your film processed, and the easiest way for anyone just getting started or shooting casually. With a lab, you can expect easy, reliable results from people with a lot of experience developing film. However, there aren't as many professional labs as there used to be, and odds are you're going to have to mail your film out, so, there's definitely a turnaround time when using a lab. Additionally, you'll often have to pay extra if you're experimenting with pushing or pulling film.
Processing your own film can be a daunting process for the fist time. But fear not, there are plenty of resources for getting started developing your own film. And once you get past the initial investment, processing your own film can be much cheaper than using a lab. Plus, you get to develop your film whenever you want, no waiting, and you can experiment with things like pushing and pulling as much as you want to for the same cost.
Unless you have your own working wet darkroom, to use and share your film photos you're going to need to get them scanned to digital files. There are several popular ways to do this: