Turns out the foam seal around the film door was completely shot and I didn't notice until 3 rolls came back with this orange streak. Has anyone else had luck replacing those seals with felt from a craft store?
Everyone online swears by shooting sunny day beaches at f/16 with 400 speed film but my meter was reading way different and I should have trusted it. Has anyone else learned the hard way that generic advice doesnt work for every location?
I finally finished developing my 100th roll of film last week. Started shooting film about two years ago on a old Canon AE-1 I found at a thrift store for $30. I thought by roll 100 I'd have this down pretty good. But going through all my negatives I counted almost 40 rolls that had serious issues - light leaks, double exposures by accident, or just plain underexposed. My first 20 rolls were basically a disaster. The ones from the last 10 rolls though look way better. I guess I'm finally getting the hang of metering without a light meter. Still got a long way to go. Has anyone else kept track of how many rolls they ruined before things clicked?
Last Tuesday I went down to the river with my old Canonet and got maybe 12 keepers out of a roll, perfect light and zero wind. Then Wednesday I tried the same spot and everything came out blurry or underexposed because the meter battery finally died. Has anyone else had wildly different results like that on back to back days?
My rolls from a bright day came out washed out and flat, but the overcast shots had way more color and less harsh shadows. Anyone else find that cloudy weather actually gives better results with certain film stocks?
I keep seeing people online say to always meter for shadows when shooting negative film. But I spent 3 years shooting Portra 400 in full sun here in Phoenix and I got way better results metering for the highlights instead. My lab tech even pointed out that my underexposed shots held way more detail than my overexposed ones after I accidentally shot a whole roll at 800. Has anyone else tried breaking that rule and found it works better for your lighting?
I was developing a roll of Tri-X 400 last Tuesday night, set up my Paterson tank on the counter like always. First inversion, I hear this hissing sound. Then brown liquid starts dripping down the cabinets. The lid wasn't seated right because I was in a hurry. I grabbed a towel to soak it up, but the fixer already ate through the laminate in one spot. Now I gotta decide: do I just put a cutting board over it and call it patina or do I actually repair it before I lose my security deposit? Anyone else had a chemical spill that turned into a home repair project?
Picked up a 5-pack of Kodak Gold 200 from a guy on Craigslist for cheap, but every single shot came out with this weird pink haze over it. Anyone else ever get burned by expired film deals you thought were a steal?
I was up at Rattlesnake Ledge trying to get a shot of the fog rolling in, and the shutter just stuck halfway. I had to pop the lens off and gently tap the curtain with a pencil to get it moving again. Has anyone else fixed a sticky shutter on the trail without proper tools?
Last weekend I grabbed a beat-up Minolta X-700 from a pile in someone's driveway near Tacoma, and after cleaning the lens with some lens fluid it actually works perfectly. I ran a test roll through it and the exposures came out great, no light leaks or stuck shutter. Anyone else ever luck into a cheap film camera that turned out to be a hidden gem?
I shot three rolls last month at a flea market in Portland and every single frame came out blank or washed out, thought my camera was toast. Then last Saturday I just walked around my neighborhood with my old Pentax K1000 and every shot came back sharp and exposed right like magic. Anybody else have a random good day that made you remember why you stick with film?
I was digging through bins at Goodwill off Hawthorne and spotted this beat up Pentax K1000 with a 50mm lens for $15. The light seals are totally dried out and crumbling, but the shutter fires clean and the mirror looks good. Anyone know a good source for replacement light seal kits that won't break the bank?
I've been shooting film for about 4 years now, and I keep going back and forth on how to scan my negatives. A buddy of mine insists that flat scanning is the way to go, just lay the negative strip on the scanner glass with some anti-Newton glass on top. He says it gives sharper results because there's less glass between the lens and the film. But another photographer I met at a meetup in Chicago last spring swears by using a dedicated film holder. He says the holder keeps the film perfectly flat and reduces reflections, which matters a lot with color negative film. I tried the flat method on a roll of Portra 400 from my trip to the coast last fall, and I got some weird newton rings on a couple frames. But when I use the holder, I feel like the edges of the frame are softer. What's your take? Do you prefer laying the film flat on the glass or using a holder for scanning at home?
I was shooting my buddy's backyard wedding with my Canon AE-1, the one I've used for years without issues. Everything was going fine until I went to advance the film after the cake cutting and the lever just STOPPED. Wouldn't budge at all. I tried winding it back and forth gently but nothing. Had to pack up my gear and tell the couple I'd scan the shots from the first half. Got home and opened it up in my bathroom dark closet. Turns out a little piece of the shutter mechanism called the magnet catch had broken off. I ordered a used replacement part online for $12 and spent two evenings fixing it with a tiny screwdriver. Has anyone else had a shutter fail on them at a bad time? How did you handle it?
He said the camera has never been cleaned and still nails exposure every time. Made me rethink all the careful metering I do with my Pentax - maybe I'm overthinking this stuff.
I have been saving every developed roll of 35mm I've shot since 2018 in a shoebox under my desk. Yesterday I dropped off roll number 500 at the lab and realized I have almost five years of random street shots, family gatherings, and vacation photos stacked up. Anyone else keep their old rolls or do you toss the canisters after scanning?
I was digging through a box of junk in someone's driveway when I spotted this beat up Polaroid OneStep. The guy selling it said it probably didn't work but I grabbed it anyway. Got home and threw in some fresh film from Walmart and the flash popped right on the first shot. The colors came out all washed out and dreamy looking. Anyone else have luck bringing old instant cameras back to life or is it just random?
I was a total believer for like 2 years. Saved up $600 for a Mamiya 645, shot maybe 30 rolls through it. Yeah the detail is nice but man, carrying that brick around Philly last summer was a nightmare. Missed so many shots because I was fumbling with the waist level finder or swapping film backs. Switched back to my old Pentax K1000 with a 50mm lens and honestly my keeper rate went way up. Am I missing something or do people just like the look of medium format gear more than actually using it out in the city?
I picked up a used Canon AE-1 Program from a shop in Portland last month. First roll came back with these weird orange streaks on the right side of every frame. Spent 3 evenings checking the shutter curtains, the film door seal, even the lens mount. Turned out the foam light seal strip along the hinge was completely dry and cracked, letting in a thin sliver of light. Cut a new strip of light seal foam from a $5 kit, replaced it in 20 minutes, and the next roll came out clean. Anyone else waste way too much time on a simple fix before finding the real problem?
It locked up mid-shot on a roll of Portra 400 during outdoor portraits at my cousin's wedding last Saturday and I had to pop the lens board off with a butter knife to free the blades, has anyone else dealt with a frozen Copal shutter on these old TLRs?
He found it cleaning out my grandma's closet last month. Said he took it to the local drugstore back then and they told him they couldn't process it anymore so he just shoved it in a drawer and forgot about it. I had to explain that nobody can develop it now either. He looked at me like I was messing with him. Made me think about how much has changed just in our lifetimes. Anyone else have old film they cant do anything with?
Everyone online says you gotta shoot Tri-X at 400 and develop normally. Well I did that last weekend at Golden Gate Park and got a bunch of flat, boring negatives. My best shots have always been when I push it to 800 or 1600. Has anyone else had this happen or am I just messing up my development?
I found three rolls of Portra 400 in my dad's old fridge that expired in 2018 and took them on a trip to Pike Place Market. The colors shifted toward a weird greenish-yellow tint on half the shots, especially in the overcast light near the waterfront. Has anyone else seen expired film mess with shadows like that or was it just my bad luck?
I found this old Polaroid OneStep at a thrift store in Portland for like $15, thought I scored big. Picked up a pack of film for $45 from a specialty shop, the guy warned me it might be old stock but I didn't listen. Put it in, took a shot of my cat sitting on the porch, and the picture came out as a faint white ghost. Just a blank rectangle with a tiny smudge of brown, total waste of money. Anyone else get burned by expired instant film or know a way to check the date before you buy?
I was eating breakfast at this diner in Portland last Saturday and this guy in his 70s with a Leica around his neck sat next to me... he saw me fiddling with my light meter app. He told me to just meter for the shadows and forget the rest, said most of us overthink it. Has anyone else tried just metering for shadows on a roll and seen better results?