Analog photography

[White_Helix]

Any analog photographers out here? If I saw right, theres no thread for all the good analog stuff, so time to create a post everything analog related thread. 

 

My gear consits at the moment of a Canon EOS 5000 with the 38-76mm Kit, a Porst Reflex TL and a Voigtländer Vitoret D. I had a Minolta X-700 too, but thats now in the hands of my ex girlfriend. I need to get one again, perfect camera and beatiful pictures. I cant imagine of something better at the moment. I digitalise my pictures with a Canon 9000F Mark II scanner, right now only prints from the photo shop, direct film is still to be tried.

[AkiraDaarkst]

Well I have two medium format film cameras, from Hasselblad.  I had a chance to get my hands on a Leica 35mm film camera for free, along with some nice lenses, but at the time I didn't jump on it.  If I keep on asking one of my friends long enough, I probably could get my hands on them.  But I'm not really keen on shooting 35mm film when I shoot full frame on digital.  What I really want to get my hands on is a large format film camera.

 

With film, I want to be able to develop them myself instead of relying on labs.  But I don't have space for a chemical darkroom in my house nor do I have the time to set one up even if space was available.

[frostburg]

20 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

With film, I want to be able to develop them myself instead of relying on labs.  But I don't have space for a chemical darkroom in my house nor do I have the time to set one up even if space was available.

It's tricky with C41, but you can easily and quickly (20 minutes / roll) develop B&W film without a darkroom. You just need a room dark enough to load the spirals and then do the rest in your kitchen or bathroom, using a lightproof tank. 

 

I have an Hasselblad, too:

 

:

 

Sadly I don't use it as much as I would like, because scanning 6x6 negative in worthwhile quality requires very expensive equipment. Scanning 4x5 large format can be done decently on a good flatbed, so that's actually less of an issue (and you can still use lightproof tanks to develop without darkroom for those, too).

[AkiraDaarkst]

4 minutes ago, frostburg said:

It's tricky with C41, but you can easily and quickly (20 minutes / roll) develop B&W film without a darkroom. You just need a room dark enough to load the spirals and then do the rest in your kitchen or bathroom, using a lightproof tank.

 

Yeah, but I'm not talking about just developing the negatives.  I'm also thinking about exposing the negatives to film, doing analog dodging and burning, enlarging, etc.

[frostburg]

5 minutes ago, AkiraDaarkst said:

Yeah, but I'm not talking about just developing the negatives.  I'm also thinking about exposing the negatives to film, doing analog dodging and burning, enlarging, etc.

The hybrid workflow isn't that bad, but I see.

1 hour ago, White_Helix said:

Canon 9000F Mark II scanner,

You should try to get a cheap dedicated 35mm film scanner (plustek, reflecta, etc.), the results will vastly improve.

[White_Helix]

Im satisfied at them moment with it, was a huge upgrade for me from an old HP flatbed that was only designed for documents. Works surprisingly well with prints. I'll see how the quality will be scanning negatives directly. Sadly, I don't have that much time I want for photography (analog and digital).

[frostburg]

Just now, White_Helix said:

Im satisfied at them moment with it, was a huge upgrade for me from an old HP flatbed that was only designed for documents. Works surprisingly well with prints. I'll see how the quality will be scanning negatives directly. Sadly, I don't have that much time I want for photography (analog and digital).

Scanning is very time consuming (more so than developing), especially since cheap dedicated 35mm scanners tend to have good quality, but to be slow. Regarding quality, check this, with the scanner being the weakest link:

 

Contax G2, Zeiss Planar 2/45, Adox CMS 20 II in Adotech III, Plustek 8100

[White_Helix]

Thats really very sharp, looks good. The price for that Plustek is not too high either, I maybe consider getting something like that.

This one is out of my Canon, first roll of B&W film ever. 

 

 

[frostburg]

36 minutes ago, White_Helix said:

This one is out of my Canon, first roll of B&W film ever. 

Nice picture, but you can see the loss of quality due to the film -> minilab scan -> print -> flatbed scan workflow. Keep in mind that the most of the difference in sharpness between my picture and yours isn't due to my use of an extremely sharp rangefinder prime lens, or the exotic 20 iso ultra-high-resolution film, but rather in massive image degradation in the last part of the process.

 

Contax G2, Zeiss Planar 2/45, Adox CMS 20 II in Adotech III, Plustek 8100

 

Oh, since you probably get your b&w film developed by a lab, you should probably shoot Ilford XP2 Super, which is a C-41 b&w film, so they can't get it wrong.

[White_Helix]

Yeah I absolutely understand you, the difference in quality is obvious. I want to get to the point there I self-develop my pictures and get them right of the negative, but I think that will take a while. I want to start with BW starting next year, and maybe try color too someday. My only downside is, if I buy BW film at the local stores I only can get Agfa 100, which costs like four times the cheapest color film that they have. So im a bit scared to f... up developing.

[frostburg]

4 minutes ago, White_Helix said:

Yeah I absolutely understand you, the difference in quality is obvious. I want to get to the point there I self-develop my pictures and get them right of the negative, but I think that will take a while. I want to start with BW starting next year, and maybe try color too someday. My only downside is, if I buy BW film at the local stores I only can get Agfa 100, which costs like four times the cheapest color film that they have. So im a bit scared to f... up developing.

Don't buy film from local stores, except maybe if you live in Berlin. Black and white development is rather hard to get wrong (just learn how to load a reel in the dark with throwaway film - you can't use a safelight) and needs minimal equipment.

[ShadowCaptain]

I shoot film quite often just for fun  

[Silvercall]

A few from this past summer. Mamiya 7 w/ 43mm

1.

 

2.

 

3.

[Silvercall]

Leica M3 Voigtlander 50mm 1.5 (i think)

[frostburg]

13 hours ago, Silvercall said:

A few from this past summer. Mamiya 7 w/ 43mm

These look great, do you print them optically? It's not a practical option for me, so my Hasselblad negs mostly live in a binder while I work on adequate scanning arrangements.

[Silvercall]

@frostburg Thanks..  I scan them with a Canon 9000F flatbed.  I have an Epson R3000 if I want to make prints.  Like you, the negs get stored in a binder and I have the digital copies on my computer. The I'll organize the digital copies in Lightroom and only keep the ones I really like.  I'm not that close to any darkrooms where I can print them myself unfortunately...  

 

2 more...

Mamiya 7 43mm 

 

 

Nikon F3 105mm 2.5

[frostburg]

I can't bring myself to scan 6x6 with a flatbed because I get better results from 35mm and a dedicated scanner, which kinda defeats the point of carrying a very heavy camera around.

 

Contax G2, Zeiss Planar 2/45, Adox CMS 20 II in Adotech III, Plustek 8100

 

Another very heavy camera that is a joy to use anyway is the Contax AX, as far as I know the only body that can provide autofocus for manual focus lenses (by moving the film plane):

 

 

The focusing mechanism can also be used as a built in macro ring:

 

Contax AX, Zeiss Planar 50/1.7, Ektar 100, Plustek 8100

 

[Joshlikescola]

Just started shooting on film over the summer. Currently use a Canon EOS 300 and Agfa Vista Plus 200 (which can be obtained for a modest price from Poundland...)

[Silvercall]

Not too many film shooters.  Here are a couple from a few weeks back....  Both with my Mamiya 7 and 65mm on Tri-X.

 

1.

 

2.

 

 

[PhantomChevron]

I shoot film as well, currently using a Pentax K1000 since my Canon FT decided to bite the dust 

 

an example of the shot I used, used Fujicolor C200

OldVsNew by bluehatphotographers, on Flickr

[Silvercall]

A couple shots using Cinestill 800, Nikon F3 50mm 1.2

 

1.

 

2.

 

 

[Silvercall]

A few more using Cinestill 800, Nikon F3 50mm 1.2

 

1.

 

2.

 

3.  The lights look funky because Cinestill is a motion picture film that has had a certain layer removed.

[frostburg]

Cinestill 800 is nice but I had some weird artifacts with it (beyond the absence of the anti-halation layer).

[Silvercall]

@frostburg yeah, from reviews I've read, that film can be hit or miss. I have ordered some of their 120 film. Looking forward to trying it out. 

[Silvercall]

Nikon f3 and Portra 400 (i think..)

1. Bad scan but I still like the photo

 

2.