I can't shoot 35mm film after going to larger formats, its just.. not the same, its just.. too small. I started my photography hobby in what I'd consider a somewhat serious manner back in around 2003 with a Nikon F80 with the 28-80mm and 70-300mm kit lenses. I was shooting predominantly Fujifilm Superia Reala 100 C-41 film, which doesn't exist anymore. I also had a Nikon Coolscan V ED film scanner that I bought brand new. I then had a Fujica G617, a Mamiya RB67 and later two Fujifilm GX617s. After shooting those, there was no going back to 35mm film, especially after shooting 6x17 with its phenomenal size and detail.
I'm hoping to leverage my existing FX lenses for the 35mm endeavor, for the time being. One of the reasons is that I want to get into a habit of prints and albums again; I think film is more conducive to this overall experience, practically and creatively speaking. Thinking a film a month, mostly family portraits; develop and print (5x7, matte, white border) - frothing with excitement!! But then I thought most run of the mill labs will probably develop and scan, then print digitally; is there any place in the mainstream that does analogue/optical prints?
Incase anyone has forgotten there is a long standing OCAU film-specific thread here: https://forums.overclockers.com.au/threads/the-ocau-film-is-not-dead-club.652091/page-398
If b&w I can recommend trying Rollei Retro 80s, it’s quite contrasty, so you may want to shoot it at 50 or 25, and develop accordingly. But image quality is outstanding for 35mm, available in 120 too. Adox HR50 is supposed to be a better version (preflashed). I think Lighthouse lab was doing that if they still do I’m not sure. I mean print developer is cheap. I’ve tested some cheap red led bulbs (plastic rather than glass which is good) and they didn’t show any signs of paper fogging, you can always set up to print at home you’re getting into a bit of a rabbit hole
Chris has been off-grid up in Hunter Valley for a while now, comes to Sydney every Friday and does B&W only as name implies. Sandy used to do optical colour prints but now just outsources to trannies lightjet, she may still be setup for it for special job requests. Frizza afaik has a darkroom but not open to public otherwise their wet prints are from noritsu minilab and epson for wide format.
I’ve been carrying my camera everywhere, won’t learn to use it if I don’t take it with me It’s so hard to get people to act natural, with a phone camera nobody cares and it’s easy, minute you pull an SLR out it’s like you’re an alien and everybody stops what they’re doing
Yep. Less so if you shoot 'from the hip' though with LiveView. Face detect AF helps a lot with it, small fast 35mm or so and it's not so bad. Also depends on where you are. Tourist areas much less of a reaction.
I wonder if I could live view to my phone and shoot from the hip like that, hmm. No AF here though, but that’s ok.
BAH. My EF-RF Drop In Filter Mount Adapter has arrived and it seems like some of my 3rd party Tamron and Sigma lenses are not compatible with their current firmware. And some of them are not compatible with the tap in consoles that you can buy. I've asked the Australian distributors on updating them and they're asking $50+ for each lens not including shipping. First time I've ever had an issue with lens compatibility
That's less bad then. I mean it's still crap if they don't need a service but I guess it's not $50 for 2min plugged into a computer any more.
$50 is as low as you could possibly expect for any type of service/repair. The alternative to avoid compatibility issues is to purchase first-party glass. I think you'll find that is even more than $50 difference.
Aye certainly does put the fear of God on you if you're reliant on the gear to pay the bills. Luckily though, I still do have my old DSLR which will be pulled out of storage so I can use these lenses while I assess my next move in the next couple of weeks or so. I mean I had been eyeing off the RF versions of these EF mount lenses for a while now, so trying to see which lenses I can replace now and which ones I can delay so I can save up for em.
I personally don’t own any non first party glass. For exactly this reason. That said - I’d expect that if a company sells a device specifically for firmware updating their lenses they’d at least make all their lenses compatible.
In some instances, with the price differences, you could buy third party glass and use with a DSLR, and when it becomes incompatible just bin it and buy their latest equivalent and still be ahead. It's really depends on the particular lens options in question. Canon might technically provide compatibility with their lenses, but they seem to cripple features over time. Sure there's a risk down the track, but it's sometimes a risk worth taking.
