Grimey Camera / film

[Lesley666]

Hey all,

Have been shooting film for the last 3 years or so. I was using an Olympus MJU Stylus for the majority of this time, which recently broke and is beyond repair
Currently looking for a new film camera and am hoping to get something with a more grimey / darker feel to it. The majority of cameras I have found have a very sharp focus and generally tend to be quite bright. Ideally, for the photos I’m trying to take, I would be hoping for a clear focus but also quite a grimey / noisey / old school look to it. The best reference I can give is 90s skate or graffiti photos. Price isn’t really a problem but would ideally not like to spend that much.
Would also be very interested in hearing suggestions for film that could help to give this look. Any info would be very helpful and much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[limr]

Cameras alone don't create a "grimy/dark" look. That's a combination of lens, film, and development. And noise is a digital term. You mean grain.

Get a Holga or something with a plastic lens, shoot expired film, and develop it wrong.

Or, just shoot some pictures, print them, and leave them in an attic for 30 years.

 

[Lesley666]

Cameras alone don't create a "grimy/dark" look. That's a combination of lens, film, and development. And noise is a digital term. You mean grain.

Get a Holga or something with a plastic lens, shoot expired film, and develop it wrong.

Or, just shoot some pictures, print them, and leave them in an attic for 30 years.

Appreciate the reply.
I’m aware of this and was basically asking for a combination that would work best. Expired film has worked well for me in the past and is definitely a help for the look I’m going for.
I’ve been considering moving up from a point and shoot and getting something more adaptable as I’d love to be able to work with fish eye etc as well. Any ideas for this?
In terms of the Holga / plastic lens recommendation - could you recommend anything more specific?

Thanks for the help

 

[webestang64]

FYI..... Most of the "look" of old photos are from the photo prints that have been lying around for years. The old "wet" prints as we call them now had a short life span as far as holding their colors. The EP-2 process was bad at holding on to it's color, the later 80's process of RA-4 was better.
I wonder what these new "dry" (ink jet) process prints will look like in the next 25 or more years from now. The manufacture states that the prints I make in the pro-lab where I work will last 75 years against fading color.
Who knows.....I'll be dead by then.

Best of the worst expired film to shoot is any color print film at least 20 years old, the "off" brand names are great for this.

 

[limr]

Cameras alone don't create a "grimy/dark" look. That's a combination of lens, film, and development. And noise is a digital term. You mean grain.

Get a Holga or something with a plastic lens, shoot expired film, and develop it wrong.

Or, just shoot some pictures, print them, and leave them in an attic for 30 years.

Appreciate the reply.
I’m aware of this and was basically asking for a combination that would work best. Expired film has worked well for me in the past and is definitely a help for the look I’m going for.
I’ve been considering moving up from a point and shoot and getting something more adaptable as I’d love to be able to work with fish eye etc as well. Any ideas for this?
In terms of the Holga / plastic lens recommendation - could you recommend anything more specific?

Thanks for the help

I would look at the Diana F+, which can also be used with a fisheye lens. Lomography has a lot of options and accessories: Lomography Shop

There's the original Diana F+, of course, but I don't think you'd have as many options for accessories, including a fisheye lens. It's also a medium-format camera but one of the accessories you can get is a 35mm back.

Holgas are also medium format. Each one seems to be slightly different. I've had two, and the second one definitely has a more significant vignette to it. The first pictures in this album were taken with my first Holga, and then as you scroll down, those are taken with the second one with a stronger vignette.
Holga 120N

Both of these cameras have limitations, of course. If you're looking for something that is more adaptable and not a point-and-shoot, then you can look at SLRs or rangefinders with manual controls. I always suggest a Pentax K1000 as a good basic workhorse of a camera with a lot of lens options, but there are a lot different cameras. It would help to have some more guidelines of what kind of control you'd like to have, or if you posted some of your images to see what kind of look you're going after.

 

[compur]

Get any camera that accepts filters. Put a clear filter on it and smear the filter with grime or vaseline or whatever strikes your fancy.

You can also use a pinhole camera and most any film.

 

[cgw]

The look you're after is readily available in post processing of digital files--whether film-based or digital capture. With respect, you're kinda suckering for the idea that the "look" is something uniquely limited to film capture. Many of those shots you're drooling over were happy accidents that were seldom repeatable. B&W conversion of color film scans is a practical solution. A Photoshop plug-in like Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 is well worth a look for the "look" you're craving.

 

[limr]

Many of those shots you're drooling over were happy accidents that were seldom repeatable.

That's not really a fair statement for two reasons: first, we don't know what shots the OP is "drooling over" other than a general description. Second, depending on what those shots actually look like, it's entirely possible that they could be reproduced, and not just with software plug-ins.

 

[IanG]

If in doubt DON'T wash it. I washed mine.

However I'd removed anything that would get damaged so knew exactly what I was doing.

Just carefully keep cleaning, Iso prophyl alcohol is use carefully.

Ian

 

[cgw]

Many of those shots you're drooling over were happy accidents that were seldom repeatable.

That's not really a fair statement for two reasons: first, we don't know what shots the OP is "drooling over" other than a general description. Second, depending on what those shots actually look like, it's entirely possible that they could be reproduced, and not just with software plug-ins.

I'd argue fair. Here's why. Gritty, hi-contrast skater pix from that period were wildly inconsistent. Was there and saw 'em. A sympathetic lab produced the published results--not the shooters, OK? Following on from that, you likely aren't familiar with the look nor have done much LR/PS b&w processing that references the grit the OP seems to be after. It's eminently doable.

 

[limr]

I'd argue fair. Here's why. Gritty, hi-contrast skater pix from that period were wildly inconsistent. Was there and saw 'em. A sympathetic lab produced the published results--not the shooters, OK? Following on from that, you likely aren't familiar with the look nor have done much LR/PS b&w processing that references the grit the OP seems to be after. It's eminently doable.

You were there when they were shot? Developed? You know the exact technique that was used? You also know exactly what the OP has in mind just because the closest he/she could come up with was "90s skate or graffiti photos"?

And you don't know what I am familiar with or what I have or haven't done with film or post-processing, so that's another leap to your conclusions.

And no, I don't know exactly what the OP had in mind either, which is why I asked instead of assuming.

 

[cgw]

No interest in prolonging or promoting the fabulism/magical thinking about what film can deliver. Workflow for publication from analog involved a sizeable crew and resources now vanished or sidelined. No offense intended; your bad if you took any.

 

[limr]

No interest in prolonging or promoting the fabulism/magical thinking about what film can deliver. Workflow for publication from analog involved a sizeable crew and resources now vanished or sidelined. No offense intended; your bad if you took any.

Sure. Okay. Whatever you say.

 

[cgw]

Hey all,

Have been shooting film for the last 3 years or so. I was using an Olympus MJU Stylus for the majority of this time, which recently broke and is beyond repair
Currently looking for a new film camera and am hoping to get something with a more grimey / darker feel to it. The majority of cameras I have found have a very sharp focus and generally tend to be quite bright. Ideally, for the photos I’m trying to take, I would be hoping for a clear focus but also quite a grimey / noisey / old school look to it. The best reference I can give is 90s skate or graffiti photos. Price isn’t really a problem but would ideally not like to spend that much.
Would also be very interested in hearing suggestions for film that could help to give this look. Any info would be very helpful and much appreciated.

Thank you!

The 'zine makers best friend back then was a quality photocopier and a good imagination. Have a look sometime at HAMBURGER EYES - A Photo Magazine

 

[star camera company]

Shoot “in motion”, intentionally make ‘bad pictures’ in poor light. Shoot a LOT, pick your winners. As to Cameras, the Original Diana is a formidable image maker, once understood can give you exactly what you want. ••••• Remember the images you are trying to duplicate were made by amateurs doing things wrong with bad equipment.