(Genuinely) my first ever processed roll of 35mm film.

[Naboo32]

Funny title, I know. But, before starting with digital (2 years ago), I had only ever owned 127 cartridge/APS film cameras and (naturally enough, because of the appalling quality of the prints), assumed that film was the stuff that nightmares were made of (I do actually have my nightmares in APS format now :tongue.

Since getting into DSLRs, I've been tempted to try 35mm film, mainly because of the silly, low prices that accompany the Nikon SLRs that are compatible with all of my lenses. In the past 2 years though, I've owned three other SLRs (a Canon , an Olympus :frown: and another Nikon), but have always ended up throwing away the film from each one and selling the camera, rather than pay to have the 20 or so exposures that I'd taken developed .

Anyway, I finally bought myself a Nikon F100, coupled it with Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens and whacked in a roll of Kodak BW400CN (C41 process) pseudo-b&w film and (although took over a year) finally used up the whole damn roll of film :smile:!

Now that it's finally done, I took it (last week) to be processed and was handed some very impressive looking (even if I do say so myself) prints. Sadly, the scans were in no way comparable to the prints and look over-exposed, overly-contrasty and far grainier in comparison :frown:. Nonetheless, these are all I have to share, so here are a few:


1.

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2.

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3.

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4.

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5.

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6.

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7.

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Not the greatest pics to grace this part of the forum, I know, but at least they are truly 'raw' (in the 'non'-adjusted' sense of the word ).

Thanks for looking :smile:!

 

[hornagain]

Wow! That's a high percentage of keepers from a single roll of film. I personally thought they were all great.

 

[Mark101]

I think they are great as well

 

[Naboo32]

Wow! That's a high percentage of keepers from a single roll of film. I personally thought they were all great.

Well, that's a pretty good start to my 35mm film 'career' :biggrin:!

Actually, only one of the 31 exposures that I took on that roll was truly 'wrong', due to not getting the 1/250th sec shutter speed that I needed for the 300mm lens that I had on at the time. Every other photo actually 'came out', unlike in my days of APS/110 film . Artistically though, most of the others weren't worth the bother :wink:.

Thanks a lot for the encouragement, hornagain :smile:!

 

[Naboo32]

I think they are great as well

:biggrin: OK, I'm going to bed now, before I start to get carried away with my early 'success'.

Seriously though, thanks for the kind feedback, Mark - it's exactly what I was praying for (obviously :wink.

 

[italy74]

1-5-6-7 for me.
By the way, try F100 also with colour. Ektar and Portra are there for you !
And enjoy F100 focusing speed which has always been something exceptional.

 

[ArtO]

Very nice images. Welcome to film. It's a great way to go.

 

[rotxlk82]

Nice work, I'm glad to have another film shooter on the cafe

Was the first one taken in the UK? That looks like a UK number plate

 

[cbbr]

Great set!

 

[mhcfires]

Those were really cool! Keep 'em coming!

 

[hmzimelka]

Congrats and great shots!
No.3 and No.6 are my favourites!

 

[Naboo32]

1-5-6-7 for me.
By the way, try F100 also with colour. Ektar and Portra are there for you !
And enjoy F100 focusing speed which has always been something exceptional.

Hi Dino!

I've read a lot of your posts recently (mainly when I was researching rangefinder cameras), so I know how highly you think of your F100 :biggrin:. They AF is a joy, I agree - much better than my digital Nikons, I think.

Anyway, I have some colour Ektar just waiting to be loaded and tried, but as it's ISO 100 (a very low number for someone who's only used to shooting with a D700 :tongue, I thought that I might get something around ISO 200, for the dull weather that we have here in Germany now, and try that first.

Thanks for your feedback though, it's very much appreciated :smile:!

 

[Naboo32]

Very nice images. Welcome to film. It's a great way to go.

Thanks :wink:!

Nice work, I'm glad to have another film shooter on the cafe

Was the first one taken in the UK? That looks like a UK number plate

Yes Robert, all but the last two were taken in London (the Aston was parked in Pimlico and the rest are from around Chinatown :wink. The last two were from Hannover, where I live.

Great set!

Cheers!

Those were really cool! Keep 'em coming!

Will do :wink:!

Congrats and great shots!
No.3 and No.6 are my favourites!

High praise coming from you, Martin - I've seen a lot of your stuff and it's right up my street :smile:.

No. 3 is my personal favourite too. I have to say though, b&w probably wasn't the ideal choice for that crispy, orangey-brown, roasted duck :frown:.

 

[italy74]

I see,
however you would be surprised to discover that Portra 400 and Tri-X up to 1600 is faster than D700 @ 400 / 1600 iso. No idea why but I experienced several times that, despite nominal iso, films look prone to use faster shutter times. Now, of course using Ektar with dull weather is a waste, but even with Portra or Tri-X don't be shy. Put the 50 or the 85 on your F100 and try go out with ambient light. Besides, with spot metering you can even lock the (favourable) exposure on a lighted subject face when all around is dark and make him/her stand out with a very strong effect, especially if you can dial -1 EV so that shadows are darker compared to your subject which is in light.

 

[Naboo32]

I see,
however you would be surprised to discover that Portra 400 and Tri-X up to 1600 is faster than D700 @ 400 / 1600 iso. No idea why but I experienced several times that, despite nominal iso, films look prone to use faster shutter times. Now, of course using Ektar with dull weather is a waste, but even with Portra or Tri-X don't be shy. Put the 50 or the 85 on your F100 and try go out with ambient light. Besides, with spot metering you can even lock the (favourable) exposure on a lighted subject face when all around is dark and make him/her stand out with a very strong effect, especially if you can dial -1 EV so that shadows are darker compared to your subject which is in light.

Ciao Dino!

Thanks for the tips :smile:. I'm just looking around at reviews of various films now (I really know nothing about them yet :redface, but I will certainly keep those recommendations in mind.

Andy

 

[digital_photog]

Very nice set and a great camera (F100) Enjoy!!!

 

[Naboo32]

Very nice set and a great camera (F100) Enjoy!!!

Thanks Fred and yes, the F100 is a great camera, especially for someone like me who is only used to Nikon DSLRs.

If my interest in film keeps up, I can easily see myself buying another one, so that I can carry b&w and colour film bodies with me at the same time :smile:.

 

[Hovmod]

I can easily see myself buying another one...

ONE!?
Hahaha - "Just one more camera then it's enough".
Welcome to the support group.

Great set!

(anyone told you about medium format yet?)

 

[Naboo32]

ONE!?
Hahaha - "Just one more camera then it's enough".
Welcome to the support group.

Great set!

(anyone told you about medium format yet?)

:biggrin: I know, I know! I suffer from GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) as badly as the next man. What I meant by "one" was another F100 - I didn't mention that I also hanker after a Leica M3/CL, a Voigtländer Bessa 3A or a Zeiss Ikon (new model) :tongue:.

Oh and yes, my brother (another film convert :wink has already started teasing me about MF .

Thanks for the input though :biggrin:!

 

[Naboo32]

Addendum.

Since several people here (and on the other forum that I posted these on) have expressed a preference for the shot of the young couple, I thought that I'd post the other shots of them from this roll of film, before it all passes into history :tongue:.

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I find the last one to be the most poignant, personally. These happy-go-lucky teenagers are actually sitting inside a war memorial to the victims of the WWII Holocaust (as I believe I mentioned earlier). Mention of the fact that countless women, children and men were slaughtered needlessly in this atrocity can be seen in the inscriptions at the bottom of the frame :frown:.

The gaping void between the civil liberties that these kids enjoy (deservedly so, I should add) compared to the miserable oppression that was foisted upon comparable teenagers from just two generations ago, seems to me to be a much starker contrast than the battle between the floodlights and the dark skies in this humble snapshot. Maybe it's something about the 35mm film format (as opposed to digital), which makes me over-think every frame, but there was a lot more pondering that went into taking these pictures than I can normally muster .

I've just decided - I like film :smile:.