Rewind to Film Cameras

My DSLR failed me last weekend — on my birthday get together, no less! It had something to do with memory card slot, that wouldn’t read any of the cards I put in. Grr! It was so frustrating not to have that instant documentation and instant gratification that I have gotten used to. And I felt awful because I’ve had that camera for six years now, and I was feeling betrayed.

All was not lost, however. Although there was a point-and-shoot present, and smartphones galore, I had a backup camera of the old school variety — my Diana F+ clone — Mr. Pinky (isn’t it cute) which had some film loaded in it. I haven’t been using it for long, though, and not regularly at that, and I was spoiled by my DSLR that did all the thinking on apertures, shutter speed, and focusing for me. Little wonder then that it must have been only 10 shots later that I realized that the aperture was wrong. Sigh. So we’ll see how that turns out.

I have one just like this. Image from Typograph.

So I hereby resolve to use my film cameras more. Not that I have much of a choice, since my ultra efficient Nikon D70 is now officially out of commission. I’m looking forward to it though, and I’m quite excited to reconnect too with this old baby. It’s 15 years old, has a number of scratches, its nice leather casing has been chewed to bits by our dog years ago, and the light meter is busted, but it still takes good pictures — I just have to work harder for them. I have to learn to be not so hasty with the shutter finger (film is expensive), and go through the discipline of checking my settings and my composition before I shoot. I also need to relearn patience, as I need to finish the roll and send it out for processing before I can see my photos.

Wish me luck on this endeavor! Tell you all about the results when the films get processed. Meanwhile lets look at some fun and funky lomo cameras from Lomography.com.

La Sardinia – The Guvnor Edition

Fisheye No. 2 Lime Punch

Fuji Instax Mini 25 – Hello Kitty Edition

Now let’s drool over these true blue vintage cameras from Camera Museum Shoppe.

Mamiya 330 Gold

Kodak Brownie Starflash

Century Model 41

Argus C3

Classic Polaroid