Need help with absolute basics on film camera.

[JollyTimGiant]

I recently bought a Canon AE-1 for a decent price because I love taking pictures and wanted to give film a try, but I have no idea what I'm doing. I think I've got a decent handle on shutter speed, but when I take pictures, I have no idea how it will turn out, I'm not great with variables and film photography seems to have a lot of them. I've been doing a ton of reading on film cameras, and watching Youtube videos and such as well.

I have trouble with short term memory from epileptic seizures in the past, (hence reading/watching a ton, at least a small percentage has to be remembered, right?) so I'm having trouble making any information from the manual or otherwise stick. I've read and watched so much, it all becomes overwhelming and muddled together.

So if anyone has a resource that could be considered a general consensus to read I should check out for basic film photography, containing information even an idiot could remember, I would be very grateful! Thanks! -Tim

Reading this over, maybe I should just get one of those "For Dummies" books?

 

[wfooshee]

An AE-1 was my first auto-exposure camera some many years back. The meter in the viewfinder will show you if the camera will overexpose the shot when it points to the aperture that will be selected. If it points past the f-number your lens can handle, like f:16 or f:22, then it's overexposed and you need to select a faster shutter speed.
If memory serves, there's an LED that flashes for underexposure, meaning you have to slow down the shutter.
Of course, you have to set the ASA correctly for the film that's loaded.

 

[JollyTimGiant]

I guess in some ways, I use this camera as if it is digital. I've read the manual, but just the first online one I found that didn't cover much about the light meter. The "A" on the lens is the automatic setting that picks the aperture by itself, right? Would it still be necessary to look at the meter before taking a picture? Can it still over/under expose?

 

[bratkinson]

Shooting with film requires you to pretty much have to know what you're going for results before you click the shutter. Unlike digital cameras where ISO speed can be adjusted from frame to frame, a roll of film has a single ISO (ASA) speed and is unchangeable from what the manufacturer specified. Hence, it's necessary to use 'faster' films for low light work such as indoors shots, and 'slower' films for daylight shots.

But central to all that is learning the exposure triangle and how all the pieces fit together. Changing any one of the three will affect the result either positively or negatively. "Playing Photographer" by making settings willy-nilly and hoping for the best simply won't work. So, the best place to start is with a good tutorial such as produced here: Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials Learning Community Learning how to get good exposures is paramount. Using film to learn with, errors in exposure will get costly very quickly due to film and processing costs.

Perhaps one of the easiest ways I can think of to get good exposures nearly all the time is with a good incident light meter. I just checked eBay and there's 108 light meters for sale. The good news is you don't need the latest and greatest meter as your film speeds (same as ISO for digital) is in the 64-400 range. So, any of the 'vintage' meters in the under $20 range should be more than sufficient, as long as it is working AND has the full set of directions with it...or available online. By setting your film speed in the meter, the meter will provide a number of aperture and shutter speed settings that will give a good exposure for the light you are in. The decision to be made is then 'how fast' shutter speed to stop motion, and how much depth of field (DOF) (f-stop) do I need/want. That's the compromise. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes something has to 'give'.

Welcome to the world of photography! It's a great hobby and profession!

 

[Dave442]

I would download the camera manual.
This is a link to a quick-start manual:
http://www.cameramanuals.org/canon_pdf/canon_ae-1_pt1.pdf

Have the camera in-hand and play with doing each of the 10 steps they show multiple times.

Have a roll of film to just play with so you can load the camera, then open it to see if you did it right and then do it again with that same roll.

As it is a used camera check that everything is clean and install a new battery (I would always carry a spare).

 

[JollyTimGiant]

Thank you both for your responses! I'll be sure and check that site out, bratkinson, thank you!

 

[JollyTimGiant]

Thank you as well, Dave442!

 

[AlanKlein]

Consider joining a local camera or photo club where others will be glad to assist and teach. Even though you're using film, the exposure basics are pretty much the same between digital and film.

 

[Fred Berg]

Shooting with film requires you to pretty much have to know what you're going for results before you click the shutter. Unlike digital cameras where ISO speed can be adjusted from frame to frame, a roll of film has a single ISO (ASA) speed and is unchangeable from what the manufacturer specified. Hence, it's necessary to use 'faster' films for low light work such as indoors shots, and 'slower' films for daylight shots.

Yes and no on this point. I would recommend that you DON'T shoot colour negative film at "box speed" but rather that you should overexpose it by one stop. That is to say, if the speed on the box is 400, expose as though the film were a 200 film or if the speed is 100, then adjust to expose for 64, etc. This has two advantages, namely that colour negative hates being underexposed and so this is avoided, and the colors will be richer through this slight overexposure.

 

[AlanKlein]

Have you considered using a digital camera to learn all the basics first. You'll have the advantage of instant feedback since you can look immediately at the shot you took on the screen on the back of the camera. You have to wait for film to be developed to see what it looks like and you won't remember what you did when you shot it. Digital will allow you to play around a lot with different setting so you can see immediately what is gong on. Also, most people today have digital so they can help you easier.

 

[vintagesnaps]

You might try Film Photography Project An Internet Radio Show On-Line Resource for Film Shooters Worldwide - they have videos etc. that might be a good way to learn. I think the amount of info. online can be a lot for anyone sometimes to sort thru to find good helpful information.

My starting point FWIW is usually using 100/200 speed film (ISO) outdoors, 400 indoors/low light. I set my cameras at f8 and adjust from there, so I'll know when I pick it up again that's where it'll be set, and it's a midway point for aperture settings. I usually set a camera at 1/125 or maybe 1/60 shutter speed and go to a faster speed as needed; I don't like to use a slower setting unless I'm losing light late day but then brace myself to support the camera (you'll probably need to figure out what is manageable for you).

I'd suggest using the meter to let you know if you're getting the amount of light needed for a proper exposure. Try writing down what you do so later when you look at the pictures you can see what worked best. It'll take time and practice, but I hope you have fun with it.

 

[KenC]

This used to be one of the standards in film photography:

Black and White Photography A Basic Manual Revised Edition 2 by Horenstein Henry Horenstein Henry 9780316373142 Paperback Barnes Noble

 

[JollyTimGiant]

Thank you all for your informative responses, I really appreciate your help!

Probably should have mentioned this part in my original post
In regards to Fred Berg's comment telling me to overexpose, I live in Florida, where aside for storm clouds, (sometimes even WITH storm clouds,) it's nearly always bright and sunny... I'm going to assume that would put me in a position where overexposing by one stop may be a bad idea?

 

[AlanKlein]

Set the ASA to recommended box speed until you know what you're doing and why you want to change things. Being creative at this point will just get you in trouble. You got to learn how to walk before you can run. If you want, you can bracket exposures from box speed to see what you get. Then you'll be able to make decisions. Remember, each film is different. And changing ASA, plus or minus, if appropriate, depends on whether it's negative film or positive (slide) film. Also, brand of film.

Also, use film that has not expired. If you use expired film, you'll never know if problems you see are because of the expired film or because you screwed up. Take the film out of the equation otherwise you'll get yourself confused.

Finally, you didn't mention what you intend to do with the photos. Do you want prints? Do you want slides that you can project? Do you want them scanned into digital files for posting on the internet? Do you want to shoot people? Landscapes? Different things? Black/white or color? This will determine whether you should use negative film or positive film (also called trasnparencies or slide film).

 

[JollyTimGiant]

I planned to have them scanned into digital files so I can keep them and mark my progress.

I think my favorite thing to photograph is nature. Landscapes, forestry, macro shots of insects, all of it. I chose color film for my first rolls, well, it was all that was in stock, and I was too impatient to wait.

I'll be honest, I read about my camera, but I haven't read a thing about film information... I'd be lying if I didn't say I just thought film was film.