Yashica MAT ME -- help.

[tkmusgrave]

I'm hoping against hope people are still on here and check this. I used to post the uncrackable mysteries when I was a photo-lab assistant at my college -- you guys were on POINT with the sleuthing, and I'm ecstatic that I remembered this site.

I just got my first medium format camera! Woohoo, a Yashica MAT ME. Did a limited amount of reading up (more than some, less than I usually do because I'm really just wanting to experiment). Found one on eBay and got some film and I'm wondering where to go from here.

Is there a site that walks you through the process (where to send my film afterwards, do they scan it, am I supposed to scan it, does digitizing it take away the incredible latitude that film has, etc.)

I'm really at the bottom-most rung when it comes to this, and I'm SO excited! And so terrified. I beg of anyone to help.

From one generational to the last,

-T

 

[Barry Kirsten]

T, these are fine cameras with very sharp lens. First a manual for the camera might be handy if you haven't already got one. You can download one from here: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/yashica/yashicamat_m/yashicamat_m-splash.htm I assume you know how to develop b&w film, and that's the first step. If you don't know how to process film you should find a lab that does b&w in your area; I can't help you there, but local photographers in your area should be able to help you. A lab should give you a proof sheet with your developed negs, or they might scan them, depending on the services they provide and what you order. As far as digitizing goes, film will give you digital files with far more information than the best digital backs are capable of, so shooting film is the way to go for detail. Just be aware that professional labs are pricey, so you might want to learn processing yourself. Good luck, hope this helps.

Barry

 

[flatulent1]

A couple points that Barry missed... First, we don't discuss digital or scanning here; that's for other sites to deal with. Second, if you can't locate a B&W lab nearby, you can shoot C41 B&W and have it processed by whomever still processes film in your area, films like Kodak BW400CN and Ilford XP2 Super. Or you could try mail order. Have a look through the (there was a url link here which no longer exists) forum for possible mail order resources.