'film' Cameras (Eddie51?)

[Answerprancer]

I've had an urge to use the above having accumulated a bunch of 1960s/70s SLRs over the last year or two.
I've been shooting digital for about ten years and am not planning to give it up but I want to see what the fuss is all about especially as 35mm is equivalent to full frame on DSLRs.
I eagerly await processing of my first batch of (36!) photos taken on a 1978 Fujica SLR with a 50mm 1.4 Takumar lens but am expecting the result to be pants.
I would like to go as simple (but good quality) as possible and am planning to break out the Zenit B if this first batch turns out ok.
Any advice?

[chrisgel]

Be selective, remember framing is everything and make sure you're focused correctly. I've still got my Zenit though I haven't used it for years. Also got a Zenit enlarger and all the other developing kit in the loft. Happy days.

[Answerprancer]

Thanks for that Chris.
Having just seen how much it costs to have B&W developed (time and cost) I might just be be tempted to set up my own photo lab!

[chrisgel]

It was never a cheap hobby even before digital. As a matter of interest I went to a car-boot sale last Sunday and there was a chap selling all his old gear. A fitted case with a top of the range Minolta and loads of lenses. Must have been well over a £1000 when new. He was struggling to sell it all for £30

[Slapshot]

Still love putting a roll of film in a camera, makes you think more!

I started with a Practica MTL5b which I bought as a 15year old with some saved pocket money, think the body and 50mm lens cost me £30, made a fortune out of that camera. It had a 50mm Summicron lens fantastic quality.

Moved onto Minolta x-700s lovely pair of cameras which I sold to buy a Canon T-90 and I've used Canon ever since. I still have a T90 and and original EOS650 AF camera which became an EOS 1 eventually.

When I shoot film I use the EOS 1 or the T90 both are sublime, the T90 especially so with monochrome film, wish I'd kept the Praktica, it's as basic as it gets and it's sometimes fun to freshen your skills.

Film makes you work harder to get the right shot framing, exposure, dof the whole lot, it makes you look for the shot not just blast away. I always tend to shoot manual with my DSLRs (Canon of course) just habit I got into and can't shake no matter how many gizmos modern DSLRs have.

[Answerprancer]

That's sad but I'm not surprised - most of my Prakticas and Zenits (I have a few) cost between £5 and £20 and I only (initially) bought them for the lenses as modern DSLR lenses are so expensive. I also have a couple of Pentaxes and a Yashica.
I thought it would be interesting to use a couple 'as nature intended' hence this post.
I'm not sure where this will go - if it turns out to be ok I will keep digital and 'analogue' going side by side and maybe start film processing myself.

[Answerprancer]

Slapshot, that is exactly what I was thinking.
I took care today to make sure my photos were at the correct exposure though it was difficult because the metering system consisted of an unlit needle.
I had to press the DOF preview button to get the needle to move (which was a bit weird) and now realise that some lenses won't work with this setup.
As for focus, well I did my best (with my astigmatism!) will see what happens - I'm not expecting great results - if I get one or two, I'll be happy.
If the results are total cr*p, I'll resort to my 'backup' which is a Pentax P30 which I bought for £15 at BHF shop in New Malden! This little thing seems to be pretty modern for an analogue SLR but it's stuck with a K-mount 55mm lens, so that alone could get my creative ..er creativity going!

[Slapshot]

See if you can pick up a cheap light meter, they always help.

[ludwig]

I used to develop and print loads of B&W stuff. I stopped doing it when I had kids, because I couldn't find the time, and then when I had the time again everything had gone digital. That seemed to sap all the fun and creativity out of it, so I've basically stopped taking pictures altogther.

Still got all the old gear in the attic though - I guess someone must still make the film etc?

Good luck with it anyhow. The best bit for me was pulling the negs out of the tank and holding them up to the light. That's when you see what you've actually got.