Shooting Film in 2018: Choosing Your Camera

Shooting on film is a dying art, and yet, there’s a romantic quality that keeps our interest in silver halide alive. The idea of light hitting metallic particles and leaving an image that we can reproduce is just so… tangibly intangible.

For those of you moved by the romance of film, but with no experience shooting it, I’m here to help you choose your first film camera.

The camera you choose is just as important as which film you shoot on and how it’s developed (topics too big to cover here.)

SLR (Single-lens reflex)

The 35mm SLR is the recommended standard for learning how photography works.  It’s just like the digital SLR, but it takes 35mm film. 

Recent models have electronic light metering to help you choose the right exposure settings, but older models require you to know what f-stop and aperture are appropriate for the amount of light in front of you. 

The lack of automation in an older 35mm SLR can be good or bad for your needs.  On one hand, to get the best image possible, it’s nice to have the camera do some of the work for you.  On the other hand, you will learn more about the technical side of photography by using a less automated camera.  

There’s no faster way to learn how aperture and shutter speed affect your image than by manually adjusting both every time, then waiting several days for your film to be developed to know if you totally ruined the exposure or got the depth of field you wanted.

SLRs also exist that accept medium format (120mm) film.  At some point you'll want a medium format SLR if you want magazine-quality prints.

Instant

These include the Fuji Instax range and Polaroid cameras.  You’re probably already familiar with how they work, because Fuji Instax has done a great job of marketing itself to the Instagram Generation.  Instant cameras are respectable in terms of quality and some fine artists have exhibited Polaroids, so there’s no shame in this game. They are great to take to parties and the film develops itself.

Instant cameras often offer sub-par results in low-light and make it hard to frame your images, so they’re not great for learning composition or exposure.  The only instant camera model I know of that seems to be the exception is the TL70 from MiNT, which is a twin-lens reflex, making it possible to view the shot through a viewfinder separately from exposing the film.  Twin-lens reflex cameras do have some design issues that make it hard to get a perfectly accurate preview of your shot, though (see the TLR section below.)

Lomography

Most lomography cameras were originally manufactured as toys and accept 35mm film.  The term is actually a trademark of the Lomographic Society International, which sought to promote a certain photographic style and film camera use.  Lomography camera models are taken more seriously now than they were in their original production runs, because pro and fine art photographers  showcased their unique advantages.

Lomography cameras typically give a colorful and blurry look - think light leaks and lens flares.  They’re also very affordable and have a wide range of accessories.  While photos shot with these cameras are harder to control or predict, they can yield some great images and are totally fun to shoot with.  They usually make your subject less self conscious than a large camera would.  If you love Lana Del Rey and 60’s or 70’s style, these cameras are probably going to be a lot of fun for you.

Twin-lens reflex (TLR)

This is similar to an SLR, but there are couple of key differences.  One, the camera body looks more 60’s.  It’s totally hip.  Two, the image it shows you is a little bit less accurate than the preview you get through the viewfinder of an SLR. Twin-lens reflex cameras show you an image that’s reversed left-to-right and suffers from a parallax error, meaning that you have to compensate by moving the camera a little bit after you’ve framed your shot. 

The viewfinder design on a TLR means that you need to look down into the camera to frame a shot, making it difficult to use with subjects at certain heights.  The list of compelling reasons to use a TLR over an SLR is short: you already have one, or you want to look like a Swinging London era photojournalist. TLR cameras most often use 120mm film, but sometimes use 35mm film or other formats.

MEDIUM FORMAT (120mm)

Medium format film is larger than 35mm film, so it’s technically a better quality.  SLR cameras that shoot medium format film were the staple of editorial fashion photographers' work until digital cameras swept them out around 2010.  Several fashion and fine art photographers still shoot with SLRs that accept medium format film. 

A medium format camera, whether it’s SLR or TLR, is a great way to improve your skills.  It is, however, expensive to shoot medium format film because you need access to a well-stocked darkroom or you need to send it to specialty labs where it’s more expensive to develop than 35mm film is.

LARGE FORMAT (sheet film)

This is hardcore stuff.  The sheet film standard is 4x5, but it ranges up to 8x10.  There are formats that are larger than large format, but that’s very uncommon.

Large format cameras either accept sheet film or glass plates.  We’re talking either National Geographic and Life Magazine quality film cameras, or antiques that you slide a glass plate into (which you prepare with silver yourself.)  Some of you are totally turned on by this idea and you’re already imagining preparing your glass plates in a backyard shed while dressed in full Victorian regalia.  Kudos to you! 

There are still photographers who shoot glass plates and large format.  The advantage a large format camera offers is unparalleled quality.  They are typically view cameras with bellows, allowing tilt-shift effects (where normal sized things look like they’re miniature.)  The disadvantage is that it’s expensive to shoot and develop large format film or plates.  If you go with a camera that shoots large format, you will probably also want to secure access to a darkroom and learn about developing your own film and printing your own photos.

Point and shoot

Also called compact cameras, the 35mm point and shoot has some exposure options like an SLR or Twin-Lens-Reflex, but like a disposable camera or a lomography camera, it doesn’t allow you to precisely frame and preview your image like an SLR and a Twin-Lens-Reflex.  It’s an okay camera to use and it’s portable, but it won’t teach you how to compose your images.

Disposable

This is basically trash and you won't have a lot of control over your photos.  Some people like the trash aesthetic, though!  Disposable cameras are kind of punk.  These cameras were totally romanticized by teens in the 90’s and 2000’s and they still hold a little bit of nostalgic popularity. 

Disposable cameras come with one roll of film pre-loaded.  You have no control over the settings and the flash always fires, giving everyone red-eye and ghost-face.  These cameras don’t have the charm of lomography cameras because they usually don’t have the fun light-leaks.