is it unreasonable to find 20 simple point and shoots for under 20 USD?

Dikaiosune01 · Nov 28, 2013

I need some feedback inregards to my thought process and recommended action. I'm getting married in October of 2014. One of things things I really wanted to do was to have a camera on each of the guest's table. The purpose was to have negatives that i could print many years into a long marriage. That every time I make another print, that day would be relived. It is something I wouldn't mind going back to print again and again. And since this was apug, the idea of printing from smart phones and digital cameras just didn't appeal to me.

Originally, I thought I would just get some of the ilford HP5 disposal cameras; and put two on each table. Then I would process it myself.

Now thinking about it, the venue would better benefit from shooting at and EI1600. And I wouldn't mind push processing it. However, if the camera flash and camera exposure is fixed at EI400, am I really out of luck? The exposure on these disposal cameras can't be changed.

what if I get a bunch of cheapt point and shoots and put them on the table and load it with my film and exposure that I want? I can still shoot with HP5, and each camera's exposure would be set at 1600, the way I want it. I would still be able to process the film myself.

The challenge would be to find approxmately 20 cameras with autoexposure and autofocus that guests can use. Getting film wouldn't be a problem. But finding 20 cameras would be.
- is 20 USD a little too conservative. If the cameras are more than 20 USD, it would be more economically feasible to just get the HP5 disposalable cameras.
- i am concerned about age and reliability. As the groom, I can't be running around setting exposure for everyone.
- where am i going to get 20 cameras? Do I really have time to hunt down 18 automatic exposure cameras?

Or will this cause too much chaos? Too many elbows and hairy armpits in the way of the wedding photographer's actual real photos?

nickrapak · Nov 28, 2013

Are you looking for a total of $20, or $20 each? If $20 each, you could probably go down to the thrift store and find some for $5 USD or less. If shipping from US-HK wasn't so prohibitive, I would be willing to send you the 20 that my local store has for $3 each.

Dikaiosune01 · Nov 28, 2013

nickrapak said:
Are you looking for a total of $20, or $20 each? If $20 each, you could probably go down to the thrift store and find some for $5 USD or less. If shipping from US-HK wasn't so prohibitive, I would be willing to send you the 20 that my local store has for $3 each.

I was thinking 20 dollars each. The HP5 dispospals are already about 10 dollars each.
I'll be visiting my family in Toronto in a few months, which will give me a bit ot time to scrounge through a few thrift stores there.
I've been looking at shops in HK, but they tend to overprice for these type of things (around 100 USD a pop) and aren't really reliable when it comes to standards. if it's broke, your out of luck.
I've also been looking at KEH. they haven't sent me a broken camera yet. The HP5 might be a plan B.

thegman · Nov 28, 2013

I think $20 a piece is very do-able, and you've got plenty of time to find them. Just go simple and as automatic as possible.

AstroZon · Nov 28, 2013

Point and Shoots run between $3 - $5 around here at the thrifts. Some are actually nice too - like the Canon AF35 ML. You also have to look at the batteries. Some use C123 and even worse, CR123. They tend to cost more than the cameras.

Still, I like your idea of putting a camera on each table. Sounds like a great way of getting candid guests photos.

MattKing · Nov 28, 2013

You will also have concerns with batteries.

I would be concerned that at a wedding I might not have time to deal with the peculiarities of 20 different cameras.

The reusable/disposable cameras make more sense to me.

Of course, if all the guests were APUG regulars, you would be fine!

Dikaiosune01 · Nov 29, 2013

MattKing said:
You will also have concerns with batteries.

I would be concerned that at a wedding I might not have time to deal with the peculiarities of 20 different cameras.

The reusable/disposable cameras make more sense to me.

Of course, if all the guests were APUG regulars, you would be fine!

if all my guests were apug regular, i'd say just bring your own cameras and I'll provide all the films. The problem would be getting apug members to relinquish those negatives. At the end of the night, I imagine all the apug members would gasp in shock (I imagine every apug member wears a monocule on their non-view-finder-eye) and their monocule would drop into their wine glass when I ask for the negatives.

I get what you're saying about having to deal with the peculiarities of the 20 different cameras. That is a concern for me too. Which is why I want to keep dispospal cameras as plan B. I have a old nikon 35AF given to me by my fiancee's family. It exposes and flashes well; but tends to reel in the film before it's shot.

Brian Legge · Nov 29, 2013

20 working ones may be hard to find. You'd need to run a roll through each as a test... and that alone would be expensive. I'd stick with disposables if it were me.

Two23 · Nov 29, 2013

You could reload the disposable cameras with higher speed film, and put a square of ND cellophane gel over the flash to make exposures match.

Kent in SD

Dikaiosune01 · Nov 29, 2013

Two23 said:
You could reload the disposable cameras with higher speed film, and put a square of ND cellophane gel over the flash to make exposures match.

Kent in SD

This is an awesome idea. I Think this might really work. This has been promoted to plan A/B.

summicron1 · Nov 29, 2013

dunno what ur deadline is, but if you start hunting now I bet you can find a goodly pile of Olympus Stylus cameras for $5 each at thrift stores, yard sales and the like in short order. They're almost a standard stock item at Deseret Industries in Utah.

Put the word out to your friends, especially at church/work, that you want usable Olympus Stylus and similar cameras for your wedding.

Get a big box to keep them in. A BIG box.

NedL · Nov 29, 2013

My wife and I were married outdoors in a beautiful setting near Pt. Reyes along the California coast. We put disposable cameras on all the guest tables. I don't know what happened but we never got any of them back! So my advice is to attach a note asking to use up the film and return to a designated place at the reception or person.

We hired a photographer. But I have a lifelong friend who is a talented photographer, and he took many informal pictures during the wedding, and put them into a little book for us. Those are a treasure. They captured what it was like to be there that day. I didn't know he was going to do it and I didn't ever notice him taking photos. That little book means more to us than all the photos we planned for, by a huge amount.

AgX · Nov 29, 2013

Once all those 20 cameras are in house one has to clean them, get the different batteries in house too and check them basically . Then still you got 20 different models which could be a problem if the users are totally unaware. They hardly get help from the person sitting next to them as that person will have got a different model.

I would not think of these issues as major problem but you should be aware of them.

AgX · Nov 29, 2013

The OP wants to use b&w film. Getting single-use cameras with colour film should not be a problem in Hong-Kong, no reason to ship them from the UK.

pdeeh · Nov 29, 2013

quite righ, AgX. i've deleted my dim-bulb post

elcabezagrande · Nov 29, 2013

You will spend more on batteries and film than you will on cameras.

BradS · Nov 29, 2013

As others have mentioned. Getting twenty used point & shoot 35mm cameras isn't difficult but, even finding batteries for some of them might be. I've a bin in the garage with at least five used P&S 35mm cameras....only one take ordinary AAA batteries. The rest need something exotic/expensive/extinct.

bdial · Nov 29, 2013

If you think the disposables would underexpose at 400 due to the space, why not just push process the film, and let the camera do whatever it does?
Is the venue available to you to shoot a test roll?

blockend · Nov 29, 2013

P&S models have the highest fail rate of any used cameras I have purchased.

darkosaric · Nov 29, 2013

Buy 20 Olympus mju f3.5 (f2.8 are more expansive). They are very good, almost always in good working condition, with flash that gives nice results.
Later take films - and give cameras as gift to your guests .

Xmas · Nov 29, 2013

Normally everyone at a wedding will have a DP&S and a cam phone cept for me.

Ask for email of all the shots.

Only photog students will know what a film camera is and not all of them.

Stopped by student and teacher in a street market. The student had a monster DSLR.

So she focused my Canon P, after some instruction, pushed the shutter button after some more, and when told how to operate the wind on lever, said

'you mean it's got tape inside it?'

That is not the punch line...

eventually after a dialogue about contra jour and silhouettes, exposure, metering etc. the camera vanished from her hands and her tudor demonstrated the focus scale and depth of field scale.

The punch line was what the Tudor said

'we have power point slides of depth of field scales but none of the collegue cameras have focus and depth of field scales'...

removed account4 · Nov 29, 2013

if you want to go disposable

just google disposable wedding camera packs like this
http://www.google.com/search?client...osable+wedding+camera+packs&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

if you want something else, well, you have to search and hunt for them ...

good luck !
john

BradS · Nov 29, 2013

I have an orphaned Canon EOS Rebel something with the kit zoom lens that I use as a P&S - seems like these could be purchased for around your $20 per camera target.

blockend · Nov 29, 2013

BradS said:
I have an orphaned Canon EOS Rebel something with the kit zoom lens that I use as a P&S - seems like these could be purchased for around your $20 per camera target.

True but bizarre, you can buy a high tech, multi-mode SLR for little more than a disposable camera. Personally, I wouldn't give out cameras to guests, just get them to email their best shots after the wedding and you can compile a DVD for interested parties.

mgb74 · Nov 29, 2013

Something else to consider. Guests will probably want to see the shot they took of Uncle "So and so". Do you really want all those print orders? Might want to see about a film that can be processed and scanned inexpensively (XP2?) then printed on your own schedule.

is it unreasonable to find 20 simple point and shoots for under 20 USD?

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