[Alexander OfOz]

Howdy All,

I am just about to commence a course in photography that uses 35mm film as its basis of medium. I bought an old but fully working ME Super to get to grips with this format. In the digital world I use a different brand, which I won't mention here for fear of ridicule and finger-pointing!

Looking forward to learning lots and asking heaps of questions as I go.

Cheers,
Alex

[Bob from Aus]

G'day Alex

Hope you enjoy the film, I suppose you will be doing B&W - after 2 cubic metres of slides and trying to keep them filed I am over film. A pentax camera and lenses is a lovely way to get into film. Not sure you should be concerned about owning an other brand of gear. Nice thing about pentax i can always use something I got 40 years ago on mt penatx digital camera.

[Alexander OfOz]

G'day Alex

Hope you enjoy the film, I suppose you will be doing B&W - after 2 cubic metres of slides and trying to keep them filed I am over film. A pentax camera and lenses is a lovely way to get into film. Not sure you should be concerned about owning an other brand of gear. Nice thing about pentax i can always use something I got 40 years ago on mt penatx digital camera.

Thanks, Bob. It's my first steps into the world of film for photography. My loves are architecture and landscapes, where I hope to eventually get myself using a technical large format set-up. Yeah, silver halide to start with, the good thing with this course is that most all of the materials are provided, within the expense of the course, plus as much darkroom time as you can get in.

2 cubic metres of slides! Woah! I'd say you either took a few or inherited a few images there! Must be good to have them all digitised and archived though? That's a heck of an accomplishment. I'm yet to learn about scanning film, we cover it in the course though. It will still be another couple of weeks before the camera even gets here!

[beachgardener]

G.day mate and welcome to the forum

When i studied photography it was on the cusp of film era/new digital era. I did lots of film and processing (b&w,c41,trannie) and printing, then started on digital photography, at that time i was convinced that film was better than digital for me, now it is the other way around, but i do still love the characteristics of various film stock and what it brings to the image. I donated all my film cameras, including my old 5x4 view camera and darkroom equipment to the local school which has a darkroom and teaches film and digital.

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Last edited by beachgardener; 06-16-2014 at 03:24 AM.

[Bob from Aus]

Must be good to have them all digitised and archived though?

No - have digitised only a few. Around 8 years ago I decided to basically start again using digital cameras. It's been a lot of fun. However there are large number which I can't repeat such as a baby joey being born and a pair of platypus venomous claws going into a wrist. Most my bird photos with digital gear are so much better.

[skunktail]

Hi Alex,

landscapes and architecture are made for medium and large format film.
You'll have a blast.

You'll find there are a lot of people here who shoot more than one brand.

Cheers,

[JayBee451]

G'day Alex welcome to the PF family.

[Alexander OfOz]

G.day mate and welcome to the forum

When i studied photography it was on the cusp of film era/new digital era. I did lots of film and processing (b&w,c41,trannie) and started on digital photography, at that time i was convinced that film was better than digital for me, now it is the other way around, but i do still love the characteristics of various film stock and what it brings to the image. I donated all my film cameras, including my old 5x4 view camera and darkroom equipment to the local school which has a darkroom and teaches film and digital.

That gets instant kudos from me! The donating the gear on, so others can benefit from it all. Very cool!

I get a lot of digital devotees on other forums scratching their heads as to why I would want to bother to learn and use film, let alone to go on to large format!

Thanks for the welcome!

---------- Post added 06-16-14 at 02:48 PM ----------

No - have digitised only a few. Around 8 years ago I decided to basically start again using digital cameras. It's been a lot of fun. However there are large number which I can't repeat such as a baby joey being born and a pair of platypus venomous claws going into a wrist. Most my bird photos with digital gear are so much better.

Ahh, got you now! I dare say they (slides) wouldn't like heat or humidity changes too much? Wow, that's a couple of unique captures there! I only got my first camera not quite two years ago! It has been a steep and fast learning curve for me.

---------- Post added 06-16-14 at 02:56 PM ----------

Hi Alex,

landscapes and architecture are made for medium and large format film.
You'll have a blast.

You'll find there are a lot of people here who shoot more than one brand.

Cheers,

Thanks for the welcome, SkunkTail. I'm not sure I want to ask about the user name!

At the moment I use a full-frame kit and a tilt-shift, but it is limited in what can be achieved as compared to a proper technical large format set-up. So this is my initial steps towards that end goal.

I was only joking about the ribbing for using another brand! I'm not a fan-boy of any brand or gear, it's much more to do with the vision of the user as to the quality of what emerges, in my eyes anyway.

---------- Post added 06-16-14 at 02:59 PM ----------

G'day Alex welcome to the PF family.

Thanks, JayBee. It is safe to converse with troll-dolls these days, isn't it?

[JayBee451]

Thanks, JayBee. It is safe to converse with troll-dolls these days, isn't it?

Always, what could go wrong!

[officiousbystander]

What lens came with the ME Super? Was it a M50 1.7 or 1.4?

[Learjet]

Welcome Alex. I hope you enjoy your film course. Film.... brings back many memories for me. I had, um still have the darkroom my father built for me back in 1982, although it's turned into a storage room now. I used to develop colour slides, develop and print all manner of B+W, print colour negs... I'd spend all day in there after shooting all night. Fun times... I'm not just a Pentax owner, I also use Nikon cameras.

[Alexander OfOz]

What lens came with the ME Super? Was it a M50 1.7 or 1.4?

Unfortunately, it was a poor cousin, the SMC Pentax-M 1:2 50mm, which should get me by, to do the course. I'm not expecting to achieve stellar results with it. This is an opportunity to learn a whole new way for me to think and see, especially in B&W, which I have been dabbling in of late for architectural and landscape long exposures.

---------- Post added 06-16-14 at 10:17 PM ----------

Welcome Alex. I hope you enjoy your film course. Film.... brings back many memories for me. I had, um still have the darkroom my father built for me back in 1982, although it's turned into a storage room now. I used to develop colour slides, develop and print all manner of B+W, print colour negs... I'd spend all day in there after shooting all night. Fun times... I'm not just a Pentax owner, I also use Nikon cameras.

I know that I am going to love every second of it. I'm old enough (mid 40's) to be doing what I love and young enough to be doing what I love!

I'd die to have a space like that! We have a small place here, with three teenage boys and no space for me to set up something like that, yet... The possibility is there, next year, to create an eco-built space with rendered, straw-bale walls and a living roof, adjoining the carport. So I could go out and have my isolation and space to myself. I'd love to have a dedicated space to work on my monitor with a constant and balanced light source. It's only been the last couple of months that I have become really concerned with quality capture and finishing of my digital imagery, right on through to printing at A3+ size. At the moment the printer has to be stored under the bed, when not in use! I can see myself becoming a bit of a recluse if I do get my own space...

[Kerrowdown]

I won't mention here for fear of ridicule and finger-pointing!

Welcome, now would we do that?...