Film FiF 17 - daily shooting experience

[MoonMind]

I like Tony's moniker for the challenge a lot, so I hope there are no objections agaInst using the title for this year's challenge. Let's use this thread during the shooting month to report and chat; also, all "digital commentary" images should go here to keep us entertained.

Let's try this - should be fun!

M.

 

[MoonMind]

A first post - not actually planned for (quite the opposite, in fact), but here goes with very first insight into a simple fact that clearly distinguishes film from digital: You can only use the film you *have*

M.

 

[tonyturley]

Well, Day 1 has dawned much like many of the SiJ 17 days - grey and gloomy. I decided to try an indoor shot. Even at f/4, I had to drop the speed all the way to 1/15. With the 40mm lens, that's certainly not ideal. It will be interesting to see how steady I was (am).

 

[MoonMind]

Well, Day 1 has dawned much like many of the SiJ 17 days - grey and gloomy. I decided to try an indoor shot. Even at f/4, I had to drop the speed all the way to 1/15. With the 40mm lens, that's certainly not ideal. It will be interesting to see how steady I was (am).

Tony, I took to always carrying (at least) a table-top tripod - not only for film, but mainly for that reason.

I was lucky today - the sun was out, the light was nice. Alas, time was very tight. But I think today's shot will be worthwhile. I actually have done a "commentary" shot that I'll post a bit later, along with another insight - the pennies keep dropping

M.

 

[MoonMind]

Okay, here goes: Carry another camera - or you'll hate yourself for not being able to take more shots. I anticipated that and also took @stillshunter (I think) up on his idea of posting digital shots while we are waiting for the analog ones to turn up (if you find that wrong, just tell me, and I'll knock it off):

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For me, there's another twist in that I actually shoot quite differently when I'm using film and I don't find it all that easy to change gear and pace. The GR is a wonderful camera to have along, though (even though today I'm using a shot from the D5500 - I love using that camera with the stunning Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8). But in order to be able to follow my instincts, I actually put a film into the Minox GT-E as well and will carry that little camera with me for the next couple of days to see if shooting with it alongside the ZM feels more natural than pulling out a (i.e. any) digital camera. The GR will be with me as well anyway, as planned - and I'll use it more deliberately (should have and could have done that today as well). Depending on the day's schedule, some other, more versatile setup will share the bag as well (the three cameras that are now in there don't take up a lot of space). I'll certainly slim down the whole collection as time progresses, but I have to find out what I'm really comfortable with. Rather complex, and certainly a lot different from SiJ ...

M.

 

[jssaraiva]

Hi,

It's great to see this idea moving. Just wanted to quickly say that I'm also in, but right now with very limited time for better participation...

 

[tonyturley]

I am carrying my X-T1 as well as the MX, but I don't plan to do parallel shots most days, unless the composition is "special", if you will.

 

[tonyturley]

I haven't done many sunrises or sunsets lately, so I grabbed a couple this morning with the MX + 40mm. I did indeed get a parallel digital frame, but it's considerably wider. Fuji X-T1 + Tokina 17mm/3.5:

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[MoonMind]

I haven't done many sunrises or sunsets lately, so I grabbed a couple this morning with the MX + 40mm. I did indeed get a parallel digital frame, but it's considerably wider. Fuji X-T1 + Tokina 17mm/3.5:

View attachment 1274

I'm looking forward to this shot! We had very nice light around sunrise until 9am - but totally lost on b&w (golden tones ...), so I decided against trying that. Then the fog came back ... No real opportunity up to now. I'll go out for a quick shooting round in a couple of minutes.

M.

 

[MoonMind]

Today was really lucky: A very short time after I had posted about the fog, it lifted again, and I had a short, but happy half hour to go out and shoot in the hazy, yet bright afternoon light.

That said, I begin to suspect that depending on the film (and partly, the setup, but not in my case), you have to be more conscious about lighting conditions than with any digital camera, even the most simple ones. That's essentially a good thing because it makes you shoot more considerately - but it also makes a daily challenge just that little bit more daunting (as if it were that easy to begin with ).

M.

 

[tonyturley]

Day 3 has been another overcast, gloomy affair, with the sun finally coming out of hiding about 30 minutes ago. Stuck at the house right now, so no scurrying out for a quick shot. I fear my indoor image from earlier in the day will be "meh".

 

[jssaraiva]

So far I've shot on three or four occasions and already have two rolls at the lab. I thought that with 6x7 negatives I would be finishing rolls much quicker, but the fact that I'll only get 10 frames per roll is very present on my mind and specially on my shutter finger

 

[MoonMind]

@tonyturley Don't take the restrictions too seriously - the "one month, one roll" thing I set up may become pretty old pretty fast, I feel; yesterday, I needed two frames for a single "shot" already (the first will propably show camera shake), and on the previous day, I could (and maybe should) have kept shooting instead of switching cameras after taking the image I'd been after. Bottom line: Feel free to choose your pace. @José is right: Shoot as much or as little as you want *per day* (there's no date mark on the shots anyway), but collect at least 28 images over the course of one month to show.

I'll try to stick to the "one month, one roll" scheme with my main setup because I want to learn how to preconceptualise my images better - rangefinder shooting is pretty special, and I want to get it down quickly. That's why I try to force myself to produce *only* worthwhile shots with the ZM - but I may (and most probably will) fail in that attempt.

But I also have a couple of other film cameras loaded - if I absolutely feel like finishing the roll in the ZM early, I will probably do that (could happen when I'm out doing street), but I try to control my trigger finger when using the main camera and employ the others as pressure valves

M.

 

[MoonMind]

Funny how things work out. Like I said in my last post, I take other film cameras with me when I go out with the ZM. Though today, going out proved a bit of trial - I've actually come down with a flu. But I thought, what the heck - it's not getting better from lying around. So I went out regardless. But I felt I needed an additional incentive. So I took this dynamic duo walkies:

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Crazy, I know - I blame it on the flu I had to use an additional bag for the Pentacon Six with 180mm attached, but the weight wasn't too bad because I was able to distribute it all on both shoulders. But what was much more surprising was how nice the huge combo handled! The more I use the P6, the more I think that it's one of those underrated and forgotten gems out there; I feel very lucky to have gotten my hands on one - and three very nice lenses to boot.

The GT-E is the total opposite in terms of size and concept, but it's not that different in terms of experience - because it's not a camera to use without thinking if you want the results to work out.

The ZM got the shot in the end - and I was glad for the f/1.4 aperture on the Voigtländer Nokton for the first time, because the light was quite dim. But what becomes ever more clear to me is that it offers the nicest overall shooting experience of probably all of my film cameras; that's what I was hoping for, and it seems to turn out to be true. Again, the P6 and the Minux handle very well in their own ways. But the ZM is much more enjoyable, from the finder to the body to the controls.

M.

 

[tonyturley]

Today was magnificent - very cold and sunny, with great play of light and shadows. I took both the MX and Fuji X-T1 on an 8 mile bike ride along one of our premier small streams. I captured four frames with the MX, carefully recording the exposure settings for future use. Here's a parallel capture from the Fuji, cropped to approximate the FOV of the MX. What a day.

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[jssaraiva]

Scary day today.

The meter on the P67 prism stopped working. Tried the usual stuff (turn off and back on, new battery and so on) but nothing happened. Only when I got home got it back working after remiving the prism. Maybe some play there, but nothing I can feel.

The shop where I bought it from provides warranty, but still It would be difficult to fix or replace with another with so good exterior condition.

 

[MoonMind]

Scary day today.

The meter on the P67 prism stopped working. Tried the usual stuff (turn off and back on, new battery and so on) but nothing happened. Only when I got home got it back working after remiving the prism. Maybe some play there, but nothing I can feel.

The shop where I bought it from provides warranty, but still It would be difficult to fix or replace with another with so good exterior condition.

You could try cleaning the internal and external contacts with isopropyl alcohol. Good luck, anyway - it would be a shame if you weren't able to continue using the camera the way you want (though using an extermal lightmeter isn't that much of a problem).

I had to let it rest today. Flu got worse. I hope I can take up regular shooting again tomorrow.

M.

 

[jssaraiva]

@MoonMind hope you get well soon! No shooting for me for the rest of the week, travelling and I'm sure a P67 would be considered by airliners as a weapon these days. Will fly over Switzerland in the evening

 

[MoonMind]

@MoonMind hope you get well soon! No shooting for me for the rest of the week, travelling and I'm sure a P67 would be considered by airliners as a weapon these days. Will fly over Switzerland in the evening

Thanks; no use trying to spot whatever in the skies tonight - thick cloud cover over my region (though not in the afternoon). Even though time was tight today (and I'm still slow and shaky), I should have got a few nice shots today (two with the ZM to compensate for yesterday's miss).

M.

 

[theoldsmithy]

Well, the roll of Fuji Superia 400 is on its way to the lab, hopefully the CD will be with me by the end of the week. I've now got some Ilford XP2 loaded and will be giving that a go as soon as I can.