Film Fun with film cameras (Image thread)

Two more from my Leica maiden voyage:


Calle de la Luna by ramirezaponte, on Flickr


John Meléndez by ramirezaponte, on Flickr

Leica M6 TTL, 35mm 2.5 Color Skopar, Kodak BW400CN. Taken in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Cheers,

Antonio

And, three more:


En la Calle Betances by ramirezaponte, on Flickr


En la Calle Betances by ramirezaponte, on Flickr


Calle de la Luna by ramirezaponte, on Flickr

Cheers,

Antonio

1st roll of black and white film through my Bessa R

Having recently obtained a secondhand Bessa R, which gives every impression of never having been used, I put my first roll of film through it yesterday on what was a day of very low contrast, in other words DULL. Initially I wasn't too happy with the results, but looking at them closer today the most successful ones are those that were underexposed. So I need to reappraise my speed rating for Ilford HP5 and possibly very slightly reduce my developing time as well. It's many years since I processed any film. These are probably the best of the bunch, but hopefully I can improve. I have to admit to being a trifle disappointed yesterday on initial examination with both blown highlights on what I'd recorded as correctly exposed shots and perhaps slightly too contrasty negatives in most cases. I know that these were underexposed which gives me a starting point to correct my settings.







All shot in the back lanes of my nearest local town (Kingsbridge, south Devon, UK) with a Voigtlander Bessa R and 35mm, f/2.5 Color Skopar and developed in LC29 at 1+29 dilution.

Barrie

My first roll.....

Results of my first roll shot on the Canonet QL17 (thanks Brian ) back. Again first attempt so please be gentle....

For those that need facts and figures, shot on T-Max 400 and developed straight in D76. Minimal PP of tiny jpg scans - don't have my own scanner yet. No shooting information as I am not that organised...and never will be

....got to say I really do love what film does. I really really really do!!!!

View attachment 50032
trails by stillshunter, on Flickr

windy.... by stillshunter, on Flickr

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Wally by stillshunter, on Flickr

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standing there by stillshunter, on Flickr

Barrie,

In addition to being excellent shots (not surprising coming from you) the tonality is beautiful. Even with scanned negatives, there is a certain tonality to b&w film that is clearly different from digital.

I have been relying on chromogenic B&W film, but hope to start shooting and developing Tri-X at home. The last time I developed film was 15 years ago, so it will be like learning all over again.

Very nice work!

Cheers,

Antonio

Mark,

The shots look very good. If I may, I would suggest to back off a little bit on the sharpening, but that may just be a result of the scans being small.

If you are shopping for a scanner, I can second Barrie's recommendation of the Plustek 7600i. I bought one last week and have been putting it through its paces for the last couple of days. The photos contained in my last three posts were all scanned with the Plustek. It is a noticeable improvement from the Epson V500 I had been using, particularly in terms of resolution. I hated the Sliverfast scanning software that came with it, though, and purchased VueScan, which IMO is much more usable.

Cheers,

Antonio

ajramirez said:

Mark,

The shots look very good. If I may, I would suggest to back off a little bit on the sharpening, but that may just be a result of the scans being small.

If you are shopping for a scanner, I can second Barrie's recommendation of the Plustek 7600i. I bought one last week and have been putting it through its paces for the last couple of days. The photos contained in my last three posts were all scanned with the Plustek. It is a noticeable improvement from the Epson V500 I had been using, particularly in terms of resolution. I hated the Sliverfast scanning software that came with it, though, and purchased VueScan, which IMO is much more usable.

Cheers,

Antonio

Click to expand...

Thanks Antonio. Yes there was little I (think I?) could do about the grain - as I'm assuming it's an artefact of the small files. Funny you should mention the V500 as these were scanned with this very scanner. Keeping an eye on a few Plusteks at the moment - some older 7200 and 7400 models going for the AUD200 mark here which seems pretty reasonable. Yes I have read in a few places that VueScan is the way to go...

stillshunter said:

Thanks Antonio. Yes there was little I (think I?) could do about the grain - as I'm assuming it's an artefact of the small files. Funny you should mention the V500 as these were scanned with this very scanner. Keeping an eye on a few Plusteks at the moment - some older 7200 and 7400 models going for the AUD200 mark here which seems pretty reasonable. Yes I have read in a few places that VueScan is the way to go...

Click to expand...

Mark,

I'm pretty sure the grain is due to the size of the scans, but it looks pretty good anyway. I don't know anything about the Plustek 7200, but the 7400 is the same scanner as the 7600i except for the lack of the IR channel. The IR channel is only good for IR scratch and dust removal, but does not work on conventional B&W or Kodachrome because of the silver content. So, if you are intending to mostly shoot and scan conventional B&W, you would be missing absolutely nothing by going for the 7400 instead of the 7600i.

Cheers,

Antonio

Barrie,

These look very good to my eye. HP5 is a contrasty emulsion though isn't it? The friend who processed my film - I will learn very soon how to doit myself...I promise - said that my shots were overexposed. But I always though the rule with film was to expose for the shadow and develop for the highlights...weird as it seems quite opposite to how I shoot with digital?

So how are you finding the Bessa in hand?

That Plustek does nice work. OK I'm sold.....but I will need to begin to seriously rehearse my discussions with the boss.

ajramirez said:

Mark,

I'm pretty sure the grain is due to the size of the scans, but it looks pretty good anyway. I don't know anything about the Plustek 7200, but the 7400 is the same scanner as the 7600i except for the lack of the IR channel. The IR channel is only good for IR scratch and dust removal, but does not work on conventional B&W or Kodachrome because of the silver content. So, if you are intending to mostly shoot and scan conventional B&W, you would be missing absolutely nothing by going for the 7400 instead of the 7600i.

Cheers,

Antonio

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Antonio. Both Barrie and your scans look great!!!!

stillshunter said:

Barrie,

These look very good to my eye. HP5 is a contrasty emulsion though isn't it? The friend who processed my film - I will learn very soon how to doit myself...I promise - said that my shots were overexposed. But I always though the rule with film was to expose for the shadow and develop for the highlights...weird as it seems quite opposite to how I shoot with digital?



So how are you finding the Bessa in hand?

That Plustek does nice work. OK I'm sold.....but I will need to begin to seriously rehearse my discussions with the boss.

Click to expand...

Given that HP5 is a relatively fast film (iso 400) it should be somewhat less contrasty, certainly when compared to slower films. I underrated it somewhat and reduced development by about 25%. However I was using a very old daylight loading developing tank (Agfa Rondinax 35U), the agitation necessary with that tank equates to almost continuous, so it's possible that I should have reduced the development time even further. It's the same type of tank that I used to use 30-40 years ago and I think a lot of my negatives from those days are rather contrasty to start with. I choose difficult subjects like Mute Swans to check for blown highlights and with those that's what I ended up with, although I had good shadow detail (underside of a bridge arch), so I think a little higher rating for the film which shouldn't affect shadow detail too much and slightly less development time, which will reduce the highlight density will bring me closer to the mark.

At the moment quite thick fog outside, so it might not be today (some concreting to do on a stone gate pillar if it doesn't lift).

I think I might have to stick with the Silverfast software since it runs on my old Windows 2000 OS, which is the newest Microsoft OS I have, otherwise I'm using Linux these days.

I have to say that at first it felt very strange using a film camera again, particularly kept forgetting to wind on between shots. However I do like the rangefinder focusing, but then I always did. Likewise positioning the subject inside the framelines with longer focal length lenses, the 50mm or 75mm also takes a little getting used to when you're used to filling the whole of the viewfinder with your subject.

Barrie

PS I see VueScan do cater for Linux with some scanners, including my old flatbed Epson 1240U which has a lightbox attachment that I use to scan 120 roll film negatives, but not the Plustek 7600i sadly.

PPS From further looking at the VueScan site it appears that it will run on all Windows platforms back to Win98. I've just downloaded it and am running a trial on Windows 2000, might have to hit my plastic again

Wiping the tears from my eye....

It's just so nice to see someone new picking up a film camera and putting a roll through it!

Lot's of 7th grade homework lately, I will be scanning shots from a restored Leotax D-IV very soon.

Brian said:

Wiping the tears from my eye....

It's just so nice to see someone new picking up a film camera and putting a roll through it!

Lot's of 7th grade homework lately, I will be scanning shots from a restored Leotax D-IV very soon.

Click to expand...

Well Brian, I got to say that you have been instrumental in the revival of film on our little Forum here. It's great to see old hands (not in the derogatory sense of course) like Barrie also coming out to lend a hand for newbies like me and showcase some really nice work. Funny how timeless these shots are - and the pixel quality is still good 30 years down the track Also great to see others who also know their way around film moving further forward. Those that haven't seen some of Antonio's latest work on the street then I'd encourage you to drop into his Flickr. Film really is quite a different experience and discipline to digital....almost like a different medium completely

For those that were not aware, the camera responsible for this fateful first roll, a very neat little Canonet QL17-L, was sent to me by Brian. Now he is either a real gentleman or has his retirement stocks invested heavily in a 35mm film company somewhere and is feathering his own nest Honestly thank you Brian. Thank you very much.

If there's any others out there contemplating film, then I have to say, please do just give it a shot! All you have to lose is a few dollars, and for most I bet you'll gain a real buzz out of it. It is definitely fun and a whole lot more....

stillshunter, it looks like you are off to a great start. The Canonet is a great little camera and was what drew me back into film. In 2007 I had bought a Nikon D40 and was liking it, but then I picked up a Canonet at a thrift shop and I was hooked. I took it with me to Europe in 2009 and wound up giving it to a friend in Prague. Here is a shot I took with it, using some of the same HP5+.

Focus on the streets of Karlovy Vary by Arachide, on Flickr

Lately I have been pulling HP5+, by exposing it at ISO 200 and cutting around 20% off the developing time. I am happy with the results. This is with a Pentax ME Super.

MGB-C by Arachide, on Flickr

Finally finished up a roll of film from an early Leotax D-IV, with a Summar 5cm f2 on it. The camera is circa 1949.



summar, wide-open.

This camera and the Simlar 5cm f1.5 originally on it had been in storage for at least 30 years. I rebuilt the lens, and sent the body to Youxin Ye. The helical of the lens required soaking in ronsonol for 4 days to loosen it up. The Body came back like new. New curtains, beamsplitter, and covering.

And best of all- works like new.

The Summar is a low-contrast lens, "old school" lens. Also Nice for portraits.

Terrific, Brian!

Cheers,

Antonio

En la Calle Betances

More Caguas street shots:


En la Calle Betances by ramirezaponte, on Flickr


En la Calle Betances by ramirezaponte, on Flickr

Leica M6 TTL, 35mm 2.5 Color Skopar, Ilford XP2 Super.

Cheers,

Antonio

Old San Juan

And three from Old San Juan:


Calle de la Luna by ramirezaponte, on Flickr


La siesta by ramirezaponte, on Flickr


Quítate de la vía...que ahí viene el tren by ramirezaponte, on Flickr

Leica M6 TTL, 35mm 2.5 Color Skopar, Kodak BW400CN.

Cheers,

Antonio

That seals it. This is hereby my favourite thread on the Forum to date!

@Brian - she certainly gives an old school rendering. Just need to develop in caffenol and it would be truly frames of yore

@arachide - seems the Canonet is responsible for many a persons jaunt back into film. I can see why there's a soft spot reserved in the hearts of many....and why are deployed by folks, like Brian, to bait us impressionable ones So is it just the Pentax SLR kit now in film? Nice shots there BTW - you must have a very happy friend in Prague..who would still be glad to put you up for a night or two

@Antonio - those shots my friend!!!!! They have a very different feel to your G3 images. Do you find yourself shooting differently with the RF? Also you seem to really be enjoying it....are you?