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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-28-2019, 11:15 AM
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I find it hard to teach people photography with a digital - they tend to look at you and say 'why bother - just let the camera do it'. One of the things that really put me off digital in a big way was the way early digitals didn't keep to the standard speeds and apertures. I know the digital camera isn't REALLY doing 250th at F4 but could they not have just adapted a bit to give you a simulated 250th at F4 rather than forcing me to get to grips with a speed of 9 with an aperture index of 24.7 !!!! I exaggerate but only a bit - a lot of the early digitals used literal f stops and focal lengths rather than what was a 35m equivalent. On top of that the early digitals tended to be very 'off' at times with respect to white balance, metering etc and as I was working pro at the time in theory I could review the pics (albeit on some tiny LCD) but in practice I had to operate on an assembly line basis of shoot, shoot, shoot and then sort out the good the bad and the ugly on a computer later - early chimping really but product photography often is to an extent especially when you have 300 pairs of shoes to photograph before close of play.
With that said I am now finding a balance going back to film which I have lost with digital. Already I am finding an enjoyment in actually taking the picture rather than it seeming a chore which was what 15+ years of pro photography had done for me plus the digital hit. The first few times out with my bonkers Zorki 4 rangefinder I found it really awkward - get the light meter out, take a reading, dial in the numbers to the camera, check focus, bloody hell its gone cloudy now, have to check the light again, yep its fine - now where was I ? Oh yes check the focus, frame the picture, forgot to wind on, f11 looks a bit tight - lets look at the meter again, CLICK - aargh dammit accidentally pushed the shutter button - okies start from the top - repeat ad infinitum and I did start to get a bit frustrated. BUT after a few goes I have gotten back into the swing of it again. Still making mistakes - its amazing what your forget when you have been mostly working in a studio and/or being absorbed into the Borg digital world. One of the tough things I have had to relearn is judging the light - yes I know about Sunny 16 but you have to have an eye for whats happening and I have found my 'eye' has gone thanks to studio work and digitals so I find myself constantly rechecking the meter as I tend to doubt my judgement.
But with all the problems, skinned knuckles and I have found I am actually enjoying getting the pic - something thats been lost to me for a very long time.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-22-2019, 11:28 AM
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For me I found digital has its advantages but I agree its often boring.....I find I end up staring at a PC as I look theough endless pics which all tequire a massive amount of post process because digital has allowed me to get lazy and not get the pic right from the first. Its just too easy to point and shoot everything in auto.
I have found a real enjoyment, despite the mishaps, in going back to my roots with film.
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
03-17-2019, 04:23 AM
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Yesterday I decided to get out and stop fussing over the camera collection and go use at least one of them. Apart from a few shots in each one none of them have ever really seen any action at all. So despite the appalling weather and fear of damage ( which is a bit silly as they were bought to use) I decided to take the AE-1 off the shelf and put a role of HP5 in.
Laughably through the day I found that I had become so 'muscle memoried' from digital I kept messing up - and that was with the AE-1 in auto mode !! Forgot to focus on one shot :( (so used the cameras doing it !), forgot to pay any attention to the meter :hmm: (yep - used to a digital in auto which would just get the shot by upping the ASA) and most idiotically of all spending time to make sure that yep I did the focus, yep I have looked at the meter and made any necessary adjustment, yep got myself in a good sturdy position (cos - digital has an anti-shake feature) and then slowly pressed the shutter only to find - yep I had forgotten to wind it on. :lol:
I guess 20 years of digital has left its mark but it made me realise that the journey to non-chimping film Nirvana is likely to be hard :)
Has anyone else more used to film from the 70s/80s/90s transitioned from digital to film and NOT had this sort of stuff happen ?
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