Film Photography LOVES and HATES! 

The camera is not just a tool. It's the tool that you love, and this love is pure creativity.

Kodak first produced 135 film in 1935; this is the 35mm film format that we know and love today. IRC (International Radio Corporation) was a company that manufactured radios in Bake-Lite bodies. They wanted to get into a new product line, and so they founded the Argus Camera Company in 1936, and made the first low-cost cameras designed for 135 film. Their “C” rangefinder series started in 1938, and became the best selling camera model in history, with more than 2 million produced from 1938-1966. As a result, they are available and cheap as chips at least on US eBay; I don’t think they were ever sold in great numbers overseas. Arguably, the Argus C3 camera is the reason that 135 film became the standard prosumer format worldwide. The cameras are all mechanical, except for flash contacts designed to mate with an Argus flash accessory, which takes C-cell batteries to fire a standard flash bulb. The standard Argus Cintar lens that comes with virtually every Argus C3 on eBay is a 50mm f/3.5 Cooke triplet, based on a Leitz design or so I have heard. It’s connected to the camera’s front cover plate via the Argus 33mm screw mount. The lens houses an iris diaphragm, which can be adjusted from f/3.5 down to f/16 or a bit less (depending on the lens version, which changed several times over the camera’s 27-year history). The shutter is a 3-blade leaf type, with a rather primitive gear-and-spring delay mechanism, adjusted by a cam attached to the shutter speed dial to provide a nominal range from 1/300 sec down to 1/10 sec; the shutter also has a bulb mode. I have measured the top shutter speed with a photodiode and I have never measured 1/300 sec; 1/200 sec seems closer to the maximum. Good copies of the 50mm f/3.5 Cintar lens are very sharp and can produce very pleasing images. They were uncoated until after WWII, with the first coated lenses coming in around 1946. Various 3rd party lenses were made for Argus in the 33mm screw mount, especially the 100mm f/4.5 and 35mm f/4.5 Sandmar lenses made in what was at the time West Germany. For an absolutely bare-bones, affordable, historic and all-mechanical 35mm film photography experience, I have had a lot of fun with these cameras. Cheers!

Good news as I’m sure you’ve heard by now: Pentax is considering making and releasing an entire line of film cameras!

I am so happy film had made such a come back. But I see a lot of bad scans and flat images online. It seems no one is taught the basics of film calibration anymore. This is crucial in getting the prints right every time and having negatives that are predictable templates every time. it takes a lot of testing to match your film of choice, to your developer of choice, for best enlargement results in the darkroom. This is why we stuck to one film and one developer. We didn’t switch every week. This is how: 1. Find a scene with with a good range of tones 2. Using the box speed, meter the darkest area in which you wish to retain shadow detail 3. Move the camera so that you are only photographing this shadow area 4. From the meter's reading close down the aperture by 2 stops or increase the shutter speed by two stops and then expose 6 frames at: the given exposure then +1 stop, +2 stops, -1 stop, -2 stops and -3 stops less than the meter has indicated 5. Process the film 6. Using the frame that was exposed at -3 stops less than the meter indicated (which should be practically clear but will have received lens flair and fogging - i.e a real world maximum black rather than an exposed piece of film that has processing fog)and do a test strip to find out what is the minimum exposure to achieve maximum black - Print must be fully dry before assessing this 7. Do another test strip with the first exposure being what you have selected for achieving maximum black minus your dry-down compensation then plus 1 second, 2 seconds, etc 8. The time that achieves full black inclusive of compensation for dry-down is you minimum exposure to achieve maximum black for all future printing sessions - print must be fully dry before assessing 9 You now know the minimum time to achieve full black inclusive of exposure reduction to accommodate dry-down 10. Using this minimum exposure to achieve maximum black exposure time, expose all of the other test frames. 11. The test print that has good shadow detail indicates which exposure will render good shadow detail and achieve maximum black and provides you with your personal EI for the tested film/developer combination 12 If the negative exposed at the meter reading gives good shadows, your EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) the box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 400) 13. If the negative exposed at +1 stop more than the meter reading gives good shadows, your EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) 1/2 the box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 200) 14. If the negative exposed at +2 stops more than the meter reading gives good shadows, you EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) 1/4 box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 100) 15. If the negative exposed at -1 stop less than the meter reading gives good shadows, you EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) double the box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 800) 16. If the negative exposed at -2 stop less than the meter reading gives good shadows, you EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) 4x the box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 1600) You have now fixed your personal EI but there is one more testing stage to go. 1. Find a scene with with a good range of tones 2. Using your EI, meter the brightest area in which you wish to retain highlight detail (but not the sky) 3. Move the camera so that you are only photographing this highlight area 4. From the meter's reading open up the aperture by 3 stops or decrease the shutter speed by three stops 5. Expose the whole roll at this setting 6. In the darkroom, process one third of the film for recommended development time 7. When dry put negative in the enlarger and make a three section test strip exposing for half the minimum black time established earlier, for the established minimum black time and for double the minimum black time. 8. Process print and dry it. 9. If the section of the test strip exposed for 1/2 the minimum black time gives bright highlights with a trace of detail then the film requires 20% more development 10. If the section of the test strip exposed for the minimum black time gives bright highlights with a trace of detail then the film is correctly developed 11. If the section of the test strip exposed for double the minimum black time gives bright highlights with a trace of detail then the film requires 20% less development 12. You can use the rest of the exposed highlight test film to fine tune the development time You run this test on a condenser enlarger with a #2 contrast or a #3 on a diffuser enlarger

Liked this video even the moans...and reverence to film machines... one word I would like to see used is "robust" although aware that any machine can break even a mechanical one.... Love my FED 2 & Zorki 4 ( I have 3 of them) and Lieca M2 And various film cameras and my nikons and pentax ones..... I lose track got so many..... Film is a worry and where will we be in 10 years....maybe Kodak & Co saying under their breath... havent they taken the hint yet or what..... Like cameras with lever wind even with no film in them winding on.... Is such an unwinding sensation for the human condition... You got to love film cameras Nigel... dont you???

Possibly your best ever video. Whimsical, nostalgic, engaging, great use of language, beautifully modulated speech rhythms.

Great thoughts Nigel. I'm was shooting film pre digital days, loved photography from the start, hated the golf ball grain of film, the messing around in the darkroom etc was a pain too. When digital came in I switched happily very clean instant no fuss didn't cost a jot to experiment etc etc, over the last three years or so I got back into film at first just for channel content but it's become a passion again, I actually love the grain these days the photos look timeless and authentic even after digital scans. I now flip between the mediums,. I had kept most of my film cameras as I loved them all and couldn't get shut of them, I've since bought plenty more just to try them out, I'm currently loving old folders, just a pleasure to shoot. Keep up the content mate loving it cheers.

I love my film cameras. And I have a few of them. I always think of them as real cameras, and digital has never quite got me in the same way. They are hands on, things of beauty, and like you Nigel I'd love somebody to produce another film camera. I don't even think they'd have to be that expensive, and perhaps that's it. Be fun to find out if the manufacturers still have the tooling though.

I've got an old prewar valve radio that I rescued from a skip down the road, and restored. I occasionally listen to radio 4 on it until they cease broadcasting on am on longwave, when they run out of high power valves! I've got a canon ae1 programme and 2 5x4 cameras!

With that deep low fog giving you a great world to shoot in, I hope you show some pics you've taken in it, with film or digital...With film, you have to unfreeze your fingers to reach into your pocket to pay the lab...by the way, does your lab offer scanning of your film? Anyway, that fog is marvelous...

Great vid as always. Can I just let you know, I work for a company that makes certain products that go in film cameras. We are based in Cheshire but originated in an area in Essex! We have just released 2 new 120 Films that are getting rave reviews and yes we can develop them for you as well. For some reason a lot of people think we shut down years ago! Well we didn’t. I am not in sales or anything but just shoot film myself and I’d just like to let your viewers know yes you can still get great quality film for a great price. All the best.

I wouldn't be surprised if TTArtisan launches a manual film camera in the near future. There is obviously a market for the company's manual focus lenses, so why not introduce a manual camera for those lenses? And thank you for your thoughts on the manual film cameras (that I'm sharing). According to an announcement from Pentax on December 20, 2022, Pentax is currently working on producing fully manual film cameras, from entry-level cameras to advanced cameras for enthusiasts/professionals!

You are absolutely spot on Nigel, when you describe the tactile feeling of film cameras, and how a chain of mechanical events is started by human input, i.e. winding on, and pressing the shutter release button!. For an excellent example of this, watch the Martin Henson, RU-vid video. on the Contax 'D' camera. The introduction is of the camera making a one second exposure, after the self timer has run down. It is superb to watch, and typifies mechanical camera operation perfectly.

Hi Nigel, thanks! In Germany it's also icy cold. I planned to go on a walk and take some pictures, but Covid struck me. It seems that it is still rampant among us :( Best wishes, Ralf

I saw a comment somewhere the other day that Pentax are working on a film camera. I hope so. Maybe we'll see another K1000 type. It was incredibly popular with photography students.

Still doing lots of film photography, but the increased cost for films is indeed concerning. Still, for the price of a new or used Leica monochrome camera I can shoot a lot of B&W films with my film cameras. I have nearly given up on color film photography for cost of film and availability. To lower cost, I roll my own B&W films from purchased 100' rolls (unfortunately not existent anymore for color films). What I love most about film are halo effects and light bending around shadow areas which can't be achieved with digital.

You hit the list, both pro and con, that covers most of the what and why we arestill carrying the film cameras. A fun video.... good stuff.

Hello! I live in Argentina and your videos are always very interesting to me in all their aspects. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect for me, of course, is that I perceive them as if they were "analog", I mean, they are longer than most videos produced by youtubers in a hurry and eager for more "likes" than anything else. You speak and explain with great affection for what you do and it is very evident that you have the interlocutor who follows you on your mind. You don't mind being "fun and dynamic" and, most importantly, you love film photography. I totally agree with your "long whining" (that expression made me very funny) I also complain and I feel satisfied and happy for the same reasons. I also have, among many others, a Leica IIIa which I love. It took me a lot to get it and even more to pay for it, but finally I was able to do it. If in England, an economically strong country although with problems everything has increased, imagine what it is like to live in Argentina with 100% annual inflation...it's a nightmare! C.

Hello Nigel, my Minolta XG-A is now cleaned, repaired and refurbished by a professional service. I'm looking forward to film photography! I also love to watch slides in a darkened room with a slide projector (Kindermann) like in the old days. It's a lot of nostalgia involved. Best wishes, Ralf

With the cost of developing film I've taken to doing it myself. I took a roll to a 1hour photo and the results were not great and cost £14, the negatives had surge marks all over them. I can now develop my own films for about £1 a pop and the quality is under my control.

I really like using the Voigtlander Vito B. It’s a simple no frills mechanical camera, image quality great, and there are still many out there available at a sensible price.

Nikon does have some awesome SLRs, so are other brands, too. There is enough gear for every Film fan out there, 135 to 8x10 format, auto exposure, auto rewind, auto film transport, features like a DSLR, with 35mm Film, or an classic, manual body with exposure needle, or even without it, all mechanical, Film advance lever, etc. When it comes to AF, i like my Nikon SLRs, when it's about a classic approach, i like my old Minoltas, and other brands. There's a camera out there for everyone, and therefore never *the one* which is right for everyone. Enjoy Film, and keep shooting !

This man is a human Xanax with photography Sir, please keep making videos just like this

It seems to me that Fujifilm would be a very good company for making a film camera. They already make cameras and film! And they make lenses! So they could make a film camera easily and use their already existing lens base. Wouldn't the GF lenses work on a medium format film camera? And wouldn't Fuji sell more film?

Sounds like you and I were made from the same mold but on other side of this planet. Enjoying your show

I used Kodak Gold perhaps 30 years ago and I think it was about £5 and the same again for d&p, so £15 total is good value nowadays. Slide film is ridiculously expensive now, but B&W is affordable IMHO, especially if you develop it yourself. Buying a film camera can be a minefield but I think it's best to go into it with the attitude that you are making a long term investment, and spend as much as you can on a good camera. And of course it'll keep or increase it's value, unlike buying a new camera which is an instant loss of perhaps a third or more.

Good news, Pentax just announced today that they are talking about developing a new film camera. Very cool 😎

I'm fortunate enough to have an example of every leica III type made, plus a British Copy and an M3 and a Ia and a II. I would point out that I'm not a wealthy person and it's taken time to amass them all. I use them all and with a few exceptions most have been CLA,d over the years . I often look at them and wonder what they have seen or who has owned them previously and yes it doesn't really matter but I enjoy them. I only tend to use monochrome film and I develop my own, it's very easy once you have got the film onto the spiral, then I scan them to a PC. One of the best photos I ever took was when I was about fourteen using an Ilford Sporti and the other was taken about ten years ago on a bitterly cold January morning walking along a local canal towpath. Out of the mist a figure appeared just at the right moment and it really made the photo. the camera was a Pentax SP II which I have had from new. I too use digital for convenience and speed and both mediums have their points but as you say using film is something different and special. Looks like you have a post war coated Summitar on your Leica III.

I watched a RU-vid vid a couple of days ago suggesting that Pentax are considering some new film SLR's but it may take a couple of years. The thinking behind this is that older SLR's are difficult to repair, and in the knowledge that film is coming back, a market for new, easily serviceable modern incarnations of older cameras is, perhaps, I viable proposition.

Lomography now sells a panoramic 35mm camera that includes the sprocket holes, the Sprocket Rocket 35mm.

I embraced the past, but don't want to relive it. After 45 years on this journey that included wasting time to print color in the darkroom, I like to continue challenging myself, such as to master new technologies like AI and 3D in my remaining time on earth instead of repeating what I'm comfortable with. Merry Xmas or Happy Holiday!

hello, thank you for this video which, I think, reflects what many film photographers think, this passion should be accessible to all, instead, it becomes speculation on equipment and price increases...

film photography is a craft at heart - its not easy sometimes and when you get it right you feel like you have achieved something. Digital is fine and has its place but it is too easy to shoot in machine gun mode - and that makes it a different thing.

Tactile feel aside, one of my top favorite film experiences has to do with the opening of the film cartridge cannister (previously aluminum, now plastic) and the initial scent of it's ingredients that is percepted by my olfactory glands.

Yes, used gear prices have increased, but there's a good side to that. Even we old film shooters and collectors can pick up cameras that cost many times more back when they were released for a reasonable price, while selling other items we might not use as much. That's been the case for me recently. As a big fan of the Nikon F100 I've always wanted to try the F5. I was able to find an F5 from Japan for under US$200 with a battery sled issue, which I resolved immediately. And now that I have a working F5 I can let go of my F90X and F100 knowing that they will go to good homes. On the other hand, I regret selling my Pentax 67 with wooden grip and two lenses (105/2.4 and 55mm) a few years ago. Now the prices on those cameras with that magical 105/2.4 lens have at least doubled, putting them out of reach. The hype around cameras like the Pentax 67 (or 6x7) and the Contax point and shoots is certainly a shame in that respect.

Just acquired a Minolta SR-T 101 in mint condition with a couple of lenses and case. I got it because, well, your channel of very informative and creative videos has spurred my interest in 35mm film. I only used point and shoot back in the day (80s), having never owned a proper film SLR. Thank you Nigel!

Cost for me is the biggest reason why I rarely shoot film today. I just can't justify it when there are bills to pay. I wish I was in a position to be able to do both but unfortunately not. I still keep a couple of rolls ready to go as a treat but 90% of the time I'm using my DSLR - Nothing wrong with it, it's a lovely camera (Pentax K-S2) but I do miss going out with my ME Super and spending the day picking the perfect shots before pressing the shutter.

Consider me your consistent follower, from the most problematic country on the planet. A warm greeting!

Great video, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Last year, I pulled out a film camera that was given to me 40 years ago. It was in an air tight case for all of that time along with the lenses. I loaded film in it and took a roll of photos. I got the scans back and I was amazed how good they were. It was frankly, amazing. I have many digital cameras, but it is a very special experience when I shoot with film. I like the simplicity of it, and the fact that I can shoot great images with the most minimal of equipment. It is very satisfying.

Pentax just announced they are working on one and released a teaser video. It looks like an SLR which makes sense because of their existing K lenses. Someone made a mock-up e-mount film camera, I wish they would make it.

A lot of new limited batch films are coming out, stateside. They aren't cheap. $9-15 a roll in the local shop. Additional $10 for development per roll.

I havent shot film for years maybe I should try a roll or two I must confess I love my digital cameras but remember the days I used to use film all the time developeing it myself in a darkroom making my own prints its made me think of it all again thank you from Tony........

Another great video with some good points. My favourite camera is my Leica iiia. It's one of those things that is so old and well made that I feel like I'm just its current custodian and it will last for another 85+ years after me. I prefer film and I think that a good portrait on film is far superior to one made with digital. I'm not clever enough to explain why but I know what I like. Happy Christmas to you and yours.

I hate the cost, the spotting of scans for bw film. I love the fact that in the negative you hold a physical imprint of past time. I love the cameras.

Heart warming talk. Many thanks, Nigel! I have always done my own bw film processing. It takes some work & time to know a film, how it reacts to different sorts of light and to filters, and how to develop it to the desired effect. Once this is done, you no longer need to guess but can predict the result. Very important, in my view. (In digital ph. "chimping" replaces previsualizing 😉.) To make such standardizing worthwhile you need a line of supply that you can confidently expect to continue for at least a couple of years (better: decades). There are only two companies left who offer that at a reasonable price: Foma and Iford. (I no longer count Kodak in, because of its ludicrous pricing.) There's lots of affordable and sometimes very good film that surfaces on the market from time to time. But, sadly, with such film you have no future: Its specs are changed without notice or the film is simply discontinued (the average life cycle seems to be 2-3 yrs). That would be my moan #6 ... and my cheers to Foma and Ilford!

If I could I'd daily drive my Canon Rebel 2,000 300... It's also the most reliable and dependable body I've ever used and I also feel that I have the most control of what I'll get, but with the amount of pictures I take when I'm out film would be more than a mortgage. Saying that, my EOS R recently broke itself and made a few truly amazing images that are very film-like. A hate of mine with digital cameras is how their exposure indications don't represent what the actual exposure will be. You'd think that Exposure SIM, especially in a professional body would show you the image you're getting, let alone if you're in manual mode. It's funny, there are exposures that I know for a fact would be great on my OM 20 but are almost unrecoverable on my EOS R. My Panasonic FZ10 was never like that though and still my favourite digital camera. There's just something special I find about them and their images, and it's the only digital camera I've used yet that jiggles my creativity in the same way that shooting film does. Another hate of mine with digital cameras is 'I'll fix it in post.'

You could add that digital serves well film by allowing its reproduction better than old enlargers to any size and also cleaning any dust or scratches that would be scanned. Digital can also do miracles by compensating (more or less) bad exposures. To me film is the archive that digital enhances, magnifies.

The tactile experience is important to me as well as the sound. 120 film has a certain sound as you unroll the end, get it started on the take up spool and wind on to the start arrow. Something unique about that that preps me to get started shooting.

There are a handful of hand-made and mass-produced film cameras currently -- but nothing like the heyday of the 1930s to the 1980s. I did just see that Pentax announced that they will be producing a line of film cameras (consumer? prosumer? professional?) over the next few years. But to be affordable they will be like the other plastic, very simple, point and shoot cameras (but I do like my "Kodak" half-frame 35mm camera) -- or if they have more features and build-quality, they would have to be more expensive that taking your chances on an original, hopefully working, film camera from years ago....

(2:30) Reflecta was the name of a project / fundraiser if I remember correctly, but as I heard, the problem was the shutter, which no-one was willing to build, at least not at the reasonable price... Cosina (Voigtlaner) could build new film cameras. They did so 20 or some years ago with their Bessa line. Russians could do it too. As well as Chinese. But the known mantra is that the world is so much saturated with old film based cameras that manufacturers couldn't build one, at least not, agin, at reasonable price. Or they all simply want the film to die, I couldn't tell...

Nigel, you have convinced me to try a vintage lens. I just bought a Zeiss Jena 50mm f/1.8. It’s the zebra version, but I’m excited to give it a try!

I grew up on film, and even in the digital age, I like to shoot film now and then. I love that, thanks to having various film bodies as well as various lens adapters, I can use most of the same lenses on both film and digital cameras depending on mood/need, to get the best of both worlds. But it is indeed getting harder and more expensive to shoot on film, and I do still worry what will happen if one of my cameras ends up needing service. I'm pretty good with small mechanical things, having been a model railroader for many years, and I've started collecting service manuals for some of my equipment, as well as various tools. There's a chance of failure, I guess, but at some point I'll have little choice but to try.

You, sir, are a photographic philosopher. Splendid videos. Thank you!

I agree with it all, positive and negative. Thank god I still have a stock of Gold 100 and Vista 200 and C41 processing is my 2023 project, but once the stocks have gone I may have to go back to B&W. When I first started taking photos with my own camera around 1974, it was probably costing me more for the film and then processing, in real terms, but I'm now a pensioner so it's no consolation. Nice reflective video.

thank you so much for your very interesting thoughts on photography !! i think you old hippies have a lot of very interesting and creative thoughts rattling around inside your heads. .

Great video. The only way I could get my old film cameras out, was to develop my own film. I didn't take long to relearn B&W processing, but had to learn color processing. And I did learn , thanks to YT videos, I learned and have process 17 rolls (35mm & 120). I did keep a lot of my 35 mm cameras , but thanks to you, pickup a Fed 5c and a couple Kiev 4 cameras. Did have to return 2 Kiev 4's before i got 2 working. Great cameras. KB

I know what you mean about the tactility of moving springs, levers and hinges all in perfect synchronicity. My OM-1 is like levered silk, but I can't say the same about the Praktica, although it's never given me any trouble.

Just bought a mint Nikon F80 for £60. Amazing auto focus camera and biggest bargain in film photography at the moment if you don’t mind going fully electrical.

I have found my perfect camera… Leica barnacks 1…. Better end more fun than my MA, my OM-1, AE-1…. Ricoh film GR…. Nice video

Any time I'm in a thrift store I look for cameras and find gems occasionally. I have way too many now, according to my wife.

Du bist ein Nostalgist wie ich, liebst alte Dinge mit Seele. Gruß aus Deutschland.

I think the price of film, film development and scanning are too expensive plus many labs are not that professional. I have experienced many instances where they mishandled my rolls. Ricoh-Pentax supposedly will start making film cameras but it will take years. Definitely there’s room for improvement but the good news is that a lot of young people are interested in film Happy New Year!

Pentax made an announcement!

Actually there are some newly developed film stocks. You might want to check out ADOX Color Mission. Also I think shooting Kodak Vision3 cinema films in photo cameras is a new thing... also Cinestill 800T that's a C41 version of the Vision3. Would be interested to see you trying them

Five negatives about film photography 1:50 No new film cameras for affordable prices 4:00 Loss of developing and printing services at reasonable cost 6:11 Cost of film 8:10 Decreasing variety of films 10:26 Crappy online sales of used camera gear Five positives about film photography 13:40 Simplicity of film cameras 15:45 Tactile nature of film photography 17:30 Mechanical nature of film cameras, work anywhere 19:00 Old film cameras still work today 20:55 Love of the vintage cameras

Great point on cold weather photography. A good reason to hold on to my Pentax K1000.

Hi Nigel what a good idea if Canon - just like Nikon some years ago - delivers again an evolution of the Canon P l39 mount for instance. They could just add an internal metering system (a simple +/0/- led system,would be sufficient). Voigtlander / Cosina did it some years ago with the Bessa R and T line. They were good even if a little too plasticky but delivered sharper images than a Leica iii… for a reasonable price. A new 2023 canon P which is for me the definition of simple but efficient would be great with a little more metal.

Maybe Cosina could build one. Just glad i have my collection of mechanical cameras.

As someone who, like you, grew up with film photography, appreciates the advantages of digital photography: Fewer incorrect exposures, no negatives scratched by the laboratory, no feet and heads cut off by the laboratory, no strange color corrections by the laboratory. But today i enjoy film photography because i can scan and edit the negatives ourselves. Film photography is a lot more fun these days than it used to be. That's how i see it and enjoy film and digital photography at the same time. However, the raising of color film prices makes me worried. I don't want film photography to become an elite hobby for Leica owners.

Great video, I do agree with your thoughts and likings

one more cons is the security xrays when travelling on airplanes!

The Lomography Lomomatic 110 is a fun new one

You are right about the crappy gear thing. I am always suspicious about so-called recondition cameras whic come without any kind of warranty.

I have been a subscriber to your channel for a few years now Nigel and this was one of the most enjoyable videos you have ever done. Yours is my fav photography channel by a mile and I always love the videos. A while ago I bought a 1950s FED 2 on your recommendation and love the machine. I also bought a 1987 Canon autofocus EOS 620 but I prefer the older all metal cameras which require no batteries and have no fancy metering and no nowt. I develop and scan my film at home but agree with the frustrations of the prices and availability of colour film. However I am happy shooting black and white and find the prices reasonable. I am thinking of buying a minolta X-700 and was wondering if you have covered this camera before? I have three rokkor lenses and they very capable.

Shutters are the problem with new film cameras. They are extremely complex mechanisms requiring expensive tooling, and it isn't worth producers making them again without huge orders - which aren't viable. Simple cameras are a different matter, they only require a lens cap or a simple sprung shutter like a box camera.

Feel all that you say about the use of film. Unfortunately the need for them on any commercial basis has been swept away by the industry that used the filmic method, mainly the media and the rush to produce 24 hour news. The journalist sent out to cover a story for weeks re any in depth reporting and the spread that covered pages from war zones to fashion or domestic will are no longer viable. Editors will not wait weeks or even hours for film to be sent back (just consider how football matches used to be covered by a local reporter for a local paper). The loss of properly employed photographers and the push to hire only when needed free-lance sadly says it all. And without that commercial arm, camera companies must follow the market to survive in such a highly competitive market. Immediacy not coverage is the call from the new era companies - who would not employ a Eugene Smith or Don McCullin or even the recently passed brilliant sport & portrait photographer Eamon McCabe who felt the good days were behind him decades back. Plus, can you imagine a weeding photographer trying politely to inform their clients to wait for their images these days? Love the channel.

Not sure I agree with film cameras being reliable. I have had loads of problems with them ranging from light leaks popping up to shutters sticking. In cold temperatures I leave my film cameras at home because I have issues with shutters jamming when the lubricants freeze. I also leave them behind for hot temperatures since the lubricants and film are sensitive to the heat. My DSLR is also new so I don't have to worry about lubricants causing issues. It's also easier to use modern cameras with automatic features in tough weather since you don't have to fiddle around with them as much.

Pentax are now going to make a range of film cameras...it begins.

As a kid in the early 2000 I can afford 2-3 rolls and the same in instant film :) I did catch "the bug" just before digital killed film, the last time I bought film I did receive a box full of chemicals rolls and instant film, I even refuse to take pack film as I did not use it and I cannot carry anymore :))

I've followed a number of people who've begun the process of seeing if they can make a new, manual film camera. And they've either gone down the boutique, hand made route or given up. Because they've failed to find a way to make a camera that is affordable. It would take a large company with the willingness to take some risk, to bring a camera to market at a price that people might pay in any significant numbers. It's such a shame.

Great video Nigel - love and agree with everything that you say. You are an absolute star!!!

The young folks, under about age 30 or so, seem to have little or no idea that "Digital Image Capture" has nothing to do with "Photography"! We have glass plate negatives made before the (U.S.) Civil War that will still yield an excellent print. But forget about any digital "data" stored on magnetic media lasting that long. It's just not possible. A physics professor at our local University says that, just due to regular, daily changes in the static charge of the air, that storage media will start to break down or "corrupt the data" almost immediately. And that after 20 or 30 years of storage you "picture" will be all gone! Where as, "under proper storage" conditions, a film negative could last for centuries. Give me a film camera every time! My good friends recently lost all their Wedding pictures to a fire. But the Studio that shot the frames had "burned out" the hard drives they used for storage! So the entire Wedding Album was lost forever. So sad.

It sounds like Pentax has plans to bring out 3 film cameras.

Given that even digital cameras are suffering for the improving phone cameras, I doubt there is a market for a new film camera, other than perhaps in medium format.

I'd love it if Olympus were to remake the original Trip, but this time with a coupled rangefinder. For a walkabout camera, it'd be just about perfect.

Why don’t top individuals get networks moving to collect parts and assemble these together. If you can do it with seeds, nuts, berry’s etc, that are collected to stop a species dying out, with parts like cars, they have a purpose, surely something that exists, has to be cheaper than manufacturing new. Each household must carry products that just sit in a space, doing nothing.

Totally agree Nigel re manufacturers maybe releasing a "new" film camera but unfortunately I think it'd only last 5 minutes then break. Humankind has learned that it's more profitable to engineer short lives into everything nowadays.. (Mechanical, Electrical or Electronic).. How much would it cost to produce Tokyo Kogaku's RE Super to the original specs? The camera was produced at a loss during it's entire production run!! Mine is still perfect 70 years on.. How many mirrorless will still work 70 years from now? And as for 35mm film.. £12 for Kodak gold 200 and £10 to develop.. Film is fast becoming the territory of only those that can afford it never mind Portra or Ektra etc.. Yes I have embraced digital completely purely for economic reasons.. I can recharge my dslr for two years and get 20,000 images for the £22 it costs to get 36 on film.. Anyway thats my moan over.. Great video matey.. Food for thought.. Keep at it buddy : )

I really can't believe there isn't a single company interested in producing a great film camera for 250-500€. Just imagine the market for a simple Olympus Mju II. Surely it's infinitely easier to produce than a regular digital camera.

As to film and processing costs. I would just say, make every shot count.

Ten years ago I paid $5 for a roll of 35mm film today $18.

Interesting that now in 2024 your first concern seems to be addressed by Lomography and potentially also Pentax!

Another wonderful video. Thank you for all you do.

Wouldn’t it be better to repurpose old cameras and parts, that would then use existing cameras and understanding parts and areas where these items fail. It could mean that, like myself, I have several cameras that if people put the time in, there could be a new industry In employment, that with social media and ease of getting contacts set up, could in the long run, be advantageous. DG how much is spent disposing or as the councils call it recycling.

so nice..thank :)

It appears as though Pentax are going down the path of producing new film cameras.

Greetings from Heidelberg in Germany Gerhard

Hello Nigel, one more question. What is your experience with the Tamron Adaptall 2 lenses?

Rover 2000

I concur! Very nice video again, Nigel! When you can get a full frame digital camera for the same as the cost of three or four slide films and development, something is got to happen. And as long as there are a hundred million capable second hand analog cameras out there, and secondhand is environmental friendly and hence in, making new cameras is risky bussiness, except niche cameras like Leica and maybe Hasselblad. For an arctic expedition? Wich Zenit would you choose? Now it seems Pentax is going back into making film cameras. Any thoughts? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FXUmpqY3nWQ.html

Do you have unsplash or Instagram?