Which camera should I go with?

[jcdeboever]

I have both the 55 micro and the 50 f/2. The 55 is almost always on my Nikon F. Super lens up close, it's even good at distance shots. The nice thing about the 55 is you can get close and use it as a normal. The 50 f/2 is nicer at distance shots but can't get real close like the 55.

55 up close on Nikon F, 400tx, sunny 16 because there is no meter in my F.

 

[Kramertron2000]

I love the texture in that shot. Never been a huge fan of black and white photos (they can look a little cliche), but I think Ill grab a roll or 2 of B&W film when the camera arrives and I get a lens to go with it, if for no other reason than being easier to develop myself.

On the note of developing, apparently my local Camera house stores can develop and process film still, so it would be interesting to see what kind of results they can produce.

 

[MartinCrabtree]

Shooting B&W helps me with composition.

 

[Kramertron2000]

This may be a silly question (and more advanced than the level Im at now in any case), but is it possible to manually control the shutter speed on this camera?

One thing Id love to do one day is get some shots of bioluminescent mushrooms at night and capture the glow. For anyone not familiar with these, they have a quite dim glow that usually requires your eyes to adjust to total darkness before you can even see them.

One of the really great things about where I live is I have easy access to a huge range of different environments (an hour drive in any direction from my house can take me to semi-desert, stereotypical Australian outback like you see on TV, dense tropical rainforest and rolling agricultural fields), including the types of places you find these interesting fungi - among other really cool natural subjects.

Obviously though a digital camera would be the easiest for capturing this kind of picture, but still, something Id be interested in trying out if its possible. I can see manual focussing being an advantage here - last time I went on a holiday up in the rainforest I tried to take some pictures of ones I found with my phone, and although I was able to get some pictures of the really bright one I found (that didnt just look like a green blob on a black background), the autofocus was what made it extremely difficult.

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[jcdeboever]

For the night stuff, You will need a cable shutter release, sturdy tripod, and if shooting color, fujifilm velvia slide film will probably work the best. You will need to figure out the exposure and it will be long. Bring a flash light so you can set the focus up and see the dials on the camera. You will be shooting in bulb mode and need some sort of timer to count the exposure time and tell you when to release the shutter, via the cable. A hand held light meter would be handy. Not sure if a phone app one would work good or not. Shooting wide open on your lens, I think if it's night, your looking at least a 30s exposure.

 

[jcdeboever]

I love the texture in that shot. Never been a huge fan of black and white photos (they can look a little cliche), but I think Ill grab a roll or 2 of B&W film when the camera arrives and I get a lens to go with it, if for no other reason than being easier to develop myself.

On the note of developing, apparently my local Camera house stores can develop and process film still, so it would be interesting to see what kind of results they can produce.

I think black & white is beautiful. Cliche? I don't know. IMO, a good photograph works well in either color or b & w. When I take pics, I don't usually think in terms of color or b&w, more about light, subject, composition, and what's on the edges of the frame. I prefer 100% viewfinder so I know what's going to be on negative. However, I usually see where to crop my negative if not using a 100% viewfinder. I love b&w and it's easy to process at home. I process c41 color negative too but usually wait to I have 6 to 8 rolls shot and buy a C41 kit and use it up in one session. Color chemicals don't last long at all.

Kodak HC110 works well for me on b&w because its concentrated and has a long shelf life, as does the reusable rapid fixer. I shoot mostly Kodak 400tx (TriX), I like the grain.

 

[Kramertron2000]

Thanks for the tips.

You're right - a good picture is a good picture.

Id definitely like to have a go at processing my own pictures when I start using film. Having a chemistry background, I find the whole process fascinating. When I go back to uni I should also have access to a darkroom (a lot of the older biochemistry techniques that use x-ray and radiation, as well as stuff that uses fluorescence requires it for processing and visualization), so that will definitely help.

To start with Ill probably just get it processed at my local camera store, but Im not sure how it will turn out.

 

[Kramertron2000]

So - update:

Camera should be on its way. At the earliest it will be here at the end of the week, latest maybe end of next week or sometime the week after.

I bought a Nikkor 50mm f/2 lens from Japan, which should arrive next week sometime or the week after (possibly another week after that depending on the mail - I was only able to get it shipped economy). I chose one of the later models with the rubber grippy bits mainly because they can focus an extra 12cm closer, which will be better for plant pictures.


I think to start with Ill probably get a roll of black and white (probably something in the 200asa - TriX?) and a roll of colour (maybe just kodak gold 400 or 200 or something). For the B&W I was thinking of stand developing with coffee, mainly for the simplicity and because its forgiving (correct me if Im wrong here). I can get film developed and printed) by camera house, but they have to send it to Cairns (400km away) and it takes a week, costs $20au a roll and who knows if itll be any good. Ill probably get the colour roll developed that way until I get into doing it myself.

I was also thinking about picking up a cheap scanner, mainly to do a quick check to see which ones are worth keeping and getting processed professionally.

 

[john.margetts]

If you are starting out with developing film I would not use caffinol nor would I use stand development. Get yourself proficient with D76/ID11 as a developer using standard agitation. Once you are proficient with basic development, then try caffinol or try stand development - I would not try both together as you will have no way of knowing what is causing any of the problems you will get.

 

[jcdeboever]

TriX or known as 400TX is 400 speed film.

 

[Kramertron2000]

Thanks

Im a bit confused with all the different films available (mainly because there are so many rather than what the are). Locally all I can get is Kodak colourmax 400, a 400asa fujifilm and TriX from what Iv seen. I had a look on ebay thisafternoon though and now my head is spinning with all the choices

No doubt my first couple of rolls will not be great, so there probably isnt much point in going for anything special - especially when I start attempting to develop it myself.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

As for black and white film and home processing.

First forget brands for a minute and just consider film speeds for a second. You can get a wide variety of BW film from 50 speed all the way up through 3200 100 and 400 are good starting places. There are sill a variety of makers out there but Kodak and Ilford are the big kids on the block. Frankly it does not really matter which film you start with they are all pretty decent these days. Whats important is that you pick one film, and for the first few rolls, stick to it. Learn the film stock, what it does well and what it does not do well. Practically 100 or 400 speed is by far the most commonly used stocks (in my experience). Ilfords FP4 is a good place to start (125ISO) or HP5 in 400 speed, TriX is also a great stock and would be a solid start.

As for home processing as others have mentioned cafinol is not the place to start its a bit inconsistent and harder to control than proper developer. Ill echo other sentiments that you should get comfortable with ID11 or some other standard chemistry. My personal advice is to buy the Ilford stuff, their documentation is VERY good and quite easy to follow. Its perhaps worthy of another thread but for home processing you will need the following,

- Roll of Film (lets say FP4 125ISO)
- Daylight Developing Tank (Paterson's are nice and easy to load and a good place to start)
- Iford DDX (1+4 dilution)
- Iford Stop Bath (you dont actually need this you can use a water bath. I it largely because their documentation calls for it and I get very good results with it).
- Ilford Rapid Fixer (1+4 dilution)
- Distilled Water (you can grab this at your local drug store usually by the gallon you can use tap water but it really depends on your local water. Where I live the water if very hard and can cause drying issues)
- Completely Dark room (you will need this for loading the film into the tank. A closet with a good tight door will work. You can also get a changing bag but no need to spend the $10)

You can get all of this stuff online delivered to your door. It ends up being far cheaper than a lab.

Forget the scanner for now (unless you can find a dedicated film scanner locally). To scan film negatives you need a proper film scanner that has a back lighting unit. You really cant get substantial scans otherwise. You can digitize negatives with a digital camera, do a quick search there are lots of methods out there that are well documented, results vary.

 

[Kramertron2000]

Thanks for the suggestions. Ill probably just get whatever film I can get locally cheapest (still have a couple of places to check out that might carry some).

Ill give developing myself a go as soon as possible because it should work out way quicker and cheaper. The only issue is temperature- I live in the tropics, and even in winter it rarely gets below 25°c during the day, and night temps at the moment (end of winter) are in the low 20s.

I mentioned the scanner because I saw one at officeworks for like $60. Its a film scanner, but the reviews arent great, hence suggesting just getting it to check which shots are worth getting printed by someone else.

 

[Dave Colangelo]

Ill probably just get whatever film I can get locally cheapest

Check your local big box stores (here in the states thats Walmart, Target etc.) a lot of these places still cary film and its very good price wise if they have it. If they dont have it in stock see if they can order it for you, most stores like that in the sates will offer free in-store delivery if they dont have it on hand.

I live in the tropics, and even in winter it rarely gets below 25°c during the day

Just use an ice bath, thats how most people do it any way (to keep proper temperature control). Again worthy of another thread (and I know there is a thread here somewhere on it) but you can use ice water to chill a container of developer down to temp then dunk the tank as needed to keep it cool.

 

[Kramertron2000]

Yeah, Big W (our big box store) is the only one other than the camera chain-store Iv checked so far, but Id say Kmart and Target probably also carry film.

I didnt even think of an ice bath to be honest (odd, because Im a biochemist and using one is fairly standard practice for a lot of what I do). Does going lower than 20°c matter?