I'm lost... Help needed

[Ctn]

Hi guys,

I am desperately in need of help.
After 1.5 years of digital photographing (with an d90) i want to explore the possibilities of good old film.

The first and foremost question i have is:
Medium format or 35mm? I am ofcourse a beginner but a very fast learner so skill issues should be fast dealt with.
You probably want to know what my primary subjects are going to be:
Very broad at the moment but leaning towards portraits/casual landscaping

Budget: directly to spend around 200 dollar but willing to save up and wait a little longer

A few questions however are bugging me and i cant seem to find one answer on the internet (perhaps because there isnt one answer).
Here they are:
1. Is it worth it image quality wise?
Considering I will not be able to develop the photo's myself due to lack of space at the moment
2. I read alot of horror stories about letting your B&W film developed by photo labs. (standard color processes etc getting contrast/color(?) etc wrong) is it that bad? (B&W will be my primary film of choise)
3. Get prints or scan slides myself?
4. Transparency or regular film?

I have a bunchload of other questions but lets start off with these.
I hope you can help me with this.

[Greg McCary]

First off as far as room. All you need to develop film is a Patterson tank, changing bag, can opener, scizzors, themometer, timer, I use my cellphone, three one liter mixing jugs from the Wal-Mart and chemicals. No darkroom needed. It is so easy you will wonder what stopped you from doing it sooner. As for you budget would that be camera and all ? You can get a developing kit on Ebay fairly cheap.
Chemicals needed. Developer, stop bath, fixer and wash aid. If you are looking for a cheap starter camera maybe an Olympus XA2. They can be had for 30-40 dollars are simple to use and an amazingly fast lens. I would watch YouTube videos on developing. $200.00 would be a tight budget the chemicals will set you back the most.
By the way I would start with just cheap b&w film. Color film or slides are not as easy to work with.

[Ctn]

First off as far as room. All you need to develop film is a Patterson tank, changing bag, can opener, scizzors, themometer, timer, I use my cellphone, three one liter mixing jugs from the Wal-Mart and chemicals. No darkroom needed. It is so easy you will wonder what stopped you from doing it sooner. As for you budget would that be camera and all ? You can get a developing kit on Ebay fairly cheap.
Chemicals needed. Developer, stop bath, fixer and wash aid. If you are looking for a cheap starter camera maybe an Olympus XA2. They can be had for 30-40 dollars are simple to use and an amazingly fast lens. I would watch YouTube videos on developing. $200.00 would be a tight budget the chemicals will set you back the most.
By the way I would start with just cheap b&w film. Color film or slides are not as easy to work with.

No Darkroom needed? That is new for me, i will check youtube right after this reply.
The budget is for the camera body excluding lenses. Im looking at Nikon SLR's as the lenses will be compatible with an inevitable upgrade to a fullframe digital nikon.

My eye at the moment is on a Nikon FE with an 28mm f3.5 AI Nikon lens for under 80 dollar. A steal if i am not mistaking.

Any thoughts on that?

Again, i will look into the developing as i cannot wait to start on it myself but gave up the idea cause of the lack of space.

Thanks for your reply

[Greg McCary]

Here is a kit. I am not sure how easy the reels in the tank will be to load. Patterson tanks and a Beseler reel is probably the easiest. You can practice loading the reels with an expired roll of film.
Black & White Film Rolling and Developing Kit with Bulk Film Winder | eBay

You might also check Adorama and B&H photo as they might have a starter kit.

[Ctn]

Greg,

Just viewed some video's about developing B/W film. 1st one i looked at had a drying device which scared me, but soon found out that just hanging them is ok aswel.
Seems like with some practise its very doable.
Thanks for your advice so far.

Regarding the kits and sites, i am from Holland so i think id be better of getting a developing kit somewhere in Europe.

Any thoughts on the Nikon FE deal?

[Greg McCary]

Greg,

Just viewed some video's about developing B/W film. 1st one i looked at had a drying device which scared me, but soon found out that just hanging them is ok aswel.
Seems like with some practise its very doable.
Thanks for your advice so far.

Regarding the kits and sites, i am from Holland so i think id be better of getting a developing kit somewhere in Europe.

Any thoughts on the Nikon FE deal?

Yes the old Nikon cameras are really nice. I don't think you can go wrong with one.

[Chris350]

Greg,

Just viewed some video's about developing B/W film. 1st one i looked at had a drying device which scared me, but soon found out that just hanging them is ok aswel.
Seems like with some practise its very doable.
Thanks for your advice so far.

Regarding the kits and sites, i am from Holland so i think id be better of getting a developing kit somewhere in Europe.

Any thoughts on the Nikon FE deal?

Have a look at an outfit called Digital Truth. They specialize in film and chemistry. They have some interesting environmentally friendly chemistry. They have a branch in the UK I think.

[Axle]

Any thoughts on the Nikon FE deal?

The FE is a solid camera, I know people who use the FE2 and I use an FM2 (plus an F3 as well).

[cameron665]

Based on your budget I would say 35mm is the way to go. It is a great format and most people have started there. Not sure of the lab situation in the Netherlands but there are good film labs still around here. Check around you local camera clubs or try APUG. Here it is very expensive to get HQ scans ($40 per roll including processing) but that does include minor color correction if required. I have got reasonable results from an Epson flat bed scanner (V500) which is alright for web posting.

Slide film has a narrow exposure latitude so is a good way to learn. But B&W is great and ordinary photos in color can become something amazing when taken in B&W. Plus you have the fun of developing them yourself and adjusting development times, developers etc.....Getting B&W done at a lab is expensive as each film needs to be done manually, so it is best to do it yourself.

The Nikon sounds a good buy.
Good luck with the journey and I hope to see some shots.

[Ctn]

Thanks for all your replies and pointers.

In the mean time I became the proud owner of a Nikon FE + 28mm 3.5 nikon.
I also found some 52mm filters on the internet (056, Y48, ND4, XO) for 20 euro's so i am all set for some B&W photos.

I will post some here as soon as i get some results.

Thanks again

[benlinus]

I just love the FM10. I have faith in it, because i'm using it from long time ago. FM10 Combining essential image control with Nikon dependability and capability, this manual control camera has broad compatibility with the NIKKOR lens system.

[alva]

There are so many cameras available in the market that confuses us while searching the best camera. Pentex Q7 which helped me to take the beautiful pictures as compared to other cameras I found Pentex Q7 the best one. If you want to see your inner photographers go ahead with Pentex Q7 full review about this camera.