Film Photography – Has it ever gone away?

It would appear that film photography is starting to have a big uptake once again. Why is this? Is it that film is better than digital? Is it the nostalgia factor? Are the youngsters curious to what the previous generation of photographers used to work with? Whatever the reason, film photography is on the rise.

For me personally, I grew up with an interest in photography when digital was at a very early stage, and it just didn’t have the support that film had – and so my experience and learning with photography was with film. I steered away from digital, mainly because of the lack of the support with it at the time. The camera I used was a Konica Minolta 404SI with a kit lens – it was in the school days – I didn’t have the money for much else! The bit that got me hooked into photography, was the waiting, and anticipation in the dark room – what did my image look like? Was it good? Is it in focus? Is it composed well? In the digital age, this is something that has long gone. Every single image is now reviewed instantly after taking on the LCD screen – memory cards that hold thousands of images are available – as opposed to a 24, or 36 exposure film. It felt as if photographers no longer needed to be so precise about the set up of their images, and the details etc – if it isn’t any good – there’s plenty of room on the card for trial and error etc. I eventually steered into digital, and it was with this;

The Canon 300D. Still in the school days, it was the kit pack I purchased with a very basic zoom lens – and being the early days of DSLR’s – expensive, costing me over £600. £600 for what is, in today’s standards, mediocre tech. A 6.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, 7 point focus, and an ISO range of only 100 – 1600. The images produced were not even at 300DPI and therefore were lacking detail in anything printed.

Fast forward to today, and very recently I have purchased a Canon EOS 30 film SLR. It is not a professional level SLR, but it is not entry level – and what an amazing piece of kit this camera is. Being an EOS SLR, all of my current digital lens’ fit the camera, and can be used. This old film SLR also has a unique function that I have not heard, or seen before. It has something called “eye-focus”. Eye focus is a way of focusing on your subject using just your eye, you simply look at the item you want to focus through the viewfinder, and the camera automatically suggests the focus point based on your eyes location in the frame. This technology is over 10 years old! And yet today, with all of these advancements in technology this is something that Canon have not continued into the digital age. I feel that this would be an absolute credit to be added to the future development of entry level DSLR’s – obviously with the pro-sumer and professional level cameras, that have substantially more focus points, things can get tricky. So come on Canon! This technology needs to re-enter the market, and help those new to DSLR photography.

As for myself, I have fallen back in love with the nostalgic feel of the film – and that anticipation during development stages. And I have done all this at home, purchasing the Canon EOS 30 from a popular auction site ;), along with a complete development kit (costing around £70 in total – containing development tank, dark bag, thermometer, and C-41 Tetenal chemicals).

For what I have got my hands on so far, I thought to myself what excellent value – I however forgot to review current film prices. Prices online were ranging from £6-£10 for a 36 exposure film – that was until I discovered a hidden gem. This film;

< Currently available in POUNDLAND! My store cupboard currently has more film than anything else in it.

AND FINALLY

Lastly, I would like to bring attention to this great French Photographer, Vincent Moschetti. Vincent has declared that he is prepared to go a complete year film exclusive in his photography journey; and the work produced is amazing. This is something that I would like to do myself, but I just don’t think I could take myself away from the Digital sensors for that amount of time, maybe I’ll do a month challenge shortly ;). Take a look at Vincent’s progress, on his website, here.

Knole Park, Sevenoaks – National Trust – 35mm Canon EOS 30 using lens Tamron 70-300mm VC USD, with AGFA Vista Plus 200ISO film.