Fully Manual Film SLRs

dmohalloran

Hi,
I have a quick question. I have had a DSLR for about a year. Loving learning how to use it, shooting in manual now. Having fun trying out different combinations of aperture and shutter speed etc.
I am bidding on a Nikon Fm10, fully manual film SLR. seems like a good deal and a good camera. My thinking is that this camera will help me understand the process of photography better. Am I right?
I know the increased cost of film and processing etc and if it is completely manual the likelihod of the first few roles being wrecked as I learn how to use it.
Has anyone experience of manual film slr shooting?

melekalikimaka

its not hard really... there be an exposure meter as you look through the view finder, keep that in the middle and your shots are genwerally correctly exposed. film dev costs arent huge.... consider bw film and home dev and scan?

trishw78

When I first started shooting many moons ago with a Practika... I learned how to meter fairly quickly, after aperture and shutter speed.

trican

dmohalloran wrote: »

Hi,
I have a quick question. I have had a DSLR for about a year. Loving learning how to use it, shooting in manual now. Having fun trying out different combinations of aperture and shutter speed etc.
I am bidding on a Nikon Fm10, fully manual film SLR. seems like a good deal and a good camera. My thinking is that this camera will help me understand the process of photography better. Am I right?
I know the increased cost of film and processing etc and if it is completely manual the likelihod of the first few roles being wrecked as I learn how to use it.
Has anyone experience of manual film slr shooting?

I went through this same thought process a few months back and ended up buying a Nikon FE. Haven't regretted it for a moment. In my case I feel its nice to strip away the fancy DSLR "features" and probably as a result my photographing is more considered and patient. In a strange way I feel more connected with photographic process as a result too.

But don't get me wrong I wont be ditching my DSLR either thoough, but I find the manual camera a very nice change.

The other great thing is the low cost manual focus super sharp prime lens you can pick up.

cnocbui

dmohalloran wrote: »

My thinking is that this camera will help me understand the process of photography better. Am I right?
I know the increased cost of film and processing etc and if it is completely manual the likelihod of the first few roles being wrecked as I learn how to use it.
Has anyone experience of manual film slr shooting?

A manual 35mm camera will not necessarily teach you anything you could not learn with a DSLR set to manual if you use it as you would a 35mm. It can teach you about film and give yo an appreciation of it as a medium.

35mm cameras have meters, and they tend to work quite well, It's not like you have to lick your finger, hold it up, guess the exposure parameters and hope for the best.

Mr. Grieves

cnocbui wrote: »

A manual 35mm camera will not necessarily teach you anything you could not learn with a DSLR set to manual if you use it as you would a 35mm. It can teach you about film and give yo an appreciation of it as a medium.

Agree with this. If the camera has coupled meter, and you follow it, the only difference from auto exposure will be your reaction times. Plus the lag between taking the shot and seeing your results kinda inhibits experimentation.

I'm not trying to discourage you though - film is imo 10 times as much fun as digital

thefizz

The real fun (and saving) starts when you learn how to develop your own film. Not very hard and you don't even need a darkroom to do that much.

Carrigman

I used all-manual Nikon (35mm) and Mamiya (120mm) film cameras for years before I moved to digital.

They served me well and I still remember the sheer thrill when I got my first set of slides (from Kodachrome 64). Thereafter, I shot mostly slide film (Velvia became my emulsion of choice) with the odd B&W and, very rarely, colour print film.

I learned B&W developing and printing and that too was a real thrill - with B&W film you really have to do it yourself for best results.

I suppose the all manual cameras gave me a good grounding in the basics of photography -the relationship of aperture and shutter speed, etc. It's just as easy with automatic digital cameras however if you have a mind to learn it - use manual mode and take it from there. It's not rocket science.

Would I go back to film?

Never.

Regards,