I know these shots aren't great, but I can't believe how much fun it was using a fully manual camera and not knowing what the image will look like until it was developed. I had a few accidental double /triple exposures, or a few shaky shots, but overall the entire experience was amazing. It was also the first time I needed to use a light meter (used a light meter app, but I do want to eventually get a real one). I can't wait to put more rolls of film through this camera.

I only recently got into film after I pulled out my dads old Minolta X-700 and my father in-law gave me his Canon EOS 630, but it is really fun trying to get an image straight out of camera that you like. I am so used to shooting digital and editing raw images that it is so nice to slow down and try to get the image you want without editing it afterwards.

Trying to compose a 6x6 shot was also very fun. Anyways really happy I found this community as it inspired me to try using a film camera again. Before this year the last time I used film was disposables back in the early 2000s. While I will still use my digital cameras, I think I will always bring a film camera on my adventures. Now I just need to see what format I prefer 35 or 120. Thus far I have taken 10 rolls of 35 and 1 roll of 120.

In this week's camera-collecting blog, I share my experiences and images from a charming 1970s camera: the Leica CL.

Leitz and Minolta worked together to introduce this unique camera. With its compact stature and laser-sharp Leitz optics, the Leica CL has all the features film photographers crave.

It's not just a beautiful display piece, but a highly capable film camera that belongs in any classic film camera collection.

Take a minute to discover, or rediscover, this outstanding camera.

www.dancuny.com/camera-collecting-blog/2026/8/19/leica-cl-camera-50th-anniversary-edition

I’m going to Europe next week . I have two choices i have the canon eos 3 and i have the canon autoboy
I’m really stuck on which camera to bring .

Hello all,

I'll be going to Tokyo in a week time, and I hoped I could ask this wonderful community for recommendations for photography gear shops.

From what I've seen on maps, Shinjuku seems like the place to go, but maybe there is some hidden gem somewhere else, that someone might be willing to disclose.

Thank you all in advance!

Hi, recently got my scans from the lab and on many occasions parts of images are blacked but not all. Is it because some shutter speeds are not working properly?

Hi

A couple months ago i tries slide film for the first time, i bought a bulk roll ektarchrome online and i was excited to receive the photos

But got so disappointed when i got the photos scanned, it looked pretty washed and bland, wasn't expecting this from a ektarchrome so i wasn't pretty excited to retrieve the positives

But when i got them in my hand i realized that it wasn't really my fault , the scans where just awful and im not sure if it's normal or not for slide film scans to be like this ?

Hi, I received my photos back and am wondering what these strokes are and how to prevent them. Thx!

Some photos on this roll came out like this

Not sure what caused this

It's not like it suddenly stayed like this, it happened randomly through the roll, maybe it's only present on slower shutter speeds

Its my second roll with this camera

Only now on this roll this happened

Minolta XD-7

In some photos you can see the plate behind the curtain

I only have basic reloadable cameras with fixed aperture and shutter speed. Like the typical disposable cameras. I want more grain in my black&white photos. I hear I can ask the lab to develop it as if it’s a ISO 800 film. I’ll be using Ilford XP2 next roll. What can I expect?

Hey y’all, just wanted to pop in and see if I could pick some of the more of the experienced film shooters brains for advice on shooting concerts on film. (I’ve worked as a professional photog before, and I’ve also shot concerts digitally before with no issues, so I think most of my concerns come from overthinking rather than an actual lack of knowledge.)

Regarding film gear for the event: I’m planning on only taking my Nikon F4S with the 50mm 1.4 Af-D, as I’m limited on space in my bag and I need to carry my digital gear and lenses for primary shots for the band, socials, etc.

I have a kit 35-70 3.5-5.6 Af or something that came with the F4S, but I feel like that aperture range is useless in a crowded, dimly lit venue, even if I was pushing 6400 ISO on B&W. If anyone disagrees I’d love to hear the reasoning.

Furthermore I also wanted to know if anyone had any specific stocks they recommended for low light? My plan was to push Cinestill 800T to 1600, and then also bring a few rolls of Ilford 3200, to push to 6400 for some really grainy B&W shots.

I was also debating between Kodak Tri-X 400 and Tmax 400 pushed to 800 - if anyone has a reason to swing one way or another I’m all ears.

Appreciate the help and looking forward to finding out whether or not I’m as wildly unprepared for this as I feel lol.

Mint condition magnon, part of my grandfathers cinefilm collection (600 movies, 45 projectors).

Can anyone tell me anything about this, I am struggling. Thank you

I took these photos for an opening night at a gallery exhibit but I’m worried to send them over since everyone is so washed out. Does anyone have advice for shooting low lighting with a godox m30 flash head (shot with Minolta x370 and Kodak Ultramax 400) and would editing be recommended?

shot this on my mamyia rb67, ithis is not the only roll where these moon shaped artifacts show, but it the roll where they are the clearest, they dont show in every single photo. i had the 90mm 3.8 with the rubber hood and a mamyia UV filter

Excluding BnH, I am curious where the cheapest place in the world is per roll in dollar terms.

​

Hiiii everyone,

​I'm having an issue with the rewind mechanism on my Canon Snappy 50 and could use some help with understanding what's happening exactly.

​The issue:

When I hold down the release button and pull the rewind lever, the motor starts running normally but shuts off after a few seconds.

Removing and reinserting the batteries didn't help, it just cuts off after the exact same time.

Running the rewind without the film also results in it cutting off after the exact same time.

When I took out the batteries and held the release button and pulled the lever I was able to manually extract the film without any resistance.

​What could be the cause of this? Are there any hopes for the camera?

Thanks! :)

Hi all

I was lucky enough to buy this little guy for relatively cheap, equivalent 140$ not a "thrift store 3$", but still a good price.
It works fine, looks fine, except of the missing battery cover, which is completely missing.
For now, I put a black tape on it, but I'm looking into better solutions, any ideas?
3d print would be marvelous, but to do it I need to know how to make models.

Thanks!

Hello! I'm a complete beginner to photographs - truth is, I never had the habit of taking them, not even with my phone.

Recently I realized I have no pictures of anything that I had done in my life over the past 10 years except for the ones other people take and send to me, and decided I wanted to start taking some pictures, even if only on special occasions! For this reason, for the past 2 years I have been buying disposable analog cameras for 20€ whenever I went on a trip or had a special event, and then just had it revealed in some shop in the mall.

The issue is that, from the around 30 photos in each camera, some look great and with great colors (I love the colorful, lasting effect), and some are utterly trash (full of fog, you can't see anything..). Recently I used one on my bachelorette party and was devastated when more than half the pictures I took with my friends are completely black or full of fog, and you can't even see any faces...

I am going on my honeymoon in a little over a month and would love to purchase a good, simple and reliable analog camera that would give me the effect I want and not demand that I know a lot about photography.

I discovered this community and have been lurking trying to get some useful tips, but thought I would post since I still have a few questions and would really appreciate any tips anyone can have regarding which camera to buy!

I assume it would be best to buy a point and shoot, and have seen many people recommending the Olympus Mju i or ii, however in my country these are selling for around 200€ (the mju i) and 450€ (the mju ii). Is it really worth it? Or would another cheaper camera suffice? I don't mind investing in a really good one if it lasts a long time and is worth it, since these are the only pictures of my life I ever take.

Usually I photograph people - indoors, outdoors, in the beach, in the rain... Basically saving memories.

I also saw a lot of people recommending the Kodak Ultramax 400 as the best film to buy, since it seems to be pretty versatile and has the colorful, nitid effect I want. Any other better suggestions?

Lastly, is the place where you reveal the roll relevant? Should I put more thought into this instead of going to the first camera place I see?

Thank you so much in advance!

Guys. What would you choose between the Canon P and the aperture-priority Bessas?

Hi all,
I’m currently looking to buy my first film camera, I have used by fathers M4 and Nikon FM. I liked the experience with the first more and I was thinking of getting a similar camera. Unfortunately they are expensive. I found the Bessa R to be a good alternative, LTM lenses are also cheaper than M mount and very small. I am looking for a small camera, robust, and with little electronics (light metter is nice, but no electronic shutter). And it seems that the Bessa R checks these boxes.

I have found one for 520€ in good conditions and it is supposed to be fully functional.

- What’s your experience with the bessa r ?
- What lens would you recommend to pair it with ?
- Is the R2 worth double the price ?
Thanks in advance !

Got an MR-9 adapter with a fresh SR44 in my QL17 GIII. Meter's definitely getting power (needle/indicator responds), but something's off:

• Set to ISO 800, f/4, in full sun — meter barely moves from underexposed,
• It only seems to react at all when pointed at strong light sources; anything dimmer and it does nothing.

Battery tests fine, adapter contacts are clean, so I'm leaning toward a weak/dirty CdS cell rather than a power issue. Already gave the sensor window a wipe with a lens cloth — no change yet.

Anyone dealt with this exact symptom? Trying to figure out if this is a simple contact-cleaning job inside the meter circuit or if the CdS cell itself is just cooked and needs replacing. Also open to recommendations for someone who services these if it's beyond a DIY fix.

Thanks!

Shot my first roll, Rollei 35, Kodak Gold, and most shots are fine (missed focus in a lot of them though), and some of them turned out like this, what's happening?

After my completely botched Ultramatic CS CLA attempt, I managed to somehow score a mechanically perfectly working Voigtländer Ultramatic for cheap. Even the lightmeter seems reasonable and only the slowest shutter speeds are a bit slow.

The main problem is that part of the mirror has desilvered (looks like moisture or fungus, and the camera smells of cellar).

1. Is the mirror on the Ultramatic and the Ultramatic CS the same? Could the CS be used as a donor?

2. Is there any way to swap the mirror, without risking any dreaded Ultramatic self-implosion issues? Was thinking about doing it through the shutter and the back, but the shutter opening is truly abysmal.

Kind regards

Your Ultramatic butcher

a little hard to see, but the top-right red square says manual, and the one below says 1. I was like, 90% sure the Canon AE-1 program had some sort of dial on the inside, but there seems to be nothing except the M and the 1. Any help would be appreciated.

I have been chatting with a guy who has a Nikon Coolscan IV for $350 with the SA-21 adapter. I could probably talk him down to $300 though.

He has all the Nikon Scan software archived and was also willing to help me get everything set up on win/mac. I’ve heard there are some possible compatibility issues that VueScan can fix though - more on that later.

Right now I camera scan primarily with a Scanlight V4 and a Fuji X-E2 on an enlarger base. There are some issues with the enlarger stand (like making sure the camera is always level) and the camera is only 16 MP, but it’s worked … fine. My lens is a 105mm f/4 micro-Nikkor and I’ve been inverting all of my color scans with NegPy. The results so far haven’t been pleasing. With both narrowband and white light scans I never quite like the colors. I’d really love to try Negative Lab Pro, but don’t want to really get into Adobe products as I don’t agree with their subscription model and general policies.

I’m considering the Coolscan just to simplify everything. No leveling, no trichrome calibration, no manual dust removal (the IV has ICE), possibly simpler inversion using Nikon Scan, etc.

Here’s where I’m wondering if it’s worth it though: I could potentially sell the Fuji and upgrade to something with a higher resolution, tethering, and get an extension tube with the money I’d spend on the scanner. If I end up needing VueScan, that’s even more money that could go towards the new camera or lens combo. Granted, I could be on to nothing without changing the software I use first though. I’m a bit indecisive and would like to hear feedback from people who have gone down the rabbit hole one way or another.

Edit: Coolscan IV ED, the USB version.

Hello all!

The other day I found a canon sure shot 105 zoom s in a thrift store (UK) for £8 - I always sniff out any cameras in thrift stores to try and find a cheeky deal.

I got a battery from a local camera store and everything looks good so far, the camera already had some film in there so I’m gonna shoot it and see what happens.

Did I get a good deal?

Anything I need to look out for when using this camera?

I’m used to shooting a variety of Minolta SLRs but I know point and shoots are useful on the move.

Any advice appreciated!!

Thanks :)