wanted to tryout RF, but got some newbie questions and need advise. =X


kolomo

Member
I have done some research but somethings still left me quite confused... haha maybe too much reading make me go :confused:

regarding the developing of film. I read that it can be develop into either negatives and slides,
1) so can both be further 'develop' into photographs?
2) and are slides only used for scanning?
3) can normal scanner do the job?
4) push/pull-processing must ownself do or can ask the photo-shops to do ?
5) is it very costly to develop the film ?

6) I am currently considering either a FED-2 or 3, Zorki6 or Yashica 35gsn. any users out there? can give some feedbacks thanks:bsmilie:
Any reliable local shops to recommend? don't want to kana chop.. haha. or shld I get from ebay? because it seemed quite cheap :bigeyes:

thanks for taking the time to read my post :sweat:
 

i would suggest just get your first rf and just start shooting...
dont think so much, enjoy the shooting process..... and further down the road, you will eventually think of processing and scanning..

and if its your first rf, just get it from the BnS section here, there are plenty to choose from.
 

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let me see if i am able to clear things up a little,

film is essentially a light-sensitive sheet of plastic that we load into our cameras. think of the film as wet cement and light as our hands. when the shutter opens up, light enters the camera and makes an impression on the film - like our hands leaving an imprint. to develop the film would be akin to drying the cement, once the cement is dried the imprint stays. while the film is not developed, it is much like wet cement - any additional light will leave further imprints. slides and negatives are different types of film: when you develop slide film, you get positives which reflect the actual color of the photo you took (on the film, a tree would have green leaves and brown bark etc). to stretch the analogy a little, this would be like saying when you press your hand in the cement, your skin color also shows in the imprint. in the case of negatives, you get.. negatives. the film sheet that you get from developing these are brownish/blackish. only a film scanner set to negatives mode (or a lab with enlargers etc, but let's leave that out for now) can show you the natural color of the photo you took.

1. after the film has been developed, you can scan it digitally and then print them out as photographs :)
2. slides can be projected out with a slide projector (it's been awhile since i've seen one though haha) or can be scanned into photographs
3. to my knowledge you can't really scan films properly with a normal scanner, but film scanners can scan stuff "normally" though i may stand corrected
4. to push/pull are techniques used on black and white film, where you expose the film for more/less than its rated sensitivity. for example, exposing an iso 400 film @ 1600 would mean pushing 2 stops (400 - 800 = 1 stop, 800 - 1600 = 1 more stop). in these cases, ask the shop to "push" 2 stops for you because developing it requires some extra work. the opposite would be true for pulling.
5. go to a film shop and ask lah costly or not depends on budget :)
6. i love the yashica electro to bits, really sad i sold my old one

wow looks like my post turned out longer than expected, may be because i should be doing work! haha. anyway i hope my info is accurate, please do highlight if anything is wrong/weird! thanks and all the best to you kolomo
 

A forumer once told mi tat slides projected out thru projector looks amazingly nice!

Pls do try out ur first roll of film w any film camera n c if u really like de process of shooting films..

Have u shoot w manual lens before?
 

A forumer once told mi tat slides projected out thru projector looks amazingly nice!

Pls do try out ur first roll of film w any film camera n c if u really like de process of shooting films..

Have u shoot w manual lens before?
 

lanner, but film scanners can scan stuff "normally" though i may stand corrected
4. to push/pull are techniques used on black and white film, where you expose the film for more/less than its rated sensitivity. for example, exposing an iso 400 film @ 1600 would mean pushing 2 stops (400 - 800 = 1 stop, 800 - 1600 = 1 more stop). in these cases, ask the shop to "push" 2 stops for you because developing it requires some extra work. the opposite would be true for pulling.

Push/Pull can be done with any type of film, bnw, colour negs and slides. :D
 

I have done some research but somethings still left me quite confused... haha maybe too much reading make me go :confused:

regarding the developing of film. I read that it can be develop into either negatives and slides,
1) so can both be further 'develop' into photographs?
2) and are slides only used for scanning?
3) can normal scanner do the job?
4) push/pull-processing must ownself do or can ask the photo-shops to do ?
5) is it very costly to develop the film ?

6) I am currently considering either a FED-2 or 3, Zorki6 or Yashica 35gsn. any users out there? can give some feedbacks thanks:bsmilie:
Any reliable local shops to recommend? don't want to kana chop.. haha. or shld I get from ebay? because it seemed quite cheap :bigeyes:

thanks for taking the time to read my post :sweat:

film cannot be developed into either negative or slides. this would have to depend on the film if it is a negative film or slide film. negative are the more common film that can be developed at most neighbourhood shops. there's only one place in singapore that still develops slide and that is fotohub though a few other places do help you drop it off at them. for slides, the film comes out with colour hence you can project it off a projector.

how do you know if it is slide or negative? apart from the line of film, you can check out the box which states what it should processed be. for negatives, it should state c41 process, slides - e6. "traditional" black and white - usually would state d76.

to answer you other qns
1. yes though the cost of printing slides is much higher
2. negative, slides, black and white film can all be scanned after developing
3. you need a scanner which can scan film. some flat bed scanners have this function
4. joohander had provided an explanation in this
5. cost is relative i guess. negative starts from around $3 a roll for just developing and slides around $7
6. russian cameras has its quirks so better read up on them first

most importantly is to enjoy shooting! film is addictive i must say :)
 

Answers in bold.

I have done some research but somethings still left me quite confused... haha maybe too much reading make me go :confused:

regarding the developing of film. I read that it can be develop into either negatives and slides,
1) so can both be further 'develop' into photographs?

There are 3 kinds of film. B&W negaitves, colour negatives, and colour positives (slides, transprencies).

Negative films are what-you-see-is-what-is-the-opposite on the film. On the other hand, positive films are what-you-see-is-what-you-get on the film itself.

You can't choose if you want a particular film in slides, or negatives. The film choice itself will finalize that decision for you. That means, if you buy a slide film, your results are certainly slides. Some goes for negatives vice versa. The only exception is that you can process B&W negatives as slides (albeit with complicated chemicals and processing that is), but this is extremely rare these days because there is not much benefits from shooting B&W slides.


2) and are slides only used for scanning?

You can scan both slides and negatives.

Although you can't see what the crap is going on from the negatives itself, the scanner will reverse the negatives and turn them to positives for viewing.

One thing you should know is that our consumer flatbed technology does not have the ability to capture all the awesome extreme saturation and contrast of slide film (it does capture most of it though).


3) can normal scanner do the job?

Any photo-based scanner with a transparency unit. That is, capable of making transparency scans. Check the upper lid of your flatbed. If there is a lighting installed unit there, and it's not just a plain lid, good chances that it is capable of doing transparency scans.

4) push/pull-processing must ownself do or can ask the photo-shops to do ?

For B&W films, some mini-labs will do it for a fee. You could also possibly do it yourself.

I am not too sure about colour film.


5) is it very costly to develop the film ?

Depends on your financial status... hahaha

6) I am currently considering either a FED-2 or 3, Zorki6 or Yashica 35gsn. any users out there? can give some feedbacks

Theres a lot of good rangefinders out there, but if you shuold buy one online, be warned. Local stuff are albeit more expensive, but you can inspect and check it first-hand.

thanks:bsmilie:
Any reliable local shops to recommend? don't want to kana chop.. haha. or shld I get from ebay? because it seemed quite cheap :bigeyes:

thanks for taking the time to read my post :sweat:

Colour negative films are cheap, cheaper to process, is more tolerant of mistakes during exposure, and is easier to scan. In exchange, you get not-so-good-archivability (you know the aged photo and negatives look?) and saturation.

Slide films are more expensive to purchase and process, less tolerant of mistakes during exposure (just a stop of overexposure might ruin a shot), and is slightly more difficult to scan. In exchange, you can view the pictures on the film itself, get the extremely intense contrast and saturation that isn't possible with negatives or digital, and have pretty good archivablity.
 

you can push/pull color film too. both slide and negative film. the only problem with doing this is that labs in singapore are not very willing to do this. it's probably because most labs do not develop their film in house. did not have a problem with finding labs to push/pull when i was living in kl about 5 years back... this was for any sort of film.

slide film does render some amazing print pictures which IMO still cannot be captured with digital sensors. however scanning slide film is much trickier than BW or color negative film. the scans can never do justice to a good slide film print. so unless you plan to print your color pictures in a dark room, your best choice would be to go with color negative film as they will give better film scans easier.

why are you considering the cameras you chose? and why range finders in general? what sort of photos do you want to try to produce (any examples)
? just trying to get a better understanding of your motivations so that we can perhaps help you out with getting the best tools for your art.
 

woah! thanks guys for taking ur time to ans my questions... clear my doubts. :)

btw i am currently a DSLR user, using a D90 and most of the time i shooting it in manual mode, i love how i could control the camera but i nv done manual focusing b4:embrass:

actually, the interest for RF is the stunning detail it produce. what a film produced cant beat wat my dslr produce... be it colour or b&w. I saw some comparison between film and digital photos is :thumbsup: secondly, i like to control the camera =X so i tink that a RF can bring me back to the 'root' of photography which is using film and getting to control everything without any digital help. It is compact so easier for me to do street photography. ;)

why I consider fed, zorki and yashica is the budget =X lol poor student no choice haha...cos FSU RF seemed to be the cheapest
So I would want something cheaper to tryout b4 jumping into RF fully.
Any better recommendation for RF in that price range ?

Actually i am currently considering a zorki 4K and yes i read abt it not having a light meter, but there is sunny16 for reference.

one more question, when does one require to fix on another external viewfinder ?
and is P&G at adelphi a trustable shop?

thanks for reading my lengthy post ;p
 

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woah! thanks guys for taking ur time to ans my questions... clear my doubts.

btw i am currently a DSLR user, using a D90 and most of the time i shooting it in manual mode, i love how i could control the camera but i nv done manual focusing b4:embrass:

actually, the interest for RF is the stunning detail it produce. what a film produced cant beat wat my dslr produce... be it colour or b&w. I saw some comparison between film and digital photos is :thumbsup: secondly, i like to control the camera =X so i tink that a RF can bring me back to the 'root' of photography which is using film and getting to control everything without any digital help. It is compact so easier for me to do street photography.

why I consider fed, zorki and yashica is the budget =X lol poor student no choice haha...cos FSU RF seemed to be the cheapest
So I would want something cheaper to tryout b4 jumping into RF fully.
Any better recommendation for RF in that price range ?

Actually i am currently considering a zorki 4K and yes i read abt it not having a light meter, but there is sunny16 for reference.

one more question, when does one require to fix on another external viewfinder ?
and is P&G at adelphi a trustable shop?

thanks for reading my lengthy post ;p

If you want, you can get a fixed lens RF, e.g. Yashica Electro series, Canonet series, etc.

The good thing is that it will not have the quirks of a FSU RF, and most have a built in meter. The bad thing would be the fixed lens. You only have 40/45mm lens and that's it. No changing of lenses.

If you look around, you can get one under $200. Take note that some only provide shutter/aperture priority, while some provide manual override as well, such as the Canonet.

I'm a happy user of a Canonet QL17. Good luck for your hunt for a RF and welcome to the RF world :D
 

just sell the dslr set up and dive right in! :D
 

hi guys..im jus wondering..does fixed lens RF means,it is not interchangeable lens?:)
 

Just my 2 f-stop worth - go get a FSU Rangefinder and go out there and shoot like there's no tomorrow with all your might!

FSU Rangefinders are not expensive to start with. But beware they are not perfect, the secret lies in its imperfections that brings out the real individual characteristics of each cameras many have not know about it.

These cameras to me, has feelings in it.
 

Exactly, fixed-lens RF means the lens is fixed and you cannot change the lens.
That brings the prices of these fixed-lens models down, making them very affordable.
Easing one's entry in the RF-world.
The upside is that they usually come with a fast lens, and since it has a fixed lens it also inadvertently forces you to stick with one-lens are learn with it.

These fixed-lens RF plentiful and they are not difficult to offload once you tire of them and would like to upgrade.

Here are some popular models:

- Yashica GSN (cheap, used to have one, sharp and fast lens at f/1.7, aperture-priority)
- Yashica GX (Smaller version of the GSN, 40mm f/1.7, more expensive due to lesser quantity)
- Canon QL17 (another popular and plentiful model, 40mm f/1.7)
- Konica Auto S2 (45 f/1.8, bigger and heavier than the QL17)
- Konica Auto S3 (slightly wider at 38 f/1.8, used to own one, loved the lens and the viewfinder)
- Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII (45 f/1.8, nice and compact)
- Minolat Hi-Matic 9 (refined version of the 7s, 45 f/1.7. Slightly bigger but has manual override.)

I've included links for further reading.
This list is by no means exhaustive, there are many great fixed-lens RF out there, but this list should get you started.
That is if you choose to take the route of first trying out RF with a fixed-lens version.
Hope this helps, happy shooting! :)
 

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don't forget the Yashi"lux" of the fixed lens rf... the Yashica Lynx 14 with yashinon 45mm f1.4! :lovegrin:
 

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