4 dumb questions about shooting film

Robert20 · Apr 2, 2011

I have plagued this film forum for the past 48 hours and I am sorry; so many considerations and im a young'un so im digital head. Almost there before I leave you all alone and actually post pics.

1) on my Nikon F301 - i have a DX film setting - what is this? does it mean i can use DX lenses?

2) what do i ask the sales guys in Jessops / snappy snaps for when getting it developed. I do not want prints - I want the pics on CD and them at a big resolution. i.e enough to be a background wallpaper on a 27" imac? is their lingo for this

3) whats the best place to buy film.... (fuji, 100/400/800 and ilford BW 400) online or otherwise... 3 rolls and im out of £18. this hobby is going to get expensive...

4) is their any classic NOOB mistakes you all have made that i can benefit from your misery and avoid making?

ann · Apr 2, 2011

the dx means the code of modern films, the canister has a code which is matched by the camera and knows what the ISO is.

I am in the US, but the offical language should be similar. Tell them to develop only and scan to a cd with highest resoluiton.

hopefully someone in your part of the world can chime in best places to buy film

be sure the film is engaged properly so it passes the shutter plane and you actually get a photo

oops i saw jessops and thought england.

try b&*H, adorma, freestyle for film and buy in bricks so the cost will be less.

molested_cow · Apr 2, 2011

1) on my Nikon F301 - i have a DX film setting - what is this? does it mean i can use DX lenses?

Not sure what you mean. I have the F501 which is very similar with the 301 except it has AF. SLRs cannot take DX lens because the image area is smaller than the actual film. You can try take photos but it will leave a circular border I think.

2) what do i ask the sales guys in Jessops / snappy snaps for when getting it developed. I do not want prints - I want the pics on CD and them at a big resolution. i.e enough to be a background wallpaper on a 27" imac? is their lingo for this

Just tell them to scan on CD, no prints. However, I don't think you get to choose the resolution. Common places have their machines in pre-set mode, means the technicians are not supposed to do anything different. These places usually scan them at resolutions good enough to make a decent 5X7 print. If you want bigger prints, you need to go to professional places where they use much better scanner for the job. It's going to cost a lot more, so I'd suggest you to make your pick before taking your negatives there.

3) whats the best place to buy film.... (fuji, 100/400/800 and ilford BW 400) online or otherwise... 3 rolls and im out of £18. this hobby is going to get expensive...

I get my negatives on ebay if you have time to wait.

4) is their any classic NOOB mistakes you all have made that i can benefit from your misery and avoid making?

Make sure you are on the correct ISO setting.
Make sure your bracketing setting is correct.
Make sure the film is completely retracted after finishing a roll before you open the cover!

KVRNut · Apr 3, 2011

As Ann mentioned in her post, the DX code is on your film cartridge and is read by your camera so it can automatically set the ISO of your film. If you look inside the back of your camera where you put the 35 mm film cartridge, you'll see either 2 or 3 nubs sticking up from the body of your camera. Those nubs contact the silver patches on the side of the cartridge and read your ISO that way.

I ask the folks where I get film processed for a high res scan with no alterations, saved as .tiff files, and if the job needs more than one cd, than use 2. Prints or contact sheets are no alterations too. For transparency scans I ask them to make sure the color profiles on the scanner match the film being scanned. My mistakes are treated the same way as my good photos because I try and learn from my mistakes.

I have no idea who to buy film from in Chicago that deals in pounds sterling. LOL Some of the on-line vendors like B&H, KEH, Adorama, etc., have very good reputations and some good prices. I'm pretty lucky in my neck of the woods as I deal with a retailer that gives me a good price on film when I buy it by the box. You'll find that over time it's a real benefit to cultivate local contacts as far as vendors are concerned. It's a great time saver when you deal with someone who understands your film needs and can offer you help with your film. Also, keep your film refrigerated if you're not using it. The only time my film is out of the fridge is when it's going to be put in the camera bag.

Newbie mistakes? GAD!! I've made a ton of them over the years. Forgetting extra batteries and extra film. Leaving the mounting plate for my tri-pod on my truck seat and discovering it after I hiked a couple miles up hill to a water fall. Shooting an entire roll of MF film with the wrong ISO setting. *sigh* Letting people rush me when I'm busy with a shot or location. Not writing down what I did for each shot in a note book in my early years with a camera. Have learned from my mistakes but will keep on making new ones. LOL

I hope you enjoy learning film photography!

ann · Apr 4, 2011

chicago= calumet

Big Mike · Apr 4, 2011

As mentioned, the DX is the camera's ability to read the ISO of the film. But to add to that, you can likely set the ISO on the camera. Note: this isn't like setting the ISO on a digital camera, as the ISO is the rating on the film. But by changing the ISO setting, you can purposely under or over expose your film.

For example, you might have ISO 400 film, but find that you need faster shutter speeds. So you could set the ISO to 800 (making the camera think it has 800 film) and thus get your faster shutter speeds. Your images on the film will be one stop underexposed, however...knowing this, you can 'push' the film one stop in processing to make up for that. Of course, the quality won't be the same as properly exposing the images, but it can work for you.
Pushing (and pulling) is actually something that people do on purpose to get specific effects. For example, if you really want to bring out the grain of the film (especially on B&W), you can push the film a stop or two and process accordingly.

Vautrin · Apr 7, 2011

18 quid for 3 rolls of film? what are you shooting? Kodak Ektachrome VS? Sounds about right if you're buying by the roll. Foma 100? Waaaaay too expensive. Remember different films have different price points. You can get really cheap film and really expensive film. Experiment with different ones and find what you like to shoot.

What are you trying to shoot? Black and White? Try 1 - 2 GBP / roll. Color Negative? 2 - 4 GBP Slide? 4+ GBP

But that depends on brand too. Kodak Ektrachrome is always very expensive, while fuji has some cheap (and nice) E-6.

Tell us what you're looking to shoot we can give some recommendations. =D

Also, try silverprint.co.uk , I use them to source some hard to find films.

I buy most of my films in netherlands form macodirect.de . Not sure if they ship to the UK. But they make rollei brand film, and is cheap and wonderful to shoot (don't know how to describe it, but Rollei Retro 400S just feels different)

Or go pick up a magazine like Black and White Photography. In the back are all kinds of resources for film photography. As a matter of fact, subscribe, you'll thank me. :-D

And remember to keep your eyes peeled. You'd be amazed by the deals you can find. I've bought most of my kit from my local flea market, and sometimes I've found some great deals on film. My drug dealer, erm, photography store once sold close to expire ilford delta for half price. I picked up like 10 rolls and shot it all well before expiry... =D