Rediscovering the joy of 35mm
Discussion
As a teenager I inherited my grandfather's Minolta SRT101 and I still have it (and it still works).
As phones became the norm it quietly slipped into the bottom of a box but I have recently dug it out and started using it again. The last time it went abroad was my honeymoon to Venice in 2004, which is a testament to the delightful simplicity of mechanical things.
I recently picked up a Minolta Dynax 404Si for £18 on the bay which also works and I am looking forward to messing around with that too.
Question for the wet film people is where do you prefer get film from and who are you using to process?
As phones became the norm it quietly slipped into the bottom of a box but I have recently dug it out and started using it again. The last time it went abroad was my honeymoon to Venice in 2004, which is a testament to the delightful simplicity of mechanical things.
I recently picked up a Minolta Dynax 404Si for £18 on the bay which also works and I am looking forward to messing around with that too.
Question for the wet film people is where do you prefer get film from and who are you using to process?
I'd say get a few rolls of HP5 (do they still make it?) and have a go at processing it yourself.
If you have a spare bedroom, broom cupboard, shed you can make a darkroom.
Lots of decent gear on eBay for very little outlay.
I used to love that magic moment when the image appeared in the dish.
If you have a spare bedroom, broom cupboard, shed you can make a darkroom.
Lots of decent gear on eBay for very little outlay.
I used to love that magic moment when the image appeared in the dish.
Back into film Photography (35mm & 120 medium format) Playing with HP5 and cheapo Fomapan. Google Poto film suppliers to get some (quite a few about) but beware people are now saying post Brexit, prices are increasing. Processing B&W yourself is good fun, but suggest you try a scanner to save the final images
Stick Legs said:
As a teenager I inherited my grandfather's Minolta SRT101 and I still have it (and it still works).
As phones became the norm it quietly slipped into the bottom of a box but I have recently dug it out and started using it again. The last time it went abroad was my honeymoon to Venice in 2004, which is a testament to the delightful simplicity of mechanical things.
I recently picked up a Minolta Dynax 404Si for £18 on the bay which also works and I am looking forward to messing around with that too.
Question for the wet film people is where do you prefer get film from and who are you using to process?
For processing and printing, the following are recommended fairly often:As phones became the norm it quietly slipped into the bottom of a box but I have recently dug it out and started using it again. The last time it went abroad was my honeymoon to Venice in 2004, which is a testament to the delightful simplicity of mechanical things.
I recently picked up a Minolta Dynax 404Si for £18 on the bay which also works and I am looking forward to messing around with that too.
Question for the wet film people is where do you prefer get film from and who are you using to process?
DS Colour Labs
AG Photolab
AG also supply film.
Depending on what film you want, common recommendations would include:
B&W - Ilford HP5 (ISO 400), or for finer grain, FP4 (ISO 125). Their new Delta (100, 200, 400) is also supposed to be really good.
Colour negative - Kodak Portra, Kodak Ektar, Fuji Superia (ISO 200 or 400)
Colour reversal (slide) - Fuji Velvia
Also as has been mentioned, developing your own B&W negatives is relatively straightforward and can be done at home without needing a darkroom, although you'll need a darkroom if you intend traditional printing. If happy to just develop the negs and then scan them, then you can do this using a lightproof developing tank which you can load the film into in a lightproof changing bag, then when the lid is on the processing can be done with the light on.
Developing chemicals are available from several suppliers, including from Ilford directly.
There's also a fairly active film photography section on the Talk Photography website - may be worth a look for further information.
Nice choice on the Minolta film cameras. I have a soft spot for Minolta as I had a Minolta 7000, then 2 x Minolta Dynax 9xi before switching to digital, and moving to Canon. I did fairly recently pick up a Canon EOS30v to use film with the Canon lenses I have, and was given a Pentax MX by a relative.
These pictures were taken on the Canon EOS30v with Fuji Velvia E6 slide film (ISO50), developed and scanned by AG Photolabs.
Edited by C n C on Sunday 3rd January 17:02
Analogue Wonderland for film https://analoguewonderland.co.uk/
Not the cheapest, but fairly competitive, great service though
For B+W I'd go for HP5 to start with, its a pretty flexible film, and quite tolerant to exposure mistakes!
Colour really depends on what you want to achieve, in MF I use Portra400 and Cinestill800T, in 35mm Kodak Gold 200
Not the cheapest, but fairly competitive, great service though
For B+W I'd go for HP5 to start with, its a pretty flexible film, and quite tolerant to exposure mistakes!
Colour really depends on what you want to achieve, in MF I use Portra400 and Cinestill800T, in 35mm Kodak Gold 200
Edited by DavidY on Sunday 3rd January 17:14
For film I have found Wex to be the most competitively priced.
They have a good range of films and chemicals and operate a good mail order/website service.
I use 35mm, 120 and 5x4 film.
As other have said doing your own developing (black and white) is good fun - but adhere to temps and timings religiously to get best results. I use an app called The Massive Development Chart for development times.
I usually give colour 35mm to snappy snaps for development only but send off slide film (E6), 120 colour and 5x4 colour to Peak Imaging for development only. I then scan everything on an Epsom V600 and an old Epsom for the 5x4.
The sense of achievement when returning good results with only 24/36, 12 or even 1 (5x4) shot on film is immense!
They have a good range of films and chemicals and operate a good mail order/website service.
I use 35mm, 120 and 5x4 film.
As other have said doing your own developing (black and white) is good fun - but adhere to temps and timings religiously to get best results. I use an app called The Massive Development Chart for development times.
I usually give colour 35mm to snappy snaps for development only but send off slide film (E6), 120 colour and 5x4 colour to Peak Imaging for development only. I then scan everything on an Epsom V600 and an old Epsom for the 5x4.
The sense of achievement when returning good results with only 24/36, 12 or even 1 (5x4) shot on film is immense!
seanyfez said:
Just for info don’t bother trying to buy expired film off eBay - it’s actually cheaper to buy fresh stuff from a retailer - a bizarre outcome from the growth of ‘lomography’ and ‘Hipsters’ - I know, I’m a snob!!!!
Well that's true - a friend gave me some boxes of film he'd found in a clear-out that had expired 10 years ago. I stuck them on eBay thinking 'no way' and it sold like hot cakes. No complaints either, so it must have been OK.Simpo Two said:
seanyfez said:
Just for info don’t bother trying to buy expired film off eBay - it’s actually cheaper to buy fresh stuff from a retailer - a bizarre outcome from the growth of ‘lomography’ and ‘Hipsters’ - I know, I’m a snob!!!!
Well that's true - a friend gave me some boxes of film he'd found in a clear-out that had expired 10 years ago. I stuck them on eBay thinking 'no way' and it sold like hot cakes. No complaints either, so it must have been OK.I would try out the Ilford XP2 film first. It's C41, so you can take it to a local photo place and they'll develop it like a colour film. It's a good way to get started.
As for developing, you can do it without the need for a dedicated room. I shoot B&W and develop them myself, I've a dark bag which i change the film in, then lock myself in the bathroom for 20 minutes. I then scan the negatives in to the computer, and any photos i like, i edit then print off in the shop.
I've just taken a bit of a punt and ebayed an Olympus OM-1n 35mm camera.
I've been taking photo using digital but thought it would nice to try and take traditional film photos. I fully expect be starting again and part of the appeal is the slow nature where you don't see the picture until much later and have to be a lot more deliberate about the shots.
I guess I need some film now!
As the first set of picture will likely be trash and I'm also thinking out trying to home develop the negatives just to see if it's enjoyable I guess I should get some cheap film rather than the expensive one that the pros use.
Any suggestions on what film would be good to run throught the camera when I'm still at the learning stage?
Many thanks.
I've been taking photo using digital but thought it would nice to try and take traditional film photos. I fully expect be starting again and part of the appeal is the slow nature where you don't see the picture until much later and have to be a lot more deliberate about the shots.
I guess I need some film now!
As the first set of picture will likely be trash and I'm also thinking out trying to home develop the negatives just to see if it's enjoyable I guess I should get some cheap film rather than the expensive one that the pros use.
Any suggestions on what film would be good to run throught the camera when I'm still at the learning stage?
Many thanks.
I believe kits are available. You will need :
Chemicals appropriate to the type of film you are developing.
A developing tank. This has a spool on to which the film is placed, and into which the developing chemicals are poured.
A changing bag. This allows you to transfer the film from the film canister to the developing tank in complete darkness
Storage containers to hold the developing chemicals.
A thermometer. Developing times may vary slightly governed by the temperature of the chemicals.
A stopwatch, though these days you'd probably use an app on your phone.
Black and white is easier than colour, as generally developing temperatures are lower for black and white, and slightly less critical. Also there are fewer chemical process involved.
I still remember developing my very first film and it's quite an experience to pull the film out of the developing tank at the end of the process to find that everything went right and you have a properly developed film in your hands.
As for film, I have been using Fomapan for black and white, as it's reasonably priced and seems to give good results. Someone also mentioned Ilford HP5 which indeed is still available. I haven't yet done any colour photography since getting back into using film, but Kodak Gold always used to be pretty decent, and I believe you can still get it.
Chemicals appropriate to the type of film you are developing.
A developing tank. This has a spool on to which the film is placed, and into which the developing chemicals are poured.
A changing bag. This allows you to transfer the film from the film canister to the developing tank in complete darkness
Storage containers to hold the developing chemicals.
A thermometer. Developing times may vary slightly governed by the temperature of the chemicals.
A stopwatch, though these days you'd probably use an app on your phone.
Black and white is easier than colour, as generally developing temperatures are lower for black and white, and slightly less critical. Also there are fewer chemical process involved.
I still remember developing my very first film and it's quite an experience to pull the film out of the developing tank at the end of the process to find that everything went right and you have a properly developed film in your hands.
As for film, I have been using Fomapan for black and white, as it's reasonably priced and seems to give good results. Someone also mentioned Ilford HP5 which indeed is still available. I haven't yet done any colour photography since getting back into using film, but Kodak Gold always used to be pretty decent, and I believe you can still get it.
Edited by DIW35 on Thursday 29th August 14:10
pistonheadforum said:
Any suggestions on what film would be good to run throught the camera when I'm still at the learning stage?
I started one of my kids on a 35mm journey yesterday… HP5+ was the largest purchase*, with a few rolls of Tri-x so that they can understand the difference film stock makes.HP5 is great for learning with as it’s a really forgiving film, and you’ll get usable negs two stops either side of correct exposure. It’s also one that lots of people stick with. Still have all my old tanks/trays/enlarger somewhere so looking forward to getting those out again.
B&W dev is really easy, as the only stage you need to do in darkness is loading the tank (easily done in a changing bag, but sacrifice a film to practice with a few times first). In addition to what’s already been posted for kit, a,film end cap remover and pair of scissors are also essentials, as are a few measuring cylinders, bottles (some chemicals can be re-used, others are “one shot”), and a bit of hosepipe (or a proper force film washer if you’re feeling extravagant).
Being PH, you could always buy one of these: https://ntphotoworks.com/product/dev-a-fully-autom...
Well worth considering how you’re planning on using the images. Although it is great fun developing and printing your own work, sometimes it’s handy to have films lab processed and scanned at higher resolutions than you can easily do at home.
*actually, that’s not quite true… a second hand F6 also arrived (for me) to go with my current lenses and allow the child use of my old 35mm bodies - Dynax 9’s - without us both wanting to use the same bit of glass.
Thanks! This is all really useful.
I decided just to go for Kodak ColourPlus 200. I thought I'm not going to doing many photos so thought I'd try this as the starter.
I've started to get the various bits ordered and have been watching a fair few tutorials.
I've ordered the following:
- Film leader remover (could probably just not rewind fully but hey-ho it was not that expensive)
- Patterson tank with reels to load the film
- Storage bottles (collapsable ones that allow the air to be removed to aid storage)
- Temperature measuring device
I've skipped on the following at this stage
- Changing bag (could just use a room with no windows?)
I can pickup some measure jugs etc so think that's all I really need.
I'm looking a the developer kits - CineStill Cs41 Colour Film Developer - 1Ltr Powder Kit seems to be the one recommended. As this is just powder (three bags which you mix up and store in the bottles) that comes measured out I was thinking you could maybe just buy the poweder and then measure out the required amount? Is this possible or do you need to buy the pre-measured kits?
Thanks in advance.
I decided just to go for Kodak ColourPlus 200. I thought I'm not going to doing many photos so thought I'd try this as the starter.
I've started to get the various bits ordered and have been watching a fair few tutorials.
I've ordered the following:
- Film leader remover (could probably just not rewind fully but hey-ho it was not that expensive)
- Patterson tank with reels to load the film
- Storage bottles (collapsable ones that allow the air to be removed to aid storage)
- Temperature measuring device
I've skipped on the following at this stage
- Changing bag (could just use a room with no windows?)
I can pickup some measure jugs etc so think that's all I really need.
I'm looking a the developer kits - CineStill Cs41 Colour Film Developer - 1Ltr Powder Kit seems to be the one recommended. As this is just powder (three bags which you mix up and store in the bottles) that comes measured out I was thinking you could maybe just buy the poweder and then measure out the required amount? Is this possible or do you need to buy the pre-measured kits?
Thanks in advance.
Edited by pistonheadforum on Sunday 1st September 21:01
For 120 colour film, Lomo do a range of different sensitivities. They're not too bad, and good value at £24 for 3 rolls.
Not so good value for 35mm.
If you do print analogue, then Parallax are quite good for paper.
https://parallaxphotographic.coop/product-category...
I only shoot 120. My boy shoots 120 and 35mm, and he's built a darkroom in the spare bedroom and develops and prints all our films in there. There's a new and vintage enlarger. Loads of trays, tanks and heaters. And so many chemicals.
Not sure where he's buying the chemicals, I think it varies by price/availability.
Not so good value for 35mm.
If you do print analogue, then Parallax are quite good for paper.
https://parallaxphotographic.coop/product-category...
I only shoot 120. My boy shoots 120 and 35mm, and he's built a darkroom in the spare bedroom and develops and prints all our films in there. There's a new and vintage enlarger. Loads of trays, tanks and heaters. And so many chemicals.
Not sure where he's buying the chemicals, I think it varies by price/availability.
pistonheadforum said:
I've skipped on the following at this stage
- Changing bag (could just use a room with no windows?)
You can certainly skip the bag if you can genuinely black out the room completely. Obviously the door is going to be the tricky bit to get light-tight but you can probably work around that by adding a foam seal if needed and a towel at the bottom of the door.- Changing bag (could just use a room with no windows?)
Main thing to do, whether in a darkroom or a bag, is to have a system so that you can find everything when you need it.
pistonheadforum said:
Thanks! This is all really useful.
I decided just to go for Kodak ColourPlus 200. I thought I'm not going to doing many photos so thought I'd try this as the starter.
I've started to get the various bits ordered and have been watching a fair few tutorials.
I've ordered the following:
- Film leader remover (could probably just not rewind fully but hey-ho it was not that expensive)
- Patterson tank with reels to load the film
- Storage bottles (collapsable ones that allow the air to be removed to aid storage)
- Temperature measuring device
I've skipped on the following at this stage
- Changing bag (could just use a room with no windows?)
I can pickup some measure jugs etc so think that's all I really need.
I'm looking a the developer kits - CineStill Cs41 Colour Film Developer - 1Ltr Powder Kit seems to be the one recommended. As this is just powder (three bags which you mix up and store in the bottles) that comes measured out I was thinking you could maybe just buy the poweder and then measure out the required amount? Is this possible or do you need to buy the pre-measured kits?
Thanks in advance.
I've got a full darkroom and enlarger set-up that a PHer kindly gave to me years ago, I don't use it any more so it's yours if you can collect from North Norfolk. I can get a full list of what's there at the weekend (it's at my parents' house) if you (or anyone else) is interested.I decided just to go for Kodak ColourPlus 200. I thought I'm not going to doing many photos so thought I'd try this as the starter.
I've started to get the various bits ordered and have been watching a fair few tutorials.
I've ordered the following:
- Film leader remover (could probably just not rewind fully but hey-ho it was not that expensive)
- Patterson tank with reels to load the film
- Storage bottles (collapsable ones that allow the air to be removed to aid storage)
- Temperature measuring device
I've skipped on the following at this stage
- Changing bag (could just use a room with no windows?)
I can pickup some measure jugs etc so think that's all I really need.
I'm looking a the developer kits - CineStill Cs41 Colour Film Developer - 1Ltr Powder Kit seems to be the one recommended. As this is just powder (three bags which you mix up and store in the bottles) that comes measured out I was thinking you could maybe just buy the poweder and then measure out the required amount? Is this possible or do you need to buy the pre-measured kits?
Thanks in advance.
Edited by pistonheadforum on Sunday 1st September 21:01
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff