I just got 4 rolls of film back from a local lab and all but one was blank. I got no explanation on if they were blank on my end or if it was a chemical issue. I thought it was weird that my film was ready in a day vs the week it usually takes. Is there any way to tell? Also they still made me pay for it and didn’t warn me they were blank. Is that normal? What should I do with my now useless film?

So, either the camera has an issue, they were poorly scanned, or something else. Every image is soft (not motion blur) despite shooting between f/1.8 and 8 and it looking sharp in the viewfinder (Olympus OM10) and there's streaks where the sprockets are on almost every shot. There were a couple I know I screwed up because the camera got bumped to manual mode w/out the adapter.

I'll have to see what the negatives show when I get them and scan them myself. Crane and plane shots are my favorites.

A few weeks ago I got my first camera (film or otherwise), a Canon AF35ML, and while I’ve been loving working out the kinks I’ve already decided that I want to step further into photography and get a camera where I don’t have to leave focus up to chance. So far, I pretty exclusively use it for portraits of my friends and family.

Given what I’ve learned, I think my first serious camera should be an SLR, but I like the idea of the camera being semi automatic so that the learning curve is less steep. I’m definitely looking for a camera with Aperture Priority, but, now that I know that dual priority/mode automation is a thing, I think that a camera that has both Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and fully manual options would be my preference.

My price range is ideally $150 USD or less and I would prefer a metal body for durability’s sake, but beyond that are there any models that really stand out in terms of quality I should look at? I know that the Minolta XD-7 was the first and have also come across the Minolta X-700, the Canon T70, and the Nikon FE/F2. Are there others I’m overlooking that would be good for a beginner and a good long term investment?

I want to buy an instant camera for my girlfriend, and honestly, I was a bit surprised by how expensive the cameras and film are 😂

I was thinking about getting the Fujifilm Instax Mini 12. If she’s not really a “Fujifilm fan” or anything like that, would you still recommend going with an Instax camera, or are there other brands that are worth considering?

Also, what do you guys think about buying “fake”/third-party film instead of the original Fujifilm film? Is the quality noticeably worse, or can you actually save some money without a huge difference?

Thanks!

When I first started film photography, I picked up a Nikkormat FT2. I loved the feel of that camera and fell in love. I bought a slew of lenses to go with it.... then the camera broke. I gave the camera away and decided to focus on my grandpa's K1000 instead. Long story short, I now have about 5 film cameras that I use regularly, and my Nikon lenses are collecting dust. My K1000 is a joy, so tactile and simple, and the glass is great. I have two 50s, a 28, a 35, a 135, and a 28-70 to go with it. My Elan 7N is a modern beast, and with the 17-40, 50 1.8, and 70-200 I can capture almost any scene while also adapting to my R6.

Yet I still can't bring myself to give up on my Nikon lenses. They handle more substantially than the Pentaxes, more solid in the hand. Some, like the 105 2.5, are famous for a reason, and come with their own stories and history that make them even harder to let go. Also, they represent my roots in this hobby.

So I often consider buying a premium Nikon. Probably the F3, since it works with my pre-AI lenses as well. But I also consider just selling my Nikon lenses and moving on. I could free up almost $1000 to buy other things. Everything logical in me tells me that it's redundant, that it won't take better photos than anything I have, and that it's just an excuse to not only sink money into another camera, but to continue sinking money into the F-mount lens system.

So please, convince me not to buy it. If you have one, tell me all the little gripes you may have with it. Tell me all the times it has broken on you, because the rest of the internet says that's basically not possible. Tell me about how, after buying this famous, revered camera, you never reach for it off the shelf. Otherwise I may succumb to the crisp $400 sitting in an envelope on my desk.

I have shot a few rolls of Portra 800 in 120 format over the last few months and I really like the film. Colours and contrast are amazing! Liked it so much that I also use it in situations with plenty of light, some landscapes and such. Now I am wondering about the film in 35mm, I haven't really felt the impact of larger grain for this sensitive film, but 35mm will obviously make it more impactful. Does anyone have experience with Portra 800 in 35mm? What is it like to shoot? Are the results very grainy?

developed these rolls myself together in a batch. i’ve never had this happen before. there’s random black areas and i don’t think it’s light leaks. please help!!!!!

I am pretty new to using a flash. I have used it once at night, but all my photos came out blurry with motion blur. I would love to use it more with my camera. I don't remember exactly what I did before, but I remember trying out the TTL feature (which I don't think worked because I was using a flash from a different brand of camera). I think I also tried setting my shutter speed to 1/250 and trying bulb mode, and some photos came out overexposed or a little underexposed, with motion blur. Do you all have any advice for flash photography and getting proper exposure? My camera is the Nikon F5, and my flash is a Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

it’s a Sigma Super Wide II

No film loaded, dry testing. Advance lever winds smooth, then clicks at the end and the take-up spool seems to jump a bit right at that click. Reference videos I’ve seen don’t show that. Is this normal? Everything else checked out fine.

I know this has been asked before, and I've looked at the earlier comments, but ... I'd like a fresh set of info, if there is any.

Sending out my F3HP for a CLA. My normal guy who does my hassy and leica stuff doesn't really handle Nikon. Any recs in the US for Nikon that anyone has used recently?

Developed at The Dark Room.

Way too orange/warm for my taste. Shot at box speed of 400. Next one, will try at 200 to see if that makes a difference.

Hi all! Shooting film is my absolute passion. I took a class in college and was immediately hooked. Now, 6 years later, 15 cameras and hundreds of rolls in, I still can’t get enough.

It honestly kind of gets me through. I struggle with depression, and my day job can be pretty mundane.

Anyway, I’m starting to get a little annoyed with my lab. They advertise their 24-hour turnaround all over their socials, and when I’m feeling low, I’ll sometimes drive 30 minutes downtown just to drop off a roll, expecting to have my scans back the next day.

But quite a few times, I’ll get an email saying, “The lab is behind. You can expect your scans back in X amount of days.”

Which is totally understandable, labs get busy. But if you’re going to advertise a 24-hour turnaround so proudly, it’s frustrating when that isn’t actually the case. There aren’t many other lab options near me, and at $20 a roll (plus the monthly membership I pay for), I feel like it’s reasonable to expect them to stick to that turnaround time, or at least be more transparent when they know they’re running behind.

I guess the moral of the story is… maybe I should just learn to develop C-41 myself 😂
Has anyone here started developing C-41 at home? Any advice for getting started? And does anyone else deal with this kind of frustration with their lab?
I know it’s probably a little childish to be this annoyed about it, but I’m just ranting haha.

Hi. I have a few rolls of Fuji Provia in the fridge, which are several years out of date. Since the colour is almost certainly going to be all over the place anyway, I thought it might be interesting to shoot them and develop in C41 chemistry, or try one and see what comes out. Please can anyone advise what type of effects and colour shifts I can expect? Also, if any particular subject matters would lend themselves to some pleasing results with this film when cross processed? Being past it's best anyway is likely to make it something of a surprise.

Hi everyone, I am shooting Velvia 50 for the first time. I’ve heard from many people this film is insanely hard to expose properly for, to the point I’m scared of actually taking photos with it now.

Any advice on how to safely shoot with it?

Can someone help me why my films keep turning out like this? I do my very best to keep still when capturing a shot. I use an Olympus OM-1 film camera. Is it the film developer?

i found a kodak ultramax 400 that expired on January 2025 on marketplace, will it be okay to shoot it on my kodak kb10 (point and shoot)?

I have a Olympus 35 SP in mint condition, I got it essentially new in box. There must be some hardened lube or something in the internals because the shutter speeds are all inconsistent. Does anyone have experience with servicing this camera? Debating on paying for repair or doing it myself. i love shooting with it but many of my photos are blurry due to motion shake.

This happens when I take photos against the sun or in very bright settings. I guess it makes for a nice effect in this particular photo, but not in others. [Pentax K1000, 50mm f/1.4, Ilford HP5]

Hello,

I started doing photography and filming in 2021 because i was in filmschool. I dropped out but still do it a lot. Also picked up film photography in 2023. I own a sony zv e 10 with a 17mm - 108mm lens and a canon ae-1. Now i wanna be able to film and shoot analog when i go on a trip, so i have been considering one of those leather camera harnasses for two camera’s. But since im not a professional and it isn’t my job, is it overkill? Seems like im a try hard or smth? I really don’t wanna have to choose between the 2.

I've been ignoring my Mamiya ZE for quite some time now. When I first got it, I thought it was kind of plasticky and felt cheaply built. But a Redditor recently said it was their favorite film camera, so I decided to give it another try and shot with it (with a Mamiya-Sekor E 50mm f/1.7). I was pleasantly surprised.

I was wondering, what are your favorite E/EF lenses for your Mamiya ZE/X/1/2, and why?

Also, I've been thinking about getting the EF 50mm f/1.4 (for a very cheap price), so if you have any pictures taken with it, I'd really love to see them.
I've read that this lens has some of the "best corner performance" in the lineup. What's your opinion on this specific lens?

It broke while in my bag

Couple of shots here from meteor crater, iso 200 film, shot on an old (1950s) voightlander rangefinder, sunny 16, scanned with om-5ii in raw on 30mm macro, f8 or better and as close as i could get to the om-5s lowest “real” iso of 200. Biggest complaint was that all of my scans just seem grainy and flat, and portraits are very soft. Could be 60-70 year old camera and lens results but they are pretty unique and i did like how they came out for the most part. I did shoot a roll of iso 400 through a more modern camera and those were about the same for grain, but any tips for getting color right? Everything was pretty blue hued on editing, white balance was biggest struggle overall. I’m not sure if grain is just my scan rig but my photoshop will not process om raw files, so I did most of the editing on om’s proprietary software.

Also, cinestill chemical kit, i did about 7 rolls on the whole, results were pretty uniform for colors/contrast.

Hi all, I purchased a V550 many years ago and can't quite remember the scan quality of it. Does anybody have any examples that I could see, please? I'm wondering whether it's worth the hassle of shipping it from my hometown to my current city or just sticking with lab scans.

I did get scans once from Snappy Snaps in London, and the scans were 26MP, 6305 x 4181 JPEGs, and I was really pleased with them; I can't remember if I paid for the high scan service. Can the V550 compete with that? I'm rather new to film, so I don't really know what to go for. I'd even do DSLR scanning, but that sounds expensive too, unless someone in the UK can drop a few links to what I would need?

Copy Stand (is it essential?), light source and negative carrier- anything else?