Analog film photography and cameras

Pocket light meter app seems to match my actual electronic light meter - I use it a lot.

I have an OM1 and an Om4.
Lens wise, I have a 50mm 1.8 and the 1.4 - both are sharp but the 1.8 is incredibly sharp. Look for a 1.8 with a serial number over 1000000 - the latest ones are the best (I'm told).

I have an old 135mm and a 28. Can't remember the aperture on them, but they're both the cheapest available and are both old and war torn and aren't very sharp as a result of that. FWIW I got my partner a mint condition 135mm for £35 but I haven't seen any photos from it to speak on the sharpness.

I really love the 50mm 1.4, a steady hand and 800iso film really let's you shoot in very low light. There is a 1.2 50mm but they're about £300, while you can get the 1.4 for about £90 - a complete bargain if you ask me!

I've got myself a lovely Epson v800, I've scanned a couple of slides (unmounted) but they really don't seem very sharp. Does anyone have any tips? I do have the film carriers with height adjustment.

I use that app as well - does the job well if used properly.

Not sure about the prices of their services, but the vintage cameras they've got on sale are outrageously expensive.
An Olympus Trip 35 for £130 ?
An Olympus OM10 BODY ONLY for £150 ?

Crazy!

The OM2n is a lovely camera. I've got an OM-2 and an OM-20 and love them both.
Got the usual 50mm F1.8 and 28mm F2.8 and they are both great lenses.

Just won a 50mm F1.4 on eBay, can't wait to try it!

Later lenses and those marked MC are significantly improved over 'silver-nose' versions.

The OM2 metering is supposed to be pretty awesome for long exposure photography.

The f3.5 and f2.8 28mm lenses are both good. The f3.5 is a great snapshot/pancake lens. My f2.8 35mm was a bit rough. I didn't really like it. All the 50s are nice (the 1.8 is tiny and awesome) as is the 55mm macro. The compact 85mm f2 is my latest addition and I'm finding it pretty great to use so far.

The good f2.8 zooms and posh ED lenses are basically impossible to get hold of ... I think because i/ collectors and ii/ digital users want them.

And by 'used properly' what does you mean?
Focusing on the shadows ?

Precisely focusing on the point that matters to you.
It's not like a spot meter so you sometimes have to make sure it's giving you a reading that's relevant I've found.

^TY :)
I'll try this out

Hi, I am just getting into shooting on film and looking into scanning options. I may eventually buy a dedicated printer, but fancy trying the cheapest options first..
As I have Lightroom I am thinking of scanning on my work printer and then changing from a negative to a positive in Lightroom. In regards to holding the negatives flat in the printer, do I need to buy a negative holder?, or should I be ok just cutting them into strips.
Thanks for any pointers.

what kind of printer/scanner is it?
you need the right balance of light coming through the film, so if it isn't designed to be a film scanner (with a lightbox lid) then you need to sort that bit out - can be as simple as white paper behind and an anglepoise, or if you have a lightbox you can upturn you could try that.
other people on here use a DSLR for cheap home scanning.

@hoefla, seems there may be a few elements I haven't considered.. I suppose the white box / or equivalent is required so that there is a consistent light source behind the image when scanning. We have pretty powerful scanners at work may there may be a chance that we can create a consistent light emission while scanning but if not then I'll have to look into a DIY bodge, can anyone recommend an article for how to approach such a situation? thanks!

love these, especially 2 of 3 - what are the frames about?
(haven't checked thread for a while...)

They're at the edge of a cricket field - I assume they had nets in them at somepoint to prevent stray balls.

I used to use an OM-1n, and loved it. I'd recommend aftermarket lenses for extra wides (eg. Tamron); the standard lenses are very good; for short telephoto or for portraiture I recommend the Elicar 90mm (if you can find one, you'll never be sorry). Zooms can be had from Vivitar or Tamron.

The Elicar came (tied for) first in a 1984 test by Amateur Photographer magazine, and its competitors in the group test were the best from Olympus, Nikon, Canon , Pentax, Tamron and Vivitar.

Is the Elicar lens a macro? Edit, think I've answered this myself, got an offer on one now, hopefully accepted.

Won the Elicar! Looking forward to both that and the 50mm arriving!

You are going to love that Elicar.

Fuji Superia 400

All the latest shots you put on tumblr are awesome.
Dem greens, dat light!
Lush..

The super bright ones were Velvia 50 through my xa.

Anyone got any recommendations for a black and white starter developing kit?

And in other news, 2017 is off to a fucking great start as I picked my yashica t4 up and it's randomly started working again. Thank you Jesus.

I've got a paterson super system tank, seems to work well. Got the force rinse hose and that works very well. In terms of chemicals I've used Ilford DDX, which gives super clean negs and a Rodinal replacement for old / unknown film. Both are easy to use.

All on Neopan 400

Nice, not a film often seen in this thread. Looks good!