this man is the most serious camera reviewer on youtube.His chance to experience and his knowledge about cameras is so grand.He is also an fun photographer to watch
@@georgehenric3069 Art is subjective, and to some his images may be brilliant, I think Kai is very talented at taking pictures of moments and situational images, its not easy and its very difficult to capture a moment in action regardless what anyone says. Requires tremendous amount of self confidence as well.
@@theothertonydutch There's nothing analog in the process of capturing an image using a silver halide emulsion, be it using film, glass paper or anything else you can coat a photographic emulsion on to. Are you using the term 'analog' to mean not digital?
Saw this video, then happened to see Kai’s new book “Old School Photography” in my local bookstore. It’s got 100 tips to improve your film photography. Best of all, it’s loaded with great images shot on film. Well done Kai!! 👏
honestly, the M5 is so underrated. Feels great in the hand and the protruding shutterspeed wheel makes it the most practical to use. Love mine to bits.
I was lucky to get a Nikon FM2 a couple years back and always take it and a few rolls with me on family events and everyone just adores the pictures. So much more character then what people are used to.
I worked in camera specialty stores from the late 70s until the 90s-- when people would come in and ask what the best camera was,, I would usually reply by asking if they wanted to take pictures or learn photography. My philosophy was.. If you want to be a photographer,, one should get something like a Pentax K1000, Olympus OM1 or a Nikon FM (my choice) with a basic 35 or 50mm and head out to the desert with a loin cloth and a pointed stick. Many of the cameras you featured would be worthy contenders. Don't be afraid to completely cock up a few dozen rolls along the way. (..although , much easier/cheaper now with digital.} It will just make those first really nice shots that much more satisfying. Had a Leica M4P for a couple of years but I couldn't afford lenses when first starting a family. In fact ,, the Panasonic- Leica primes on one of the GX-8 rangefinder style bodies brought me back to photography over the last 5 years. That,, and excellent and informative channels like this,,, Thanks
I remember those wide panoramic shots with the Hasselblad XPan! Videos like that convinced me to finally get a film camera! I'm starting out with the AE1-P and I'm already so excited!
An important point would be to make sure the light seals have been replaced as these would have decayed over time. My local friendly camera shop has done this on all of my film cameras as well as calibrating the shutter speeds.
Love my Pentax 67. I bought it on ebay about 18 months ago and have 55mm and 105mm lenses. I got an after-market 3D printed right hand grip which makes all the difference in the handheld shooting experience. One caution in buying online is that the body I have is the 3rd I bought as teh first two had to go back, but I bought with seller pays return and claimed back import tax. At the complete oposite end of the scale I had a Pentax Auto 110 with two lenses in the late 70's / early 80's. it was the most amazing and cute little camera even if it was limited by 110 format film, you could put the whole system (camera and two lenses and auto winder in one pocket !!)
Kai, I just got your book in the post. It’s already helped me greatly to get the “film” feel out of my Fuji by copying film recipes. I’m thinking of doing a video on “ten things it’s taught me” as long as I have your blessing ? That way, I can ride your name to fame 😂
Love the old school cool of these cameras. I have a Pentax MX with its various focusing screens. I've had it for around thirty five years. A great piece of old school totally manual tech.
This man had been reveiwing digital cameras most of the time in his career.But it's unusual to see him make content about film cameras.He earns me more respect
3 года назад
Love film photography! I found the F3 to be a superb companion. It has a helpful aperture priority function.
F3HP cost anywhere from 300.00 to 600.00 USD. IMO cameras such as this are not good choices for noobs. There are affordable, decent cameras with Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, full auto and manual modes that sell for well under 100.00 USD with a decent lens. I highly recommend the Nikon N75 for anyone new breaking into film. There are other great cameras at affordable prices, but the F3 is not one of them. The F3 is a great camera, but for a noob? if I where new at photography and wanted to try film I would never consider paying that kind of money on a camera I may only use to shoot a few rolls of film as an experiment.
@@danktech69 I haven't seen a good deal in a very long time. When digital started to take off everyone was dumping their film gear very cheap. I bought up a bunch of Nikon 35mm gear in those days, now, the market has turned and the deals are few and far in-between. It reminds me of the vinyl craze (everyone is trying to capture a bit of the past).
Love the Maxxum 7000 call out, that's another good one for lens selection. Basically any A-mount lenses will work on it, as long as they're not DT or SAM/SSM. (Even though you could manual focus a SAM lens, it won't drive the aperture.)
Wow, I have not been to this channel in 6 or 7 years.. and it hasn't changed at all! Other than the higher quality video, but the format obviously works! Congrats on 900k !
I was given my first camera when I was 15 - a Canon Ftb. Later on became a “poor” student and stopped shooting but 23 years later I picked up a digital camera and can still only shoot in manual mode 😂 but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I always wanted one. I shot an RB67s and it was great, as well. Loved the 6x7 negatives. Shot a lot of fashion and weddings with it and the quality was outstanding. The pentax looks easier to handle than the RB. Always wanted to try some of their long lenses, as well. I seem to remember they had a 400mm f4..?
I am so glad that I got a bunch of film cameras before prices went completely bananas. Some of the cameras I have here now would probably sell for at least three times what I paid. For the moment, though, I am done hunting for camera bodies. Glass is where it’s at for me. My recommendation: go for Canon FD glass or Soviet KMZ glass (the latter being really a matter of taste). Best bang for buck in my opinion, AND it still holds up well on your modern mirrorless cameras.
I shot dozens of events, weddings, and group portraits with the big Pentax 67 on Portra, Provia, Astia and Velvia stocks and loved this cam. Though I feel it was less flexible than my Mamiya or Bronica 67s due to the lack of interchangeable backs and the focal plane vs leaf shutter, it was super easy to learn and transition from 35mm film. I found the ergonomics more intuitive than other medium formats, due to the mirroring of dials, film advance and shutter release of typical manual 35mm SLR, and I dual wielded it along with a Nikon FM2 with a 28-70 with great success. The only thing I hated was how long reloading took compared to having pre-loaded roll film backs on other medium format cams, so I used 220 roll film and planned ahead. Completely agree with buying big medium format if you are going to bother shooting slides or film. Nowadays, with the 67 you probably wouldn’t try shooting fast-paced events, so i see the the 67 as a great still life, landscape, architecture and portrait option, especially for how well it renders on slide. Simply amazing to me today even 25 years later.
Kai! Your passion for film is showing! I gave up digital in 2017 and haven't looked back! Except for the mavic mini.. But as you've told us, the process is so enjoyable and you can't beat the perfect imperfect film look!
I In 1966, half of the pictures in Popular Photography were shot with Pentax, Spotmatic, the first SLR sold in the U.S., and the other half were shot with the Nikon F. I got the Pentax as a high school graduation present, then a year later traded it for a new Nikon Photomic FT, but I missed the smoothness and focus of the Pentax. I passed on the Leica M3 because it didn't have a meter, another regret. My brother-in-law dropped my Nikon into a swamp 15 years later and it quit working. After digital came out, I still missed my two old film cameras just for nostalgia. So recently I bought a near-mint Pentax Spotmatic and the 50mm 1.4 lens on KEH. Pentax had the best 50mm lens in the world. Then on Ebay, I found a silver Nikon F near-mint for $200. The near-mint 50mm 1.4 lens was another $100. Both from Japan. I have seen one or two Fs new in the original box there. I bought some Fuji Provia film for my two beauties, but Fuji Velvia film is $50 per role!! Then there's processing and scanning. I pray for the day when Nikon makes a digital version of the F with a pyramid top. In silver, please.
Really good video on film photography, took it up during lockdown in 2020 with a Pentax Spotmatic. Essentially got to play with full frame (APS-C user currently), manual focusing alongside Russian and GDR origin Carl Zeiss Jena lenses (M42 has some bangers for sure) for not much money at all. Sure, it doesn't make much sense versus digital but if your curious about photography your precursors did it's a fun side of the photography hobby. (And the lenses can be reused on digital bodies anyway)
13:13 this resonates with me so much, been shooting film for about 6 months now and it is such a nice experience when I don't have to worry about how sharp a lens is. Coming from a 36mp camera all I did was pixel peep but now I just use Nikkor Pre Ai 50 1.4 which is not at all the sharpest lens out there but the way it renders the images, oh man. Thanks to that lens I actually understood what people meant when they talked about a lens rending images beautifully
@@ToothlessSnakeable I know what you mean haha, my poor A7R just sits in a corner, all it's used for now is testing lenses so I can get a feel for what to expect so I don't waste film on that and scanning my negs.
Always wanted a Pentax 67. Owned Mamiya 645, RZ67. Still have a (now decrepit) Pentax 645 sitting on the shelf. Cool video that most people wouldn't be interested in. Thanks for posting this!
i got into film a year or 3 ago, even developing my own in the house, then scanning the negatives, (including colour and 120 film) but after a while, i went back to digital for the sheer convenience, i will say, using film probably makes you a "better" photographer as you need to consider your shot far more.. you cant just click away and review like you can on digital, so, im glad i did it.
Shooting on film only to scan the negatives defeats the purpose. That's just a digital photo with extra steps. Shooting on film only makes sense if you're going to go analog start to finish: print on paper in a darkroom. Which obviously adds to the complexity and cost quite a bit.
After some false starts with some older cameras like the Canonet and OM10, I found it much easier with an EF mount Canon EOS Elan 7 SLR. Modern metering and buckets of good EF glass available. Ordered ya book, looking forward to it!
This. I picked up a functional EOS 10QD for about as much in dollars a few years back. It works with newer glass and accessories (flash, IR remote), the batteries can be found easily, and most importantly, the pictures turned out well enough that everything didn't look like Bigfoot sightings. The 2- and 3-digit cameras are all still relatively cheap and easy to find; prices only start climbing back up when getting into the low single-digit series cameras.
Still have a working Practika MTL and Zenit E from when I started off in the 70s - Progressed to Pentax LX (and a Ricoh XR-P backup) but sold those on to a couple of photography students when I went digital. I still hanker back to those days of b/w dev and printing... Ilford film... Paterson enlarger... Would love to have the time to indulge again. Kai also just reminded me of dabbling with medium format and an old Lomo 'Lubitel'
£100 just got me your Book, a Minolta XG-M with a 50mm 1.7, a 28mm 2.8, and a 70-210 4.5 on Ebay, The camera was in a little need of attention like changing the capacitors and light seals which wasn't an issue for me personally. We all grow up but I am missing a little less seriousness, I remember when you set fire to that Nikon (or canon) in the middle of Hong Kong. Anyway, keep up the good work! BTW, Love the Book, easy to read, helpful and inspiring.
Here's my film advice: Start off with a Nikon as Kai mentioned, I got a near new FE from Japan for less than $100 shipped to the US. Medium Format? Mamiya 645. Even bigger? Fujica GW 690 and you get to fulfill the rangefinder fascination a the same time.
My choice will be a Nikon F2 (with DP-11/12 viewfinder, Nikon F2A/F2AS that is). But there's a catch with lenses. On older versions on Nikon cameras with lightmeter you can use only non-ai lenses (pre-ai), and newer cameras such as Nikon F-301 might be damaged by non-ai lenses so you'll have to use only ai lenses. F mount isn't that universal and it's better to check what your Nikon film camera is compatible with regardless.
When I use film, I use my Canon Rebel G. I use my 50mm f/1.8 lens and I use AV mode. I develop and scan my own film. I use a lab box and c41 color process. I scan on the Epson v600. I like the rebel G because I can use my rebel XTI digital camera to take shots to see what they should look like on film.
If you wanna be dirt cheap and still shoot bignormous medium format negatives, Kodak had a series of 6x9 folding cameras that can be found for like $30 usd. Find the enthusiast marketed version with the 100mm f4.5 lens/shutter assembly, and you can get some great sharp images, assuming you can focus the damn thing. Also, the bellows were by far the weak point of the construction and will probably need some love to prevent light leaks. You can also slide it into a pocket on a pair of cargo shorts.
I'm very late to the party here but anyway. I'd definetly recommend a Nikon film camera just for the F mount. If you already shoot digital and use Nikon, you don't have to worry about thinking of what lens to buy (film or digital). As long as its not a pre AI lens, it'll work perfectly on your digital camera and your film camera. I actually justify buying more lenses because "hey! I can use it on two cameras not just one! It's like double the value!" 😂
That crazy to see film camera become a thing to do for some. Because I learned photography when I was young on film camera, even learned to develop my film. And I would cut both my arms with a spoon rather than go back on film.
I think the Leica M5 is an inspired choice, but would personally go for a ratty M4. Classic looks, but manual everything. Had a play with an Nikon F2 a while back, and it does everything a Leica can do but with the SLR *and* the controls go round the right way. All nice, and as you say a zillion options, many of which are as cheap as chips.
My mom gave me her old Canon EOS 1000F to try it out. For first steps in shooting on film it's pretty nice. It has a light meter which makes things a lot easier. You can also slap on your EF Lenses and it does support auto focus (if you want to use it). It's also pretty cheap to get ob Ebay at around 50 € or so.
I had a Canon AE1 given to me by a friend a few years ago. I got through 1 and a half rolls before it broke sadly. Thankfully though, I just fixed it and I'm excited to use it again! I've only taken a few shots with a leftover roll I had, so I have no idea what's going to come out 🤞🤞
Crazy to see how much film cameras have gone up in price this past year. Glad RU-vid is making film photography popular but too bad the prices keep going up.
Imma be real, essentially my first film camera was a mamiya RB67 pro-s and I absolutely love it (I had a canon canonet rangefinder for 1 roll I guess) but medium format is a great step into film and definitely makes you care more about the shot when you only get 10 per roll!
This was such a refreshing take on shooting photographs, and to have you of all people run down old school 35mm cameras, and do it in such a confident and encouraging way - will no doubt encourage many to pick-up a film camera and give it a go. This was excellent in every way, thanks Kai. Okay now for a serious question.... where can I get a Pentax cap like the one you're wearing.... seriously I want one.
I have a Pentax 67. Mine doesn't look like the end of the lens is exhibit A in a murder trial where the cause of death was blunt force trauma. I've been lugging it around for a few years now and feel confident I could survive on a planet with higher gravity due to my increased bone density and muscle mass. The 105mm Takumar on the 67 produces the most beautiful negatives.
Still have my collection of Canon A-series bodies. A-1, AT-1, AV-1 & AE-1 bodies, all from the 'Me Decade'. But those bodies along with the pretty close to endless FD mount lenses are built like tanks. Not telling you to chug it off a ledge, cliff or a roof. But they take a licking and stay ticking. All in all; I use them to teach and instruct photography basics. Just as I was taught, to get down a generalization of what the art is and how it works. Before my students decide to invest in a automatic(DSLR or Mirrorless) and go shoot 📸 a banquet hall & leave a bloody crime scene behind.
I have been an enthusiast shooting digital for years. I got a Nikon F3 35mm film camera this mont, and firing the shutter and winding the film on was a surprisingly satisfying analog experience. Waiting to see the results… which is also part of the fun!
I'm enjoying your book a lot man. I'm heading to NYC next week and I'm gonna look for a good film camera while I'm there. I'm scared of Ebay so I'd rather touch the camera before I buy. Good stuff man!
I do portraits all on film and I use my fully manual film cameras for walk around and daily drivers, and then I have my F100 and Pentax 67 for paid work.
Great content and discussion....Will you do a Comparo, even a Shoot-out? Pinkey to lip...between the Pentax 67 and the RB67 ProS..I happen to be a Mamiya RB67 Fanboy. I also shoot a Nikon F5 for chasing my child around...Glad to see you still doing what you do! Subbed!
My first camera (shooting film as a hobby - I shot with various film cameras as a kid - like disposables) was technically a Fuji DL-270 Zoom. But, my first SLR was a Praktica LTL3. M42 mount lenses are great because there’s many great lenses which are quite accessible due to how long lenses were made for this mount. (Also I believe KMZ still technically make them? I read on a wikipedia page, I dunno if that’s true though)
Brings back memories (vaguely ) of probably the only sort of half decent film camera i ever owned , a Pentax p30 with 28/80 sigma lens(i think ? ) . Simpler times …….. oh the good old days ?
Sexy beast Pentax 6x7! Getting 120 film processed is getting tougher in the US. Always have lust for your Nikon F with that w/a lens… BTW - got YOUR NEW BOOK!!!!
