Need help with absolute basics on film camera.

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.

I agree that you should keep it simple at first until you get the hang of things and are more comfortable experimenting. I'd also stick to color negative film for the moment, since slide film is more sensitive to mistakes (you really have to get it right to get a good exposure) and it's also a less common developing process.

The difference in a nutshell:

Black and white:
Exactly what it says. Monochrome. The image on the film is a negative of the image you see on the print (Black and white film types and brands for 35mm and medium format film photography Guide to Film Photography Most common films are Kodak Tri-X (ISO 400) which has been around for decades. There is also Kodak Tmax (comes in ISO 100 and 400). It has slightly different characteristics (finer grain, e.g.). There are more choices from the company Ilford. For slow speeds (good for bright conditions) there is Pan F (ISO 50), FP4 (ISO 100), and for faster speeds, there's HP5 (ISO 400). Ilford also makes a line called Delta that comes in a range of ISO speeds.

Color:
Color negative is the most common. Again, the image on the film is the reverse of what you'd see in a print (Color print film and negative film for 35mm and medium format film photography Guide to Film Photography There are Kodak films - the Gold Series (ISO 200 or 400), Portra (ISO 160 and 400) and Ektar (ISO 400). There's another line but I can't remember the name. Fuji also makes the Superia color negative films, and Agfa Vista is another option.

Color positive, or slide film, is called such because it the image on the film is a positive - meaning the colors and the orientation are the same as what you'd see in a print (Color reversal film and slide film for 35mm and medium format film photography Guide to Film Photography I know less about the individual kinds because I don't shoot it, but the link will provide some examples. As I said, it's much more sensitive than negative film and is more difficult to get a good exposure. When you get it right, the colors can be amazing. The trick is to get it right, though ;)

I'd look for film online - it'll be cheaper than buying it in a store.
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Even Amazon has film: Amazon.com 35mm film

What I want to add to all the advice you've already been given (most of which I agree with) is to not get too nervous. It's just a picture! There is more film, there are more chances. Some people feel like they have to already know so much to even take that first shot on film - it seems more serious somehow than taking a digital photo. And of course, it can't be denied that mistakes are more costly on film than on digital, but this just means you're more motivated to learn more quickly, and thus the learning curve will be steep.

But just have fun and don't be afraid to press the shutter even if you're not sure it's right or not. And don't get too bummed out if your first few rolls aren't that great. Even after you've been shooting for years, you'll still have rolls of film that aren't that great. If I get a handful of keepers from each roll, then I'm happy. And a lot of times, the picture will be perfectly fine, but just not really what I envisioned. You'll get there.

Finally, be prepared to make at least one bonehead mistake in the first few weeks. Again, don't get too bummed out about it, either. It happens to everyone. Nature of the beast. It's pretty much a rite of passage, in fact ;) It will not mean that you don't know what you are doing, just that you had a minor brain fart. To count my own bonehead mistakes: shooting an entire roll of color with a yellow filter on (all the pictures came out pee-yellow); opening the back with film still in it; shooting about 40 pictures before realizing the film never advanced past the first frame; cranking the reverse knob the wrong way...

Did I say have fun? Yeah, have fun! :) And let's see your pictures when you have them!
 
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Okay, I've been looking up a bit on film, and how to make it digital. I've found a "Film 2 PC" option which looks very appealing and cost-effective.

From what I understand, film becomes more or less safe to light after being processed, which is when this machine will come in handy to turn them into digital.
 
limr, thank you so much. The notes you touched on were things that were directly on my mind; I am very encouraged by what you wrote, I was honestly feeling very afraid and hesitant to take pictures for fear of mistakes. I've never had a camera that wasn't just "Point this end at the thing, and press the button," so this is all overwhelming for me, probably more so than you'd think... I appreciate you, among everyone else taking the time to help a noobie photographer! :)
 
That's some really interesting subjects. You going to like what film does. Which film are you using?

Also, you should send out your film for processing to a place that will return a disk with all the shots scanned for you like Scan Cafe. I haven't used them but I hear they are pretty good. Or use a local place if there's one available. (Where do you live?) I scan my own but I shot a larger format film and not too much of it. You can think about scanning yourself later if you really get into film. But I'd wait until you get the basics down. Good luck.
 
limr, thank you so much. The notes you touched on were things that were directly on my mind; I am very encouraged by what you wrote, I was honestly feeling very afraid and hesitant to take pictures for fear of mistakes. I've never had a camera that wasn't just "Point this end at the thing, and press the button," so this is all overwhelming for me, probably more so than you'd think... I appreciate you, among everyone else taking the time to help a noobie photographer! :)

My pleasure. I've been shooting film for a long time, but I still remember what it's like to start out. Just take it a step at a time and it will start feeling more manageable.

And here, just to prove the "we all make mistakes" part, here's one of my pee-yellow shots:

Day 158 - Yellow boat
by limrodrigues, on Flickr

And I had already been shooting for about 15 years by this point! Though to defend myself a little, it was a new (to me) camera and I hadn't yet gotten used to it :)

The good news is that it can always be converted into black and white with digital post-processing! :D
 
Definitely, AlanKlein, I'm going to wait to purchase the scanner for myself until I start taking more serious pictures. Those things are expensive! The cheapest one of good quality is 70$ (My budget is... on the level of a College student.)

I'm in Orlando, my current film is Fujifilm Superia X-Tra 400 ISO color film. There were both 200 and 400 of this brand, but I chose 400 because from what the package said, it is a more all around ISO. (correct me if that's incorrect!)

I'll have to find a good film developer in my area, as I've heard bad things about the quality from places like Walgreens and CVS or Walmart.

Thank you for the advice on a proper film processing place, I thought film development labs were extinct! Lol
 

Day 158 - Yellow boat
by limrodrigues, on Flickr

I'm not sure why, but the yellow seems like it is a positive addition to this shot. I think this is still a great picture, it looks like my memories. It's hard to explain, but I've never remembered anything that was not hazy, dark or even like this yellow in 10 years.

I have a strange feeling of nostalgia looking at this...

Lol, anyways, not meaning to sound like a kiss ass here. :)
 
Dave posted a link to the camera owner's manual above. Definitely go check that out, download a copy, and read it.

I'm going to "assume" you've never used a 35mm film SLR camera before (much less the AE-1) so here's a quick (lengthy) run-down ... and take you through a "dry run" (no film in the camera).

I still have this camera (I have owned it since the late 1970's... I think I got mine in 1977 or 1978.) After you get the instructions and read through, I'm happy to help with questions.

(1) Install a battery - The camera's internal light meter uses a battery and operates the shutter. It's a tiny 6v battery. I use a Duracell 28L battery (the batteries named in the instruction manual will be hard to find, but the Duracell 28L is compatible, 6v, and the correct size. It's a lithium battery (much better technology.))

(2) Once you have a working battery in the camera, play with it a while BEFORE loading film. This will give you the opportunity to learn how it works without worrying that you're going through film.

The film advance & shutter winder are on the top-right. This is also where you set the film ASA (ISO speed) and shutter speed. Normally if you turn this dial it will change the shutter speed. But if you LIFT the dial while turning it, it will change the ASA setting (visible in green through the tiny window on the dial). Typical outdoor use daytime film (or indoor if using a flash) would be 100 ASA. You might use 400 ASA for an overcast day or indoor shooting in a room with good window light. NORMALLY, once you load a roll of film, you shoot the entire roll before rewinding it into it's light-tight canister and changing rolls. This means that before you talk the camera out shooting, you'll want to think about what you plan to shoot and select film that would be appropriate for your shooting conditions. It is difficult to change film in the middle of a roll. Technically it can be done, but that's a conversation for another day (there are numerous precautions -- so for now -- just plan on NOT changing the film until you shoot the whole roll.)

(3) There is an aperture (f-stop) ring on the lens. But one position on that ring is labeled "A" -- that's the "Automatic" position. The camera ONLY allows automatic shots using SHUTTER priority. This would be the equivalent to using the "Tv" mode on a modern DSLR camera (Nikon's "S" mode on the dial) in which YOU select the shutter speed you want to use and the camera will automatically select the f-stop for you. There is no fully automatic mode (camera picks everything). That would require an "AE-1 Program" instead of an "AE-1" (non-program) version.

Notice I haven't mentioned loading the film... yet. Just play with the camera a bit to understand how this exposure system works.

(4) "Pretend" to load film.

The "rewind" crank is on the top left side of the body. LIFT the knob with your thumb and index finger. It will raise up about about a half-inch and click and stop. But LIFT it again (it is spring loaded) and you'll notice the back door of the camera swings open and exposes the film chamber. We won't load film yet. But notice that on the TOP RIGHT side of the camera (just behind the shutter button) is a tiny window. That window indicates the exposure number on your film. It will display an "S" ("Start" position).

Close the film door (without loading film - this is a dry run)

Push the rewind crank (that dial on the top left actually does have a tiny crank that flips out to make it easier for you to rewind the film) back down.

Repeat the following steps:
- press the shutter button
- advance the film/shutter winder lever using your thumb and NOTICE that the film counter advanced from the "S" position to a position with a dot.
- press the shutter button again
- advance the film/shutter winder again and notice that the film counter advanced to a to a "0"
- press the shutter button again
- advance the film again -- notice now it moved to a dot between the 0 and the 2 (they only mark even frames in the window... the dots represent the odd number frames.

Why? There's a film leader which is exposed to light. When you REALLY load film, you'll feed the end of that leader into the take-up spool in the camera and give the camera's film winder a crank to MAKE SURE it's being wound. As you lay the film into the camera, this "leader" of film is exposed to light (which fully exposes it.) You'll close the back door to the camera (making it light-proof) and then advance the film by several frames to take up that exposed bit of film leader and position a frame of film which has never been exposed to light (that will be your frame #1).

You are now at frame 1 on the film (the first frame you can trust... do not try to use the first few frames.)

(5) If you had actually loaded film, that film would have come in a box and the "box top" would have had the film type, ASA, and number of exposures in the roll (usually 12, 24, or 36 exposures) printed on it. After loading that film, you would immediately tear off the box top and slide it into the holder on the back of the camera's film door. This is your reminder -- so you'll know what film is in the camera.

Each time you change film, you put the reminder in that holder so that you remember what type of film is loaded.

ALSO at this time, you would set the ASA setting on the camera. Let's assume we loaded 100 ASA film.

Rotate the ASA dial to "100" (100 ASA) by lifting the shutter speed dial and rotating the dial until the value in the window (printed in green) says "100". This is what you'd do to indicate that you have 100 ASA film in the camera (currently we have no film in the camera, but this tells the camera to meter light as if we have 100 ASA film loaded.)

(6) "Pretend" to take a shot.

Go outside on a sunny day with the camera which has it's battery installed but does not have any film in it.

(6a) Focus the camera.

These are not auto-focusing cameras. But there's a giant focusing aid in the middle of the viewfinder.

Look through the viewfinder and point the camera at a subject -- any subject.

Rotate the focus ring on the lens from one end to the other and back (a few times) while continuing to look through the viewfinder.

NOTICE that the focus is changing, but more importantly, notice that in the center of the viewfinder this is a circle within a circle... and that inner circle is divided into an upper half and lower half. This is the "split prism" focusing aid.

If you point the camera at anything vertical (a tree trunk, a sign post, anything with a vertical orientation) you'll notice that as you rotate the focus ring that the object you are looking at appears to be cut into two halves and these halves are sliding left/right as you rotate the focus ring.

Rotate the focus ring until the upper half and lower half in the "split prism" focusing aid line up. When these line up... you are focused!!!

(6b) Meter and set the exposure.

Rotate the shutter speed dial (without lifting) to "125" (meaning 1/125th second exposure.)

Wind the shutter (pull the winding lever all the way to the right with your thumb until it stops, then release (it will not fold completely flat into the camera body... it normally sticks out slightly to help your thumb grab and wind the lever quickly and easily after each shot. When you're done shooting for the day (or at least for a while) you can push the lever back flush with the body (so that it doesn't snag on anything.))

Set the lens f-stop to the "A" (automatic) position. There is a tiny black button on the aperture ring. This button MUST BE PRESSED DOWN to put the camera either INTO or take it OUT OF the Automatic position. It does not need to be pressed to move between the other f-stop positions.

Now that you have set the ASA to 100, the shutter speed to 1/125th sec, and the f-stop to A (automatic), you can test the camera.

Hold the camera up to your eye so that you can look through the viewfinder (lens cap must be removed) and press the shutter button half-way WHILE looking at the indications around the edge of the viewfinder. You should notice the needle on the right pointing to a value somewhere between the "11" and "16" (if you are in full sun then it will probably be about halfway between those numbers.) This indicates that when you take the shot, it intends to set the lens aperture to that f-stop.

While still looking through the camera and half-pressing the shutter, slowly begin to cover the lens with your left hand.... to block light. NOTICE that as you do... the needle drops to lower values. If you cover too much light, the needle drops all the way to the bottom and a red light starts flashing. This red flashing light means there is not enough light to get a correct exposure and the image will be under-exposed if you take the shot.

If you wanted to MANUALLY control the f-stop, instead of using the "A" Position on the dial, you'd perform the same steps above, but when you half-press the shutter button to meter the shot, you'd note the f-stop recommendation (displayed in the light meter in the viewfinder) and then manually rotate the aperture ring on the lens to that recommended position.

(NOTE: The AE-1 only allows the shutter speed to be set in full stop increments, but it allows the f-stop to be set in half-stop increments.)

(7) Take the shot

Fully press the shutter button. That part is easy.

(8) Advance the film and wind the shutter.

Use the film-advance / winder with your thumb to flip it to the right until it clicks and you see that the film counter has advanced by a frame (one full wind will advance one single frame.) So literally you'll just flip the lever all the way to the right until it clicks... then release. That's one frame (and it will refuse to wind again until you press the shutter button to take the next shot.)



(9) Learn a few nuances about the camera...

That's pretty much what you need to know about the basics. But here are a few "advanced" nuances... things you don't need to use for most of the shots you'll take, but you may be wondering what some of those other buttons do.

First... if you look at the shutter speed dial on the top of the camera you'll notice that there's a tiny lightning bolt symbol next to the "60" -- but no other position has a lightning bolt. That is the "flash sync" speed. When using the camera with a flash, the shutter speed MUST be set to a speed AT OR BELOW the flash-sync speed (in other words turn the shutter speed to 60... or slower (e.g. 30, 15, 8, etc.) but not higher (e.g. 125 is too fast.) This has to do with how the shutter works... it is a black fabric shutter with two "curtains". The first curtain slides "open" (from right to left inside the camera) and after a delay (based on shutter speed) the second curtain slides "closed" to complete the exposure. At high speed (anything faster than 1/60th) the second curtain is actually following the first curtain leaving only a small gap exposed between them. If a flash fires, only the small part of the frame exposed in that gap will get the benefit of light -- the rest will be underexposed. But at 1/60th or slower the entire film frame will be exposed to light when the flash fires.

There's a small lever next to the shutter button. On the side of the shutter button there's a black line and it probably aligns with the letter "A" - which is the normal operating mode. If you rotate the lever counter-clockwise it will align with the "L" -- that's the "lock" position. You will not be able to press the shutter button in the "L" position. This is designed to avoid accidental use of the camera (e.g. when putting the camera away -- if you fear something might bump the button in your bag and waste a frame you can "lock" the shutter button.)

If you rotate that same lever clockwise (instead of counter-clockwise) it will expose a tiny red light and the black line will align with the letter "S" -- that's the "self timer". The self-timer is a 10-second timer (it cannot be adjusted to any other amount of time). If you fully press the shutter, the red light will start blinking... and in 10 seconds it will take the shot.

The black button on the top left (by the rewind crank) is a battery-test button. Look through the viewfinder when pressing it. The light meter has a black index mark next to the 5.6 position. The needle should point either to that black index mark OR BELOW it if you have a good battery. If the battery is weak it will point above the index mark (and you should replace the battery.)

On the front of the body -- left of the lens -- there are three buttons.

The small silver button causes the camera to open up by 2 stops. If a subject is back-lit (sun at your subject's back) then it's common for the subject to be dark and in silhouette. Pressing and holding this button WHILE taking a shot causes the camera to open the aperture by 2 stops (assuming it isn't at the limit of the lens aperture already) to increase the exposure. This will help expose your subject correctly (at the expense of probably overexposing the background.)

The small black button below the silver button is the METERING button. This is exactly the same as holding the shutter button down half-way.

Below that is the Depth of Field Preview button but this one works a bit differently. First... the aperture setting MUST NOT be in the "A" position. E.g. set the aperture to something like f/16 but rotating the aperture ring on the lens to the "16" (if in the "A" position do not forget to press the small black button next to the "A" or the aperture ring will refuse to turn.) Make sure you wind the camera (film advance/winder) because the DOF Preview button won't work if the camera isn't ready to take a shot. Look through the viewfinder. Slide that button sideways (toward the lens) and you'll notice it suddenly gets very dark in the viewfinder. This is because the aperture blades just stopped down to f/16 (a tiny opening).

You can lock the DOF preview on. If you look at the front of the camera when you slide that button sideways you will notice it reveals a tiny silver button. Press the black DOF Preview sideways so that your fingers do not touch the silver button... and the button will lock in that position (with DOF Preview on). To release the DOF preview, just touch the tiny silver button.

Also on the bottom of the camera there is the 1/4"-20 tripod socket (to mount the camera to any photo tripod). There's also a round silver cap that requires a coin to open... that exposes a winder gear. Camera made a "power winder" accessory. To attach that accessory you would open that cover. The winder would attach so that it engaged the gear (below the cover), it used the tripod socket to secure itself to the camera body, and on the opposite side of the bottom you'll notice two contacts -- those were the electrical contacts between the winder and camera body so that the winder knew when you took a shot and that it should advance the film.

On the top-front of the camera there is something that might look like a black button (just in front of the film rewind knob -- but on the front, not the top). That's actually a black plastic cap and it's covering the flash sync cord socket (for using external flash). Your plastic cap may be missing in which case you'll just see the the exposed sync cord socket (it's easy to lose that black plastic cap.)

(10) learn to "rewind" the film.

Even though there is no film in the camera, flip the camera upside down. Notice there is a tiny black button in a recessed cavity. That's the film rewind button. The camera will normally not allow the film to move backward... it can only move forward. Press this button and it allows the film to be rewound.

On the top left of the camera is the rewind crank. The crank is folded into that round knob that you had to raise to open the back door. Flip the crank open and you'll notice there's a small arrow indicating the correct direction to crank.

Start rewinding the film.

If film were ACTUALLY loaded in the camera, you would notice the frame indicator (the small window behind the shutter button) would show the frame counter going backwards toward the start position. And you would keep cranking as you watch it return to the beginning of the roll... and KEEP cranking until you feel there is no longer any resistance (indicating that you have rewound all of the film (including the small leader which was exposed when the roll was new) back into the light-proof canister.

Since there is no film in the camera, you won't see the film counter return to the start of the roll -- nor will you feel the resistance of the film as you rewind it.

Flip the crank handle back into the rewinder knob and raise the knob until clicks up, and then raise it a tiny bit more (against the spring pressure) and the backdoor will release. When the back door releases the film frame indicator window will always return to the "S" position.

That's the complete dry-run of how to use your camera.

Play with that a bit... then get some film and get ready to have fun.

The film must not be exposed to light or it'll be ruined. I realize this may sound like obvious and basic information, but I've seen people who had no idea that the film must not be exposed to light (other than that brief moment when it is exposed in the camera as you take a photo) and pulled the film out of the camera to "look at it" after it was exposed.

You will probably want to start by sending the film out for processing. You may eventually want to learn to develop and print your own film... that's another topic entirely (and usually only done with black & white film because color film processing is a bit more complicated.)
 
Thank you very much, TCampbell! Very thorough and informative. The manual I initially read online didn't cover several of the subjects mentioned in what you posted, so it's nice to know those things now. :)
 
If you're going to scan your film, you need to budget for a film scanner. They are not inexpensive, but they are orders of magnitude superior to adapters that go into flatbed scanners made to scan prints or documents. A film scanner takes the actual negative or slide and scans it, rather than scanning your prints.

Scanning prints is next to useless in most cases. First off, you have no control over the judgment used by the processor of your film when they make the print. Their machine does a "best guess" based on average consumer print needs, which basically means they know how to print family snapshots.

The negative that comes back with the prints (although many places don't return negatives any more..... DO NOT USE SUCH A FACILITY FOR YOUR FILM!!!!!!!) will more accurately render the exposure you had the camera set for. The printing machine can lighten, darken, add or remove contrast, shift the color, all based on guesses about what the picture is supposed to be. The negatives are simply developed, and they show what was recorded by the camera. Film scanner can digitize the negatives and compensate for the color cast that negatives have.

Shooting slides is cheaper if you want to shoot color. Velvia makes some wonderful slide films, and film scanners can digitize slides very well. Slides are easier to sort with the naked eye as well, since they are real-world color.

The down side of scanning film is that you have the same constraints as shooting digitally in the first place, with none of the advantages. Film is expensive, but has a "look" all its own. Scanning will remove that look most of the time, by adjusting the colors during the scan. It can't be helped. The scanner makes an electronic judgment about the image, and you as the operator make an eyeball adjustment as you scan.

Another downside of going to the digital realm is that it lacks the dynamic range of film. A film frame with high detail in the light AND the dark areas may not be able to make a satisfactory scan.

Lastly, you don't have to shoot color! B&W films are cheaper, more varied, have more "personality" from different types, speeds and brands, and it's very easy to set up a home darkroom for developing and printing, although I've never done that myself.

Just to illustrate an extreme example of the print vs. negative issue, here's a scan of a print I received some time back with a roll of color film:
Gull%252520as%252520printed.jpg


Here's a scan of the negative for that same image:
Gull%252520from%252520neg.jpg


You want to be able to scan the negatives!!!!!!

Now another comparison. These two images are the same negative, scanned first with a good flatbed scanner, then with a film scanner.

Flatbed%252520crop.jpg


raw%252520crop.jpg


So not only do you want to scan negatives instead of prints, you want to use a real film scanner and not the adapters that go onto flatbed glass scanners.

Of course, it's very easy for me to spend all of your money from here!!!! :)
 
wfooshee, I completely agree about budgeting for a real deal film scanner and not an adapter! From the reading I had done about flatbed scanner adapter vs a unit used solely for scanning film slides, it was clear which was the better choice. Your examples of the two were excellent, and set the choice even more in stone for me. It will be some time before I can buy one for myself, but it will happen!

One question though, I don't know a thing about slides, every time the word came up, I assumed people were talking about slides used in a projector (Are they?) Anyways, the question, can a 35mm camera shoot slides? I'll need to do a bit of reading on slides and negatives!

Thanks so much for your response!!
 
thinking about my question, I realized... why would you have recommended me to shoot slides, if a 35mm camera could not shoot slides? Lol, brain fart, sorry.

I googled around a bit, and all I see are strips of 35mm film with crisp pictures on each exposure. It's like they're prints, downsized into film-size. Is this what developed slides really look like? After that they can be exposed to light and everything? They look amazing!
 
If you're going to scan your film, you need to budget for a film scanner. They are not inexpensive, but they are orders of magnitude superior to adapters that go into flatbed scanners made to scan prints or documents. A film scanner takes the actual negative or slide and scans it, rather than scanning your prints.

Scanning prints is next to useless in most cases. First off, you have no control over the judgment used by the processor of your film when they make the print. Their machine does a "best guess" based on average consumer print needs, which basically means they know how to print family snapshots.

The negative that comes back with the prints (although many places don't return negatives any more..... DO NOT USE SUCH A FACILITY FOR YOUR FILM!!!!!!!) will more accurately render the exposure you had the camera set for. The printing machine can lighten, darken, add or remove contrast, shift the color, all based on guesses about what the picture is supposed to be. The negatives are simply developed, and they show what was recorded by the camera. Film scanner can digitize the negatives and compensate for the color cast that negatives have.

Shooting slides is cheaper if you want to shoot color. Velvia makes some wonderful slide films, and film scanners can digitize slides very well. Slides are easier to sort with the naked eye as well, since they are real-world color.

The down side of scanning film is that you have the same constraints as shooting digitally in the first place, with none of the advantages. Film is expensive, but has a "look" all its own. Scanning will remove that look most of the time, by adjusting the colors during the scan. It can't be helped. The scanner makes an electronic judgment about the image, and you as the operator make an eyeball adjustment as you scan.

Another downside of going to the digital realm is that it lacks the dynamic range of film. A film frame with high detail in the light AND the dark areas may not be able to make a satisfactory scan.

Lastly, you don't have to shoot color! B&W films are cheaper, more varied, have more "personality" from different types, speeds and brands, and it's very easy to set up a home darkroom for developing and printing, although I've never done that myself.

Just to illustrate an extreme example of the print vs. negative issue, here's a scan of a print I received some time back with a roll of color film:
Gull%252520as%252520printed.jpg


Here's a scan of the negative for that same image:
Gull%252520from%252520neg.jpg


You want to be able to scan the negatives!!!!!!

Now another comparison. These two images are the same negative, scanned first with a good flatbed scanner, then with a film scanner.

Flatbed%252520crop.jpg


raw%252520crop.jpg


So not only do you want to scan negatives instead of prints, you want to use a real film scanner and not the adapters that go onto flatbed glass scanners.

Of course, it's very easy for me to spend all of your money from here!!!! :)
What sort of processing company does not return negatives, never ever heard of that before
 
Places that develop around me like CVS, Walmart and Walgreens do not return negatives.
 
wfooshee, I completely agree about budgeting for a real deal film scanner and not an adapter! From the reading I had done about flatbed scanner adapter vs a unit used solely for scanning film slides, it was clear which was the better choice. Your examples of the two were excellent, and set the choice even more in stone for me. It will be some time before I can buy one for myself, but it will happen!

One question though, I don't know a thing about slides, every time the word came up, I assumed people were talking about slides used in a projector (Are they?) Anyways, the question, can a 35mm camera shoot slides? I'll need to do a bit of reading on slides and negatives!

Thanks so much for your response!!
You can pick up an Epson V500 secondhand for a good price and they are very good film scanners and yes you can get 35mm slide fil.
 

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