So You’re Finally Picking Up That Old Film Camera
One of the main questions I get when I tell people that I shoot film is, “Where do I even start?” Unfortunately for those who want a straightforward laundry list of tasks to complete or classes to take to show them the way- my answer is always that I kept experimenting and being bad until I wasn’t so bad anymore. But after shooting film and experimenting with different 35mm and 120 cameras for five years now, I finally feel like I have some tips to get you going in the right direction. So let’s dive in!
First step, of course, is getting a camera! I was extremely lucky to be gifted my first 35mm camera by my mom, who is a very talented photographer and wonderful mentor. When she gave me her Minolta SRT 101 that she had gotten when she was in high school, we had no idea if it still worked. She found some old black and white film in our chest freezer in the basement, showed me how to load it up and sent me off to go take some pictures of anything that suited my fancy in our neighborhood.
The little tips that I learned from that first experience figuring out that camera are steps I still go through today when testing out a film camera that I’m interested in buying. Most 35mm cameras have a built in light meter in the viewfinder that sits somewhere on the side of your line of sight. It can look like a little needle or bracket that will slide up and down the viewfinder as you change your shutter speed or aperture settings. When this little guy is in the middle of the viewfinder, you’ve found the right light settings! Testing for this is important, because while you can shoot without the built in light meter by eyeballing it or using an external light meter or app- it is so much easier for a new photographer to have that extra help getting your light settings right.
Next test that the winder and shutter work by taking a couple test shots. You should also take the lens off the camera and make sure that the mirror and shutter within the body of the camera are in working order and not sticking when the shutter is pressed. If the camera passes all of these tests, I would feel assured about buying it and giving it a go.
