A fun foray into film photography

I think your photos are really, really good. You are definitely a good photographer. Personally, I like black and white film photography, and I do my own processing and enlarging. I find the process very relaxing and enjoyable, and black and white can be very artistically satisfying. Ilford I think is doing very well, black and white film photography is now considered more art than before. There are also manufacturers in Germany and the Balkans who still make the old film and paper formulations, they can be bought online.

Another interesting and comprehensive video, Mat. Glad to see in the notes you liked Tomorrow's World, too. Shameless name drop: I've worked with Michael Rodd many times over the years since TW.

Loved this one. Film cameras are such fun to collect. There was immense diversity. I've been picking up 110 cameras that have caught my eye, starting with the freakish SLR-style ones that stuck out in my memory. And unlike vintage computers or stereos, they're still at the "box of six assorted cameras, Buy It Now for $12" range.

In the Which? August 2018 magazine, they have a section about the main things that go wrong at a wedding. I was very surprised at the top item of their list, "Photographer had no film in his camera". I presume that is a typo, unless film photography is really making a comeback in professional use also. Like demoed in this video, one annoying issue with some 35mm cameras is that some would happily snap away despite no film being loaded or where the film did not spool properly.

Interesting video. I have to say that film cameras are a technology that I grew up with, and it was one technology I was glad to leave behind. I guess there are certain aspects of old computers that I miss today, along with other technologies like audio tape or vinyl albums. But I think with film cameras, there just isn't anything at all that I miss about them. Despite that, it was interesting to watch your video because I got to see it all happen in the course of a few minutes instead of having to wait for days for my film to be developed.

Much like Peter Korsten. My dad and I developed our own B&W photos when I was a kid 😌 One of the few (but very fond) memories from my youth! I could almost smell those chemicals while watching this video. We strictly used Ilford and Agfa for the negatives, and Ilford for the positives. When I finally entered 6th. grade in school (at age 10) I was finally able to choose photography as one of my optional classes. Although I was disappointed to learn that I was the only one preferring the 100% manual Nikkor camera as opposed to the plastic infested “point-and-shoot” everyone else chose. 😒 We did in-fact develop everything ourselves. With the help of our teacher of course. (And me in many cases;-) The year after, (in the 7th. grade) I was allowed to skip a “year” and started on the photography class with the 8th. grade students. Here we took colour photos. (we were given difficult assignments to challenge our skills in framing and composition) And of course we also had to develop everything manually. No use of the automated transfer trays! (Although we had them installed in the lab) Getting those soaks timed exactly right were a nerveracking nightmare! 😳 But for me, the most satisfying “works of art” that I did. Was the pictures of nature that I took with Ilfords infrared sensitive HP5 B&W film together with a narrow light transmission filter to remove most of light close to the near-infrared. Sadly, I have lost almost everything from my youth, and that includes many memories as well. 😢. Practically nothing will bring those memories back, except videos like this that somehow gets the right brain neurons firing.. Thank you very much for this jump into my youth Mat! It means a lot to me. More than you realize.. THANK YOU

i do like that last bit you were talking about. As why people would go with the tougher, more difficult way to enjoy things. One concept that occurred to me is the fleeting notion of the fact these old analog technologies, much like people (and people that recall when they were new) of it dying off. Both the idea of knowing you have one of the last of a series or model or design, but also knowing most likely that it will die with you. Things wear, scratch, warp and degrade, much like we do. Do folk cling to such things to show that something so old, so out of style and behind the times still has merit? that it can still be appreciated despite ti all? much like.. themselves? . Or is it to spite all the new fangled technology, and show that one doesn't need all the perks of modern tech in the digital age to kick back and enjoy stuff 'as it was'. hehe. Or possibly resistant to change... I do know things you have to work for, or EARN, have a greater weight and value (and so a degree of intrinsic enjoyment) moreso than what comes easy, instantaneously, and just as easily discarded. To get those pictures you had to invest money in the equipment and materials, in reading up and learning about the cameras, going out and carefully choosing what to photograph, and waiting for both the original purchases to come in, and later for the pics to come back developed (and that 40 minute drive). For all of that... you're "all in" on this so what the results are, and the long journey to get to that point... is significant. meaningful. it's a story. a story you got to share with us, . It's harder to do that with a phone cam nowadays.... Thanks though. that WAS a great video :)

Great vid - but the factor you didn’t take into account was the machine that made the prints. I would expect that the printing machine was set to auto - taking a neg density calculation in a split second before exposing to paper. You would always get better results manually, as it wouldn’t rely on the light falling on a certain part of the image during the printing process. I used to pay a little extra for someone to do it manually (after selling off my D&P kit and moving to 35mm transparencies. With 120 roll film, it was impossible to beat! Apart from looks, I think both cameras did well - but auto printing of B&W prints is usually good, but not perfect!

I went digital way back with the Sony Mavica cameras. There was always something special about taking the film rolls from my old camera into the grocery store and filling out the envelope to have it developed. When I picked them up I couldn't wait to get home to see the photos. Uh oh. I may be getting nostalgic. I'm gonna need to find a camera and some film now.

Nice video! Thanks for posting! But I'm a bit suspicious about the difference between the prints that you're showing. It looks to me like the Gamma is different, i.e. the difference between light and dark, so not just the brightness. I'm not an expert on film photography but I can't think of any way that that could happen as the result of a difference between two cameras, only as a difference between two films. And the films are identical. It may be worth it to compare the negatives as well as the prints. I wonder if the machine that made the prints somehow decided to print one film with a different Gamma than the other film. Or maybe someone set up the machine to print the first film over lunch break, and then came back after lunch to set the machine up for the second print job but adjusted it differently because he/she had been outside in the sun for a while or something. Or maybe the machine is old (very likely) or they might not have let it warm up enough for one of the rolls (I bet they don't run it often anymore).

I really like the monologue at the end. I enjoy all your videos, though! :) Thanks.

That Olympus looks amazing.

This takes me back ... I started out with my mum's Kodak 127 format camera, which still used glass flash bulbs. B&W, of course. I take your point at the end about how enjoyable it was, and after some thought I think that was because the technology at the time was a bit of a mystery, took some work, and time to see the results, which as I write this I think delayed the outcome enough for us to anticipate it. Swipe your smart phone, tap the button, instant result, not so much.

This video does bring up the memories of my darkroom days processing my B&W film (and making your own prints can let you tailor the picture's contrast the way you want). I honestly am not sure if I'd ever want to try it again for nostalgia sake (I find my DSLR has much better ISO then film, and they've gotten pretty high end with resolution and dynamic range). Of the cameras you look at, the Olympus is definitely a unique design. There are rangefinders like Leica that have always had the design of the Minolta (so while it's now gotten more popular with some mirrorless cameras, that design has never been out of use).

Brilliant video, Matt! Your philosophical ramblings at the end are spot-on: Film photography denies the instant-gratification and no-effort-required components of today's technological toys ... and as such makes the filmosaur photographer think and plan each thought with care, then enjoy anticipating the results. Don't fret too much about the demise of Fuji's Acros. The UK's very own ILFORD offers a fine catalog of color and b&w emulsions at various ISO speeds, in both 35mm and 120.

I must admit I was a bit unsure how much you would enjoy these cameras. My thoughts might have been swayed by your recent forays into instant film cameras though. But you chose a couple of interesting cameras and they were quite capable. I shoot film from time to time and find it enjoyable for many of the reasons you outlined at the end.

Oh, this brings back memories for me. I studied Journalism when I attended Indiana University in the 1990’s. As part of our studies, we had to take Photography classes and we learned Black & White photography and film/picture development. The works! It was really a joy back then. I used Pentax cameras at the time. There’s something about black & white photography that really brings out the photographer in everyone. Good pictures, Matt! Hopefully, you could review old cameras from days gone by more often (at least those cameras you can get film to, etc.). Just a thought.

Mat, you have a great photographic eye. Those 70-odd snapshots were all beautiful. I would also add that I like your new format of talking over the credits with a postscript. I know you've been doing for a couple of videos now, but it's a nice touch.

That video reminds me of back in school were we developed the films and pictures ourselves. That was fun in the dark. Very nice video, thanks !

As a film photography hobbyist, I find it interesting that this topic would appear on Techmoan, given that most cameras from the mid-80s to mid-90s are plastic, overmotorized garbage. Problem being that things such as gears made of nylon would age and then crack, which I'm sure any tape recorder enthusiast knows more of than me.

If you need film developed/scanned and you find it more convenient to mail the film (to London) I’ll gladly do it for you. For free obviously. :)

Your rediscovery of film photography serves as a timely reminder to me that I repurchased my old film camera suite, stolen these 20+ years ago. I need to purchase some film, them go out and make some photographs!

Thanks for that Matt, B&W photography is a whole big world - I started at school - and still do the odd film. Don't worry about availability of film, I'm still using Ilford film that expired 20 years ago. If you buy bulk film on eBay, it's incredibly cheap - less than £1 for a 36 exp. roll. You can buy a film loader to load your own cassettes in daylight, a Paterson tank & black bag to process the film yourself, all without the need for a darkroom and all readily available at low cost on eBay. The chemicals are relatively inexpensive and available mail-order - outdated film sometimes requires 'tweaking' of the development time but that's part of the fun. Ted Forbes has a Youtube channel "The Art of Photography" - he's a huge fan of B&W fim and several of his videos details processing your own film. Ted also has a darkroom and prints his own photographs, but I have a Minolta Dimage film scanner..

I love the bit about "You may find that you have a new hobby", because it's so true. You could even go as far as to add "...and are out of money". ;-) Any type of film photography makes you consider every shot more carefully that with a digital camera, because depending on what film you use, you are very aware of the fact that each shutter click costs real money and you only have so many of them. As for developing film: I prefer to develop my own black and white film at home. It is not very expensive and neither is it rocket science (although you could certainly make a science out of it). Two rolls can be developed in maybe half an hour, including cleaning up etc. Bonus: you get your pictures sooner AND you have that mixed feeling of anticipation, joy and apprehension when you pull the developed film out of the tank to look at your negatives before hanging them up to dry. Also, if you have your film developed elsewhere you never know what developer they use and how fresh that stuff is. In B&W, that has a huge impact on the results. At home, I can control those factors.

My father has an old Leika camera, real vintage. It comes with a leather case and a light meter. From what I understand, it's not super-collectible, but it's still a classic Leika. One thing that's missing from the smartphone/social media cycle is that you never really look back at photos you took. (At least, I don't.) You just keep taking more and more photos, because there's no incentive to be frugal. It's nice to run into an old stack of photos of a holiday you took 20 years ago, and have all the memories come back to you.

The Olympus O-Product is really an eye catcher, it looks like it came right from a Jules Verne novel. :-)