Why shoot film on automatic, pro/high-end cameras?

[PentaxBronica]

There's one very specific situation which nobody has mentioned yet: Parties.

A dark-ish room really isn't the best place to use a manual camera, especially as people won't hold still while you get the settings right. Plus there's the cost of replacing kit - for a friend's 30th I used a Pentax SF7 which cost me £7 on ebay and a £10 50mm lens (which I cleaned a small mushroom farm out of). A bit less than the £50 or so it costs for a good KX or MX now (or even more for a K2). I'm not buying a cheap digital compact for this as the images from a roll of Ilford Delta 3200 in a decent camera will beat any comparably priced digicam, and I don't end up fighting with white balance, shutters which don't fire immediately, or AF hunting around with that stupid "face recognition" stuff. I just set the lens to f1.7, shutter to 1/60, then just focus and shoot when the light is on the subject. The noise really isn't audible over a PA system hammering out The Jam at 11.

 

[Paul Goutiere]

The features of modern high end pro film cameras are great. Full automation does allow for more time to consider what is in the viewfinder and less time fiddling with controls. High speed motor drives, autofocus and image stabilization have allowed us to take fantastic pictures of birds in flight and kids playing.

I just don't care.

I like to use what 50 years of experience has given me with a camera, where I don't really need an exposure meter ( except where it inspires confidence ), I can focus fast enough on the things I actually want to focus on all by myself, I know how to hold a telephoto reasonably steady and I can set the film speed all by myself.

Anyone who has enjoyed posting on APUG for a few years will likely have these basic skills, so I contend that I'm not special.

I have an F4s, which I use occasionally when I want a motor drive, but overall I find I really like my ratty old Rolleiflex Automat best of all; it does exactly what I tell it to do, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[markbarendt]

There's one very specific situation which nobody has mentioned yet: Parties.

I may not have mentioned it directly but that is one of the places that fill flash is really great.

 

[agfarapid]

Great discucssion everyone! Having recently acquired a hardly used F100 (and never having used an autofocus, motor drive and AE film camera previously), I find the experience refreshing. My normal machines are MF, (a 500c, a Fuji folder, an RB67 and a 645 Super among others) and the change to this kind of camera has helped my craft in street shooting as well as in still life. I'm not dropping my big mechanical monsters (or their outstanding image output for that matter) it's just that I love the craft of photography and the tremendous variety of tools that are available to the craftsman. Well, that's my 2 cents. Enjoy your new autofocus, auto exposure, etc....just keep shooting film!

 

[Yanluk]

It's great that you can buy those pro cameras for almost nothing this days. It's easier for people who started they adventure with photography from digital.
I use F80 and F90 only because I have nikon DSLR but will be buying soon mf as well. It's just a tool, and if one can buy cheaply pro tools, why not.

Sent from my GT-P7100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Jim Rice]

I recently acquired an ugly (though fully functional) Contax RTS from KEH on the bay thing for $79 American dollars. It was on a whim. My previous three cameras had been a magnesium C-1, a 4x5 Wisner Tech Field and a Koni-Omegaflex. The RTS is the first electronic camera I have ever owned. I am truly enjoying using the aperture priority automation. It is very freeing to me. I am certain that many here would laugh uproariously at my calling this automation.

One cool thing about the RTS or any pro-level body is knowing that there exist every accessory needed for any situation. I have already fallen deeply in love with the Zeiss glass. I doubt I could ever learn to enjoy any camera with an integral motor drive, though it is nice knowing one can be added. The RTS is big and heavy and loud in a "twangy" sort of way, but seems a good balance to me. It is also very pretty, even in my beat-up example. If it dies I can pick up another one (maybe even an RTS II [I know I would like the 97% finder and TTL flash, less sure about the shutter speed dial locking on 'A' and '60']) for a song.

 

[ic-racer]

I don't know anything about digital but why would that make any difference in how many exposures are made? You need to make more exposure because most of the shots on the digital camera won't come out? Same with the pro/high end automatic camera? Do you would need to make more exposures because with the auto-everything systems most of the images won't be any good?

 

[fenderslash]

Like everyone here I'm a film shooter at heart, so with that film-camera / digital-camera choice already made I guess I choose my modern EOS-1v for the same reasons a "modern" digital shooter would use their digital SLR. That is, when I need auto-everything it's my camera of choice. For example I love candid portraits, so when shooting my little kids I can capture more fleeting moments and get heaps more keepers with the EOS-1v thanks to its auto focus, auto exposure, etc, than I would with my older classics. Same with shooting candids of drivers and teams in the pits at motorsport events, which is another passion of mine. In other words, these modern cameras are great tools for reliability (regarding exposure, focus, etc) in spontaneous situations. Other factors such as the availability of brand new lenses, etc, are a plus too.

For my other more slow-paced shooting I do much prefer the enjoyment I get from my Pentax Spotmatic, my Mamiya C330F and my Wollensak Stereo 10. The EOS-1v is a high quality tool; the classics are a passion.

 

[munz6869]

My 1v is useful for events, with it's system flash connectivity, speed and general awesomeness. And it's nice and heavy, so if things turn ugly, it's a useful defensive weapon when you don't have your 5x4" press camera with you...

Marc!

 

[E. von Hoegh]

On and off I research various cameras on the internet, and I've GAS'ed over Nikon F4/F5 (and read up on F6 and F100) as well some high-end Contax (RX mainly). I have a few 35mm cameras and all except Nikon F80 and Hexar AF are manual focus and mechanical (like the Nikon FM2n). The F80 doesn't partner FM2n too well because the former won't support the older lenses. So, I might pick up an F100 instead or an F4. But in this digital age, why get these fast, automatic film cameras? I'm not going to fire an F5 off at 8fps. Just use digital kit for that. For those of us who use film, it seems it should be more of a thai-chi type photography, mainly in B&W; enjoying the feel of the camera, honing your skills and understanding of exposure, and getting that film look we love. The Nikon F6 should be in nowhere-land - not much nostalgia attached to it and truly superseded by the digital revolution. I can see why you'd like to use the more recent film cameras - they are most likely more reliable, but one could also pick up Nikon FM3a, which went out of production in 2006.

So why do you use F6, F5, or other high-end film cameras such Minolta 7, 9 or Canon equivalent?

Some of us don't like digital and don't need to expose many frames per second.

 

[ME Super]

What I like about my Pentax PZ-20

I can run it in full auto - AF, Programmed AE (six different programs). I can also select any or all of the following parameters:

• Film Speed - I can override the DX setting - useful for pushing or using films that aren't DX coded
• Shutter/Aperture combo - program modes have a shift mode so I can bias toward higher or lower shutter speeds, bigger or smaller apertures.
• Shutter speed - it has shutter priority mode
• Aperture - it has aperture priority mode (this is the one I use most often)
• It has a metered manual mode too
• I can turn AF off if I want and focus manually
• I can change the drive mode from single-shot to burst mode, and it also has a self timer.

I went to a state park about an hour away from my home a few days ago. There was a gentleman there with his family who had a Pentax DSLR. He asked me to take his family's picture. I looked down at the top panel of the camera and noticed he had it set on aperture priority AE. I said "Finally, someone who doesn't have their camera set on full auto!"

He replied "My wife 'yells' at me for that. She says it makes things more complicated." It doesn't make things more complicated, it gives the photographer more control to do creative things. That's what I like about SLRs that you just don't get with a P&S.

 

[SafetyBob]

At this point in my life, I have to have AF if I want a descent picture of one of the kids (or grand kids) running around the house or yard. Just cannot do it with a MF camera anymore.

The automation (or the part of the automation I use) is what allows me to get the picture I would not have been able to get in the first place with MF. Believe me, I have tried.

For me, I have found that kid (people too) photography is where my heart is. Not really motivated to get the landscape shot or something like that. Can't really do it well, perhaps that's why. Working on it though.

Getting that intimate, candid, and natural photo of a kid engaged in life is what gets my photo blood going. I have got to get out and shoot more!!

Bob E.

 

[kanzlr]

While I like shooting with my Diacord and OM cameras, I use the Contax G2 when in want to take a single camera or where it counts.

Perfect automatic film take up and advance, fast AF, , 1/8000 shutter speed, TTL Flash, modern metering, superb modern lenses, DX encoding for when I am lazy and do not want to mess up a roll, etc.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I don't know that I'd call the meter in the G2 'modern', but it is highly competent. It's basically highly center-weighted off a gray strip on the shutter curtain. In some ways it's even less sophisticated than the Olympus OM shutter curtain metering pattern, which looks like that digital camouflage pattern on modern military uniforms. But it has never let me down in the shots I've taken with it, so I can't complain.

 

[BrianShaw]

Ya... "modern" is an intereting term. I still consider my F3 to be modern even though it is 30 years old.

 

[kuparikettu]

Answer: fast moving targets. I love my OM-series cameras, but focusing by hand with 300mm lens on a bird -- well, I'm not really up to that task. With F100 I hope to have some hope of doing wildlife photography without resorting to d*****l SLRs. Autofocus, shutter priority, optical vibration reduction, fill flash...

To be honest, it feels good to have a really modern film camera. Kind of reminds me that modern camera technology and film tech can work together towards common goal.

 

[Viggi]

While I feel no (or very little) passion for modern cameras, I do sometimes feel the need for that ease of use. That's why I keep a dslr and a compact digital. On general, the enjoyment and passion for photography is tied up with the mechanical camera and film. But I think I'm limiting myself. That's why I'm considering having something like an f100 or f5 along with my other stuff. I know I can shoot more easily, they are most likely more reliable, and I can still shoot film.

 

[Paul Howell]

I usally shoot with a number of 42mm bodies or Mirandas , but I do have a Sigma SA9 and SA7 which has most of the features of a N90, not the build quailty. I like the auto bracket, mirror lockup, and matrix metering or spot metering for shooting landscapes. Sometimes I think about a F100 or F5, but for the most part my Sigmas work well as I am not beating them to death.

 

[snegron]

I find that developing film is costing more each day. Blazing through a roll in high speed mode is fun but expensive. My fastest film camera is a Nikon F100. I take advantage of the AF and its reliability being a newer camera. I use it in aperture priority mode; same as I do with my F3HP.

On the other end of the spectrum, if I am going to take my time to shoot in full manual mode (like with my F or F2A), I feel it will be a better idea to shoot with one of my Mamiya 645's or RB67. My logic is that I will get a much better image with 120 film over 35mm film, so If I am going to shoot fully manual why not get the best possible results?

 

[heterolysis]

I have an F80 and love it. It has plenty of bells and whistles that I don't use or understand, but there are two key features it has that my Nikkormat and MF don't: AF and bracketing. I don't always use either, but they are very handy nonetheless.

AF is great, but I detest scrolling around to change my AF points, so I often rely on manual focusing still. No problem. And I like to bracket. Whether to test out a new film or to get three different exposures of a shot I really like, it's handy to have. I can try to "see" my finished product, but my brain is not beyond making mistakes. Quick and automated bracketing gives me a safeguard when it matters most.

 

[kanzlr]

I don't know that I'd call the meter in the G2 'modern', but it is highly competent. It's basically highly center-weighted off a gray strip on the shutter curtain. In some ways it's even less sophisticated than the Olympus OM shutter curtain metering pattern, which looks like that digital camouflage pattern on modern military uniforms. But it has never let me down in the shots I've taken with it, so I can't complain.

lol...well, it is no matrix metering, thats right. But then, even the M9 does it that way

regarding cost: a used F100 costs a great deal less than used D700 cost. The difference buys you a lot of film.
And with a Tetenal kit developing C41 is not that expensive really. Buying larger quantities of film (especially cheap but decent film like Superia 200) reduces cost. I got 100 rolls of Superia 200 for €1,-- a roll for example.

 

[MattKing]

I've recently bought into a few later model Canon EOS bodies. Not the very top end, but high/mid range.

It is fun to be able to use lots of fancy features, including eye controlled auto-focus when you can get it for less than $50.00 for an almost pristine camera body.

 

[Chan Tran]

While I feel no (or very little) passion for modern cameras, I do sometimes feel the need for that ease of use. That's why I keep a dslr and a compact digital. On general, the enjoyment and passion for photography is tied up with the mechanical camera and film. But I think I'm limiting myself. That's why I'm considering having something like an f100 or f5 along with my other stuff. I know I can shoot more easily, they are most likely more reliable, and I can still shoot film.

I don't have a passion for modern camera either. I actually found them more difficult to use than the old cameras as they have way to many functions and automation. The F5 is quite slow to use in manual mode. It takes much longer to change shutter speed from say 1s to 1/125s on the F5 than on the F3. The same for aperture. The F5 is ok but manual focusing is a little bit more difficult than the F3. I actually don't have a passion for mechanical cameras either, I like electronic one but simple one. But with the situation of film availability now I really not worry about the reliability of any of my cameras I worry more about where do I get the next roll of film and how I get it processed.

 

[ambaker]

I use late era EOS bodies, because I have EF series lenses from my digital cameras.

On the longer lenses, the vibration reduction comes in handy at times. I seldom use the cameras in full auto, but that can be handy as well.

I do have a selection of older fully manual cameras, that I enjoy as well. The only drawback for them, is the quick grab shot is much mor difficult.

My ancient Aires is a kick, because the images come out looking like they were captured 50 years ago. I've been all through it. It is clean, and accurate. It was just born before a lot of the advances in lenses came about, and it was not a premium piece of equipment in the first place.

 

[DanielStone]

"Modern" 35mm camera bodies like the F5/6/N90(s) and the EOS range of slr's allow 1/3 f-stop adjustment of shutter speeds and/or aperture(using compatible lenses mind you).

To folk like myself who enjoy using slide film, with its lower dynamic range than negative materials, frankly NEED those tiny adjustments, to get the best results possible.

Also, if you have a chance to use the G-series Nikkor AF lenses, i think you'll find yourself floored by the results capable with these "digital" lenses. I use the 50mm 1.8G for my own shooting, and its WAY sharper corner-->corner than my 1.4 AI-S MF lens. Horses for courses, the 1.4AIS has more 'character' than the 1.8G IMO, but the AF is plenty fast, and the sharpness really aids in making clearer, more well defined pictures with these 'miniature' format cameras(vs my 645 or 8x10 cameras ).

YMMV, these are just my observations

Dan