resurrect your old film camera! (b&w pics inside)

[Scooter]

Thanks to a photography enthusiast co-worker who gave me a blank roll of film, I was able to resurrect my "worthless" Canon T70 from the 1980's. These are the first b&w pics I've ever taken. Heck, haven't even had the camera outta the case since 2001.

Very pleased with the clarity and resolution available on CD from the local Walgreens, for less than I paid for prints years ago. If you've got an old film camera hidden away I encourage you to re-discover what it can do.

(b&w is sorta like girls in bikinis...leaves something to the imagination.)

my favorite of the bunch:

Leaning Tower of Poop:

[rebapuck]

Kodak is discontinuing Kodachrome.

[toypusher]

I can do that with my digital camera if I wish too. Or just change a color pic to b&w with PS.

I know it is not the same, but it can be done easily these days. I still have an Olympus OM1 that I have not used in years.

[Slayer]

Nice shots Scooter!!! I love b&w. It just has a magical quality that can't be matched. I just got my first digital (pentax K10) in March, and love it. Sill using film though. Shooting with everything from 35mm to a 4x5. Hope to see more shots if you have time.

Rodney...

Just one more comment. Didital can not match the tonal range of b&w film.

[Scooter]

I can do that with my digital camera if I wish too. Or just change a color pic to b&w with PS.

I know it is not the same, but it can be done easily these days. I still have an Olympus OM1 that I have not used in years.

Apples to apples...my digital cam is a cheapie, which might explain the difference in quality/perception. Have yet to tap the full potential of the old Canon...need some 100 film and a new lens (for all of 30 bucks), as well as honing my skills.

The obsolesence of good hardware drives me nuts!! There's an unhealthy measure of scam in the computer industry espcially (but that's a topic for another day).

[JenniferandPups]

I have a Canon AE-1... I love it. There's nothing like focusing in and creating the perfect picture with your own knowledge and eyes... it's just not the same as digital (which I do have... not an SLR, though).

... to compare it to TD's, it's like building your own vs buying one from the store. Both are good, but in different ways.

[Jst83]

Very nice pictures.
I triend shooting B&W with my old Pentax K1000 but don't have that kind of depth, I'm sure it's me.

[Mightydog]

In the mid-70's, I used a Canon TLb for what my father called 'available dark' pictures--shots taken with little or no light with the shutter staying open forever. The last time we were camping, our galley was perfectly framed by the darkness, the lights just lighting up the galley. The digital camera we have just couldn't do the 'available dark' trick like the 35mm camera could.

I'm going to have to dig my old camera out of the closet and have it cleaned up. Thanks for the inspiration.

I love the goat picture.

[caseydog]

Nice shots Scooter!!! I love b&w. It just has a magical quality that can't be matched. I just got my first digital (pentax K10) in March, and love it. Sill using film though. Shooting with everything from 35mm to a 4x5. Hope to see more shots if you have time.

Rodney...

Just one more comment. Didital can not match the tonal range of b&w film.

Well, you might be surprised. It does take some work, but if you start with a good raw image, you can get some amazing results.

My Nikon D3 is capable of getting shadow details and highlights in the same image that amaze me. Plus, if you learn how to do HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos in digital, you can achieve latitude that is impossible on film.

There are some photoshop plug-ins that do a good job of converting color to BW, and you can fiddle with the RGB channels, and make some pretty realistic conversions, too, without a plug-on.

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/marketplac ... ngid=12300

CD

[caseydog]

I have a Canon AE-1... I love it. There's nothing like focusing in and creating the perfect picture with your own knowledge and eyes... it's just not the same as digital (which I do have... not an SLR, though).

... to compare it to TD's, it's like building your own vs buying one from the store. Both are good, but in different ways.

If one is to compare apples to apples, you would need to compare your AE-1 to a Digital Rebel, which would be a comparable digital camera.

Most point-and-shoot digital cameras are over-processing the image capture, and saving them as compressed JPG files. Not to mention the lenses are not pro-quality.

I shoot a 12.4 megapixel camera, in 16-bit color, and save it as a RAW file. That is 24 MB of data for each image. I'll take one of those files over a Kodachrome frame from a Nikon F6 film any day of the week.

CD

[caseydog]

In the mid-70's, I used a Canon TLb for what my father called 'available dark' pictures--shots taken with little or no light with the shutter staying open forever. The last time we were camping, our galley was perfectly framed by the darkness, the lights just lighting up the galley. The digital camera we have just couldn't do the 'available dark' trick like the 35mm camera could.

I'm going to have to dig my old camera out of the closet and have it cleaned up. Thanks for the inspiration.

I love the goat picture.

Experiment with HDR, it is amazing what you can do...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging

CD

[sunny16]

Scooter,
I think I am missing something. Did you use film and Walgreens converted it to digital? How did you get prints to post? Scanned? I bought a used 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Yashica twin lens camera a few years ago to do bigger negatives. I used to develope my own film and make my own prints. I love black and white. But I got converted to digital but never make prints from them now. Just store them on the computer or disk. I might just have to get out the Yashica and take B&W's again. I do like your pics. Very sharp detail.

[Scooter]

Scooter,
I think I am missing something. Did you use film and Walgreens converted it to digital? How did you get prints to post? Scanned? I bought a used 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Yashica twin lens camera a few years ago to do bigger negatives. I used to develope my own film and make my own prints. I love black and white. But I got converted to digital but never make prints from them now. Just store them on the computer or disk. I might just have to get out the Yashica and take B&W's again. I do like your pics. Very sharp detail.

Yep, took the film to Walgreens. They put all 36 exposures on CD, I took it home and uploaded a few to my flickr account. Cost for the CD was only $2.99 (with dollar off coupon). Bigger versions here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/skooterpics

[JenniferandPups]

I have a Canon AE-1... I love it. There's nothing like focusing in and creating the perfect picture with your own knowledge and eyes... it's just not the same as digital (which I do have... not an SLR, though).

... to compare it to TD's, it's like building your own vs buying one from the store. Both are good, but in different ways.

If one is to compare apples to apples, you would need to compare your AE-1 to a Digital Rebel, which would be a comparable digital camera.

Most point-and-shoot digital cameras are over-processing the image capture, and saving them as compressed JPG files. Not to mention the lenses are not pro-quality.

I shoot a 12.4 megapixel camera, in 16-bit color, and save it as a RAW file. That is 24 MB of data for each image. I'll take one of those files over a Kodachrome frame from a Nikon F6 film any day of the week.

CD

True, which is why I mentioned I didn't have a DSLR. Honestly, I want to get one when we have our first child, as I know I will not have time to go film developing anymore, and they DO take superb pictures overall.

However, I still prefer my old SLR to the DSLR's I've been allowed to touch/hold/play with... for the reasons I stated.

[Shadow Catcher]

It is what is behind the viewfinder that takes good pictures.
I have an old Nikon F that I have been using for 33 years and and a Mamaya C33 that I have been using for 44. Having said that I also bought a Nikon DSLR not long ago.
Good B&W is harder to take than color, I still have a set of Series VII filters that I used with a 4 by 5 view camera.
one of the things that used to separate the pro form the amateur is that the pro would take ten times as many pictures and through nine out but you still need to use good composition and have a good idea of what you want.