[jaimiesz]

Hi All!

I am so happy that I found this website! After years of shooting digital I finally have decided to dip my toes into the world of film photography. I recently bought a mint condition Pentax SF10 film camera and have been excited to use it and would love to grab some knowledge from everyone.

Lenses - I currently have a manual 50mm f1.8 Pentax lens and though I have been enjoying the "challenge" of manual photography I am looking for a AF lens. I am getting a little confused with all the different lenses and would love to hear your suggestions and find a lens that is compatible with my camera. Ideally I am also looking for something that is more wide angle but also a good budget lens as I ease into film.

Film - What are your favourite types?? I know there is so much info out there but I what is your favourite to use with this camera?

Tips?? - Any little tidbits that will make my experience better? Coming from a world of digital I do find myself a little less patient with the film camera but I do know that is the beauty of the process that we all love to know when working with film.

Anyways, thank you in advance and can't wait for the discussion with you all!

[jon.partsch]

Hi All!

I am so happy that I found this website! After years of shooting digital I finally have decided to dip my toes into the world of film photography. I recently bought a mint condition Pentax SF10 film camera and have been excited to use it and would love to grab some knowledge from everyone.

Lenses - I currently have a manual 50mm f1.8 Pentax lens and though I have been enjoying the "challenge" of manual photography I am looking for a AF lens. I am getting a little confused with all the different lenses and would love to hear your suggestions and find a lens that is compatible with my camera. Ideally I am also looking for something that is more wide angle but also a good budget lens as I ease into film.

Film - What are your favourite types?? I know there is so much info out there but I what is your favourite to use with this camera?

Tips?? - Any little tidbits that will make my experience better? Coming from a world of digital I do find myself a little less patient with the film camera but I do know that is the beauty of the process that we all love to know when working with film.

Anyways, thank you in advance and can't wait for the discussion with you all!

Any of the F-series lenses listed here would be a natural fit for your camera (they are of the same generation):

Pentax F Zoom Lenses - Reviews and Specifications - SLR and Interchangeable Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

Pentax F Prime Lenses - Reviews and Specifications - SLR and Interchangeable Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

but... Any K-mount lens with screw-drive autofocus should work. Here is a link to all of the ones fitting these criteria in the Pentax Forums lens database:

Full Frame Lenses with Screwdrive Autofocus | PentaxForums.com

[othar]

I think either the F 35-80mm or the F 35-70mm are reasonable and budget friendly choices for your camera. Both lenses are small, light and sharp (the F 35-70mm lens beeing the higher rated lens in the forum, but I get decent results with both lenses).
Keep in mind that your battery will drain faster when using AF lenses, on the other hand there are better suited cameras for pure manual focus lenses so it makes sense to use AF lenses with that body.

Edit: When you take pictures of people in a back-lit situation (bright sky in the back, faces in the shadow) don't always trust the metering system or you get underexposed pictures -> go close to your subject (until it fills the whole frame) and set your exposure settings, then go back to your intended shooting position, recompose and take your picture

[womble]

I second the suggestion of the F35-70. Generally pretty cheap but very good "bang for your buck". It gives lovely results for both film and digital.

My main tip for film photography is slow down. With my digital, I tend to shoot a lot, quickly, and ditch most of it. With film, I'll take a single frame and as a result will spend more time making sure the focus, composition and exposure are (hopefully) good.

As someone who uses film and digital, on the rare occasions I am photographing something that moves a lot, I mainly shoot digital. When I am am walking and mainly photographing landscapes (often trees!), more often than not I'll use film.

K.

[TwoUptons]

If you are looking for very wide angle, there were a couple of relatively inexpensive 19-35mm lenses from companies like Vivitar that came out about 25 years ago that would work fine on a SF10. They aren’t super cheap, but they are fun.

You can often get the FA 28-80 lenses very inexpensively, and they aren’t bad. I think the F35-70 is better than most optically, but they’re not too far apart.

-Eric

[AfterPentax Mark II]

Usually you first learn to swim before taking a dive. So finally you are going to learn to swim, you going to work with a film era camera. You will learn that it is another piece of cake. A film camera is more demanding than a digital were you can correct many things after the fact. Any Pentax F lens, I prefer the 50mm f1.4, the 28mm F2.8 and the zoom 70-210, will give you great results and if you want to buy a different lens than Pentax F or FA, make sure that there is a aperture ring that you can set to A. I used to love the Kodak Ektar films, they are still being manufactured. And I favour the low iso's so 25 or 100 or 125 if available. I took pictures from my teens onward and now use digital camera's from Ricoh/Pentax. A short while ago I took out my old film camera's amongst which the SFX and SFXn and I loved the way you can take pictures with them, but I put them back in my "camera-museum" to be never in action again. I use my digitals just like I did with those SFX's only you get better results and you are able to monitor the shot immediately after taking it, so you can take another one if necessary.

[aslyfox]

welcome to the forums

you will find friendly members and a lot of knowledge here

. . . I recently bought a mint condition Pentax SF10 film camera and have been excited to use it and would love to grab some knowledge from everyone.

here is information about your camera:

Pentax SF7 / SF10

Pentax SF7 / SF10 - Pentax Autofocus Film SLRs - Pentax Camera Reviews and Specifications

. . . . I am getting a little confused with all the different lenses . . .

this chart will explain the various Pentax lenses -

Pentax K-Mount Lens Series Explained: The differences between various Pentax lens series

Pentax K-Mount Lenses Explained: The differences between various Pentax lens series

and would love to hear your suggestions and find a lens that is compatible with my camera. . . .

this charts shows how various Pentax lenses will work with your camera:

Pentax K-mount Lens Compatibility Chart

The Pentax K-mount Camera Lens Compatibility Chart

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Last edited by aslyfox; 04-22-2021 at 02:58 AM.

[gofour3]

Film - What are your favourite types?? I know there is so much info out there but I what is your favourite to use with this camera?

Welcome to the forum!

You've lots of choices in shooting film and each type is like having a new camera, as the results can be completely different.

What film you use will also depend on what your local film lab can develop. If you have a local lab that does b&w, C41 & E6, then I'd try a roll of each and see what you like the best.
You can also develop your own film at a later date, but I'd use a lab first until you get the hang of it and find a favourite film.

b&w: Ilford & Kodak have numerous choices in various speed.
c41: Kodak has many good colour negative films like Portra, Ektar and Pro Image in speeds from 100 to 800 ISO.
E6: Kodak Ektachrome 100 is a superb slide film, as well Fuji has a couple choice like Provia 100F & Velvia.

Phil.