So you want to try shooting with film or maybe you're like me who wants the nostalgia, the excitement that film shooting delivers.
Well before you go out buying an old film camera, you may want some tips on what to check before getting one for yourself.
Most people refer to the 35mm (135) film format when they're talking about film, although you can still get medium format and large format films and cameras. Films are quite rare and labs processing them are not as accessible as before, but film is making a comeback, it may not take over digital but the number of people who are going back to film are quite significant.
You will encounter rangefinders, to compact film cameras and SLR cameras, you way want to look up the differences, I won't be covering those in this article.
Here are some of tips when checking out an old film camera.
1.) Check the overall look of the camera, a few nicks and scratches are OK, just avoid really beat up cameras. If you are buying a camera body only, I suggest to bring a working lens to test the camera fully.
2.) Check the shutter curtain, some shutters are made of cloth but most that you'll find will be made of metal. It should be flawless, no dents, no bends, and it should be clean. Do not touch the shutter curtain!
3.) Check the film pressure plate, it should be smooth, clean and it's spring loaded therefore should have some tension when you press on it. The pressure plate helps to keep the film flat when it's exposed.
4.) Foams or light seals should be intact and should not be falling apart, these can be found along the various places of the camera, usually on the film door.
5.) Check the shutter speed. Some shutters are mechanical and doesn't require batteries, while some are electronic and do require batteries. Try different shutter speeds, start with one second, press the shutter release and the time that the shutter opens and closes should be roughly one second. Try 1/100 and other faster shutter speeds, it should sound faster than the previous shutter speeds. You may not notice that much difference when the shutter is really fast already.
Take note that on cameras that supports DX films, like my Nikon F501, when the ISO dial is set to DX, the camera will not allow you to fire the shutter, because the camera lacks the ISO information to determine correct exposure, you need to switch to a different ISO setting just to enable the camera to fire the shutter.
6.) Optics. The camera should have clear optics, or at least should be clear enough for you. The viewfinder could get some dirt on the outside which usually can easily be cleaned by cotton swabs, the mirror on SLR camera can usually be cleaned easily as well.
7.) Consider the availability of batteries. Some old cameras uses obsolete battery types, while some uses standard AA or AAA batteries, like the Nikon F501. There are some battery mods for some cameras that uses obsolete batteries like the Yashica Electro 35.
8.) If the camera has AF (Autofocus) capability, do check if it is working accurately. AF-C mode should continuously focus on moving subjects, while AF-S should focus once on a subject when you half press the shutter release button. Likewise, AE-L and AF-L buttons should be working as well.
9.) If the cameras has DX pins, you will have to have an actual film roll loaded for you to test, if you have empty rolls or exposed DX rolls, you can try that to see if the DX contacts are working. DX film rolls provides the camera with what ISO rating that roll has.
10.) Test the metering, if you're an experienced photographer, you should be able to determine if the metering makes sense or is close to the expected value. You could try using light meter apps on your phone, though I cannot vouch for the accuracy of such apps.
11.) Finally do some research about the camera that you're considering to buy, if you can delay the purchase so that you can have enough time to research then do so, know what you are getting. Features will differ from camera to camera, others will auto film advance while other will have a manual film advance lever. Try to look for the camera's user manual on the internet, this will help you get more familiar on what you're getting and what more you need to check to make sure you're getting a good camera.
Well before you go out buying an old film camera, you may want some tips on what to check before getting one for yourself.
Most people refer to the 35mm (135) film format when they're talking about film, although you can still get medium format and large format films and cameras. Films are quite rare and labs processing them are not as accessible as before, but film is making a comeback, it may not take over digital but the number of people who are going back to film are quite significant.
You will encounter rangefinders, to compact film cameras and SLR cameras, you way want to look up the differences, I won't be covering those in this article.
Here are some of tips when checking out an old film camera.
1.) Check the overall look of the camera, a few nicks and scratches are OK, just avoid really beat up cameras. If you are buying a camera body only, I suggest to bring a working lens to test the camera fully.
2.) Check the shutter curtain, some shutters are made of cloth but most that you'll find will be made of metal. It should be flawless, no dents, no bends, and it should be clean. Do not touch the shutter curtain!
Shutter curtain for Nikon F501
3.) Check the film pressure plate, it should be smooth, clean and it's spring loaded therefore should have some tension when you press on it. The pressure plate helps to keep the film flat when it's exposed.
4.) Foams or light seals should be intact and should not be falling apart, these can be found along the various places of the camera, usually on the film door.
5.) Check the shutter speed. Some shutters are mechanical and doesn't require batteries, while some are electronic and do require batteries. Try different shutter speeds, start with one second, press the shutter release and the time that the shutter opens and closes should be roughly one second. Try 1/100 and other faster shutter speeds, it should sound faster than the previous shutter speeds. You may not notice that much difference when the shutter is really fast already.
Take note that on cameras that supports DX films, like my Nikon F501, when the ISO dial is set to DX, the camera will not allow you to fire the shutter, because the camera lacks the ISO information to determine correct exposure, you need to switch to a different ISO setting just to enable the camera to fire the shutter.
6.) Optics. The camera should have clear optics, or at least should be clear enough for you. The viewfinder could get some dirt on the outside which usually can easily be cleaned by cotton swabs, the mirror on SLR camera can usually be cleaned easily as well.
7.) Consider the availability of batteries. Some old cameras uses obsolete battery types, while some uses standard AA or AAA batteries, like the Nikon F501. There are some battery mods for some cameras that uses obsolete batteries like the Yashica Electro 35.
8.) If the camera has AF (Autofocus) capability, do check if it is working accurately. AF-C mode should continuously focus on moving subjects, while AF-S should focus once on a subject when you half press the shutter release button. Likewise, AE-L and AF-L buttons should be working as well.
9.) If the cameras has DX pins, you will have to have an actual film roll loaded for you to test, if you have empty rolls or exposed DX rolls, you can try that to see if the DX contacts are working. DX film rolls provides the camera with what ISO rating that roll has.
DX pins on the film chamber
DX setting on the ISO dial
10.) Test the metering, if you're an experienced photographer, you should be able to determine if the metering makes sense or is close to the expected value. You could try using light meter apps on your phone, though I cannot vouch for the accuracy of such apps.
11.) Finally do some research about the camera that you're considering to buy, if you can delay the purchase so that you can have enough time to research then do so, know what you are getting. Features will differ from camera to camera, others will auto film advance while other will have a manual film advance lever. Try to look for the camera's user manual on the internet, this will help you get more familiar on what you're getting and what more you need to check to make sure you're getting a good camera.
