35mm

Brian

Cue nostalgia for many, I'm sure.

I found a Canon EOS 1000 in my parents' closet - a 35mm low-end SLR from about 10 years ago. Now, I don't have a particularly good camera myself (Olympus C760 UZ), but I have looked at getting a DSLR. I figured a real SLR would be a nice way to try out the form factor, even if it's got far less customisation available, so I'm gonna give this Canon a go.

I do have some questions though.

• It has no battery. I've discovered that it uses a "common" 2CR5 camera battery. I'm sure it was common when it came out and 35mm cameras were prevalent, but now I imagine it would be harder to track down. Does anyone know where I might find one in Cork city? I know you can get them in Maplin's in Blackpool, but that's a bit of a trek and their price isn't exactly competitive.
• Film. Obviously this is still available from any camera store, and my dad recommended ISO 100/200 for outdoor shots. My question regarding this is about how much does a roll of film cost; to buy, and to develop?

Thanks in a advance..

Simplicius

Baza210 wrote: »

I do have some questions though.

• It has no battery. I've discovered that it uses a "common" 2CR5 camera battery. I'm sure it was common when it came out and 35mm cameras were prevalent, but now I imagine it would be harder to track down. Does anyone know where I might find one in Cork city? I know you can get them in Maplin's in Blackpool, but that's a bit of a trek and their price isn't exactly competitive.
• Film. Obviously this is still available from any camera store, and my dad recommended ISO 100/200 for outdoor shots. My question regarding this is about how much does a roll of film cost; to buy, and to develop?

Thanks in a advance..

Batteries:Get your batteries on Ebay from hong kong a lot cheaper and ignore the brand names in my experience they last up to 80% of time the branded versions do. Get yourself 2.

Film: depends on what you want expect to pay anywhere between €2.90 to €6 a roll of 35mm. Boots used ot do bumper packs of 5 rolls for €20, check it is often outta date and you can haggle. sometimes it has 50% extra free etc. standard level colour film is cheap to buy but remember each roll with CD is around €13 a pop.

Best Advice: stick to one Black & White film and keep shooting it and developing it at home yourself, it's simple as anything. Plus you get some of the creative feeling playing with chemicals that digital just doesn't offer. Fuji Neopan 400 is a great all rounder, Stay with B&W. As Colour film is costly to develop. Around €10-€11 a roll for 6x4 prints and then add €2-€3 for a CD, it soon adds up. Dublin Camera Cliub have a discount at one place in Dublin which saves around 10-15% depending on who is on duty, Cork camera club might have same. The sticking to one is so important as you will eliminate the variables greatly and also doubt, if your film is always the same, then any changes (hopefully improvements;)) will be down to what you did with the camera.

best places for film: 7dayshop.com. online. Gunne's in Dublin. Cork even though it is my hometown, I have no idea photo gear wise.:(


Other Thoughts: I feel 100/200 Iso is a bit low given our lack of sunshine. you can always 'pull' the film if you like to 100 iso-- but that is a conversation for another day. .

Do get a dark yellow filter for B&W, it will augment 90% of shots you need to take, it knocks of about 2 stops of light, another reason to get 400 iso film.

Simple & cheap developers for neopan is rodinal @ 1:50 or rodinal special 1:30 dilutions. both give great results in a small tank. Then either scan your negs or print a contact sheet and get lost in a darkroom and become a disciple of the Axis of Analog! :cool:

hope this helps

humberklog

Prices vary a lot for film. See if you've a Unicare Pharmacy chain in Cork. If so then go there as they sell 5 rolls of fuji is200 36expfiver. A euro a pop. If not then it'll be about 4sponds a roll.

As for developing again this varies wildly. But if your only kicking off then a roll can be developed in any developing chemist shop. Costs between 6 and 8 quid but if you pop two rolls onto one cd then the price comes down. I wouldn't reccommend getting prints. This will add another 8 quid to the price.
So Unicare (if poss), snap away, fling roll into a digi photo shop and ask only for negs and disc. It's a cheap and cheerful way to start doing film (which is the way forward).

There are more expensive films and methods of developmenart that will give you better results but the price will start to move with the quality. Do haggle and do shop around.

By the way that's an excellent camera. A little high tech for my liking but I've had one and got good results. But I'm going backwards for xmas so got rid of it about 8 years ago and still regret not keeping it as back up.

melekalikimaka

ireland being overcast... i'd go for 400iso... to get decent speeds... also... look in b/w development... easy to do, difficult to master.... extremely rewarding... and alot cheaper if you plan to shoot with some degree of regularity

humberklog

PS If you're doing nude/adult in colour then only go where you know/trust the shop.
Much better to do B+W and develop at home for reassurance.

cnocbui

Baza210 wrote: »

even if it's got far less customisation available,

Not necessarily a bad thing. It is amazing what some photographers could manage with just an aperture setting, shutter speed and manual focus. :rolleyes:

so I'm gonna give this Canon a go.

Good on ya.

I do have some questions though.

• It has no battery. I've discovered that it uses a "common" 2CR5 camera battery. I'm sure it was common when it came out and 35mm cameras were prevalent, but now I imagine it would be harder to track down. Does anyone know where I might find one in Cork city? I know you can get them in Maplin's in Blackpool, but that's a bit of a trek and their price isn't exactly competitive.

You could try a camera shop, though all lithiums tend to be pricey. I bought some of these for a Nikon F600 on ebay, the price can be very reasonable if you buy a few. They have a long shelf life.

http://www.batterycity.ie/panasonic_2cr5___dl245___el2cr5___kl2cr5___photo_battery-p-225.html

• Film. Obviously this is still available from any camera store, and my dad recommended ISO 100/200 for outdoor shots. My question regarding this is about how much does a roll of film cost; to buy, and to develop?

Thanks in a advance..

You get what you pay for with film. Some places give rolls away when you bring one in for processing. They tend not to be the best quality.

See if you can get some Fuji NPH 400. Despite being quite fast it is not grainy, and if the lens in the pic is what you have, you should stick to 400/800 asa films as that lens is fairly slow, so a faster film will allow faster shutter speeds and less chance of blur due to camera shake.

As for processing costs, this will give you an idea:

http://www.1hourphoto.ie/pricelist.html

Brian

Heh, I think people have taken my decision to try out this camera a bit too seriously. Right now I'm just planning to get some average colour film, take some photos and get a feel of what it's like to use a real SLR.

Thanks for the info guys.

Here's some photos of the actual camera:


(Faked mirror shot using my phone - I was trying to trick someone into thinking I had a 1000D )