Riotbmx
Senior Member
I've been fascinated by the art of making film photos since I can remember, but I always thought it's really really expensive. Reluctant to jump into the DSLR bandwagon, I took photos with my phone instead. 6 mths or so ago a friend of mine gave my his beat up FM and there was no looking back. I just wanna share with you guys a few tips to make film photography affordable. Feel free to add if you have anything else to share.
1) You don't need an expensive camera. A fixed lens rangefinder in the Buy and Sell goes from $60-$200,plastic AF SLR are almost free. A semi professional SLR with prime lens will prolly set you back at $200+, but you can use any camera really.
2) Load your film in the dark. Ok this might sound silly but I do it all the time, you'll get 2 extra frames from your roll if you load your film in the dark. Well 2 frames might not cost a lot for some but for students with a tight budget it makes a difference. So instead of putting the canister in and pulling out the leader, insert the leader into the spool first, turn off the lights and go under the blanket to pull the canister into the slot.
3) Buy your films online. In the beginning we tend to try different types of films just to experiment with the results we'll get. Once you found the types of film you wanna shoot, it is usually cheaper to get them online. Organise a Mass Order so everyone can share the shipping cost.
4) Roll your own film. You can buy film in 100ft bulk rolls and roll them into re-usable/recycled film cassette. Just go to any mini lab with a smile and they will gladly give you the spent cassette they are going to discard anyway.
5) Develop your own film. While it is not very economical to develop your own C-41 negatives or E6 positives, developing your own B&W negatives can be very easy and save you quite a bit if you shoot often. The initial cost of purchasing the developing kit might seem high, but at $5/ roll onwards charge by labs you will break even very quickly.
6) Scan your own negatives. Labs charge from $5 onwards to scan a roll of negatives, that will add up to quite a hefty sum if you shoot often. An entry level Canon scanner goes for about $219 brand new, or you can duplicate the negs with your DSLR if you have one using a lightbox (and some creativity). While the resolution might not be the greatest, you can always send the negatives of the good photos to labs or someone with a professional scanner for high resolution scan. Personally I would just print out the good photos, nothing beats prints.
7) Shoot more, but don't burn film. I always have my phone for those "I don't wanna waste my film on this" kinda shots. Look at your negatives and see read the mistakes you make, learn from them and you'll waste less frames as you go along.
1) You don't need an expensive camera. A fixed lens rangefinder in the Buy and Sell goes from $60-$200,plastic AF SLR are almost free. A semi professional SLR with prime lens will prolly set you back at $200+, but you can use any camera really.
2) Load your film in the dark. Ok this might sound silly but I do it all the time, you'll get 2 extra frames from your roll if you load your film in the dark. Well 2 frames might not cost a lot for some but for students with a tight budget it makes a difference. So instead of putting the canister in and pulling out the leader, insert the leader into the spool first, turn off the lights and go under the blanket to pull the canister into the slot.
3) Buy your films online. In the beginning we tend to try different types of films just to experiment with the results we'll get. Once you found the types of film you wanna shoot, it is usually cheaper to get them online. Organise a Mass Order so everyone can share the shipping cost.
4) Roll your own film. You can buy film in 100ft bulk rolls and roll them into re-usable/recycled film cassette. Just go to any mini lab with a smile and they will gladly give you the spent cassette they are going to discard anyway.
5) Develop your own film. While it is not very economical to develop your own C-41 negatives or E6 positives, developing your own B&W negatives can be very easy and save you quite a bit if you shoot often. The initial cost of purchasing the developing kit might seem high, but at $5/ roll onwards charge by labs you will break even very quickly.
6) Scan your own negatives. Labs charge from $5 onwards to scan a roll of negatives, that will add up to quite a hefty sum if you shoot often. An entry level Canon scanner goes for about $219 brand new, or you can duplicate the negs with your DSLR if you have one using a lightbox (and some creativity). While the resolution might not be the greatest, you can always send the negatives of the good photos to labs or someone with a professional scanner for high resolution scan. Personally I would just print out the good photos, nothing beats prints.
7) Shoot more, but don't burn film. I always have my phone for those "I don't wanna waste my film on this" kinda shots. Look at your negatives and see read the mistakes you make, learn from them and you'll waste less frames as you go along.
