I'm looking into getting a film camera- Nikon fm10.
In my area, the only store that carries it is Henry's for $400. I am willing to spend the money on it, only with the hope that 20 years from now I can sell it for 5x the amount I purchased it for.
I'm still borderline on whether I should get it or not though.
Is it worth it? For those who have film cameras- how do you develop it? Would you spend 400$ on a film camera, or am I crazy. And for those who actually have the nikon fm10- how is it? do you like it?
That is all I used to own. I found that taking slides were better than prints, but I don't even know if they make slide projectors anymore. I found that the labs that develop them all come out different. The best one were to mail the film to Kodak, they have the packages to do it, or they used to and they mailed back the pictures. The colors came out more true to life.
Wow - and to think I just put away my film camera and went digital at Christmas. LOL
Because my 24 exposures ended up being a mix of family and nature shots, I used 200 speed in my Minolta SLR. I brought the film to Target and had them scan to a disk right away so I didn't have to scan them myself. I was pretty happy with that. They weren't really high resolution, but I have the prints and negatives if I need something more.
Slides WILL give you truer colors since the film is more sensitive than the paper. And you eliminate the variations that come from the printing labs. But - Kodak has discontinued making some of its slide films.
If it a particular effect you are looking for, you may want to research how to produce that effect. Some effects require changing the timing of the processing - which will be nearly impossible for you since most places used automated systems. Others just require using high speed (grainy) film.
Since you can pick up used Nikon fm10 for next to nothing - give it a try! Good Luck.
I just bought a second hand autofocus Canon (EOS 500n) with a 35-80mm lens off ebay for £19 + postage.. there are usually a lot on there for bargain prices as people convert to digital.
unless you're desperate to buy new $400 seems like a lot for a camera that went into production the same time as mine...
connie- how did you like film in general? like, compared to digital? and thank you. I didn't even know Kodak did that, but I'll definitely look into it.
prairie- haha, the times are changing! The only place I'm familiar with that still prints film is costco. and, maybe walmart? I'm not even sure. but, thank you for the tip and luck :)!
simon- I've looked around ebay, and I've found some pretty good deals. It's just that personally I'm not too fond of buying things online. I have this fear that if I post my credit card number online it'll be stolen. and I have this fear of being scammed, I don't know :S
I don't want to spend 400$ on it, but I'm not too sure yet.... :( thank you for the tip though.
I am quite sure that a $400.00 camera now will be worth 5x in 20 years. You can get 20 year old cameras now for probalby not even what they cost new. The way things are going, will there be any film for cameras 20 years from now. On a second note, I have a Bronie cardboard box camera from early 1900's uses 120 film and takes excelent pictures. I have some great foreworks pics from it.
I still shoot film, but if I would not spend $400 for a film camera unless it was a Medium format, or a Nikon F6. Even the F6 doesn't compete with a Mamiya 645 or aRZ 67. And yes, you can still have film EASILY developed. I shoot Velvia 50 and tell them to not mount and push to disc, so I can digital darkroom it. Don't listen to the Digiheads at the camera store. Film is still very accessible and very much worth the trouble, if you really want to compose a shot. Also, I use a Nikon N90s for most of my film shooting. With a Nikkor 35-70 zoom, you can get one for $50. And it is spot on sharp, and quick as anything. And will blow away any digital camera out there, yeah, even the D3x, and it's only 13 years old now.
i spent $150 on my film camera - a 1977 pentax me - a couple of years ago, and it takes absolutely stunning photos. i bought it from a tiny little shop that was filled floor to ceiling with photo equipment - the lady working the counter (the owner) took her time with me and it was a fabulous experience. look for a shop like this (usually in the arts district in the biggest closest city to you) rather than look online.
you could develop the film yourself, and then get a film scanner, if you wanted.
what i do is take the rolls of film to a trusted 1 hr. photo, ask them to just develop the film and scan it onto a cd. it costs me $5 to develop four rolls at a time. if you do decide to take it to a chain store like walmart, make sure to ask them how often they change the chemicals, etc. and make sure that they are competent. i go to a place that sees a decent amount of traffic and has a person my age working the station - they seem to 'get' what i'm doing.
i wouldn't spend $400 on a film camera. find something with a great lens, and go from there.
oh! and i always ask them to not cut the negatives, just leave them in one strip and roll it back into the film canister. this makes sure that if i do a panorama or an overlapping exposure, that my intended picture isn't sliced in half :p
(i learned this the hard way)
I would suggest if you are going with film get a slr camera with a removable lens. I was able to find a lens for about $100 that could be switched back and forth between a digital slr and a film slr camera.
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Because my 24 exposures ended up being a mix of family and nature shots, I used 200 speed in my Minolta SLR. I brought the film to Target and had them scan to a disk right away so I didn't have to scan them myself. I was pretty happy with that. They weren't really high resolution, but I have the prints and negatives if I need something more.
Slides WILL give you truer colors since the film is more sensitive than the paper. And you eliminate the variations that come from the printing labs. But - Kodak has discontinued making some of its slide films.
If it a particular effect you are looking for, you may want to research how to produce that effect. Some effects require changing the timing of the processing - which will be nearly impossible for you since most places used automated systems. Others just require using high speed (grainy) film.
Since you can pick up used Nikon fm10 for next to nothing - give it a try! Good Luck.
unless you're desperate to buy new $400 seems like a lot for a camera that went into production the same time as mine...
prairie- haha, the times are changing! The only place I'm familiar with that still prints film is costco. and, maybe walmart? I'm not even sure. but, thank you for the tip and luck :)!
simon- I've looked around ebay, and I've found some pretty good deals. It's just that personally I'm not too fond of buying things online. I have this fear that if I post my credit card number online it'll be stolen. and I have this fear of being scammed, I don't know :S
I don't want to spend 400$ on it, but I'm not too sure yet.... :( thank you for the tip though.
you could develop the film yourself, and then get a film scanner, if you wanted.
what i do is take the rolls of film to a trusted 1 hr. photo, ask them to just develop the film and scan it onto a cd. it costs me $5 to develop four rolls at a time. if you do decide to take it to a chain store like walmart, make sure to ask them how often they change the chemicals, etc. and make sure that they are competent. i go to a place that sees a decent amount of traffic and has a person my age working the station - they seem to 'get' what i'm doing.
i wouldn't spend $400 on a film camera. find something with a great lens, and go from there.
(i learned this the hard way)