Film and Alt-Process Photography

[karst]

any mirrorless camera has a short enough gap between the sensor and the native lens mount to afford an adapter for any old SLR lenses and most rangefinder lenses, and most adapters are pretty affordable.

full frame mirrorless will maintain the same field of view, smaller sensors will crop that fov.

[baleen]

yeah i’m just gonna +1 @karst - i use an m42 Super Takumar on my mirrorless and it’s :chefs_kiss:

you can adapt to a more modern mount but there are also adapters that will work with older 35mm SLR adapters - iirc you can get an m42->Pentax K, etc…

[zoundsabar]

Thanks @karst and @baleen … that’s encouraging. A whole world of options there. I’ll begin digging.

[antiphon]

[Hovercraft]

Cool! Looks like some swing on a large format camera.

[squim]

Ha! I used to work a block from that theater.

[antiphon]

@Hovercraft - It is! It was shot on expired Polaroid Type 54 with a 4x5 Speed Graphic.

@squim - I live about a mile up the road (Sandy Blvd.) from there. Sadly, you can’t shoot from that vantage point anymore due to all the new construction in the area.

[coreyr]

Oh type 54 & 55 how I miss you!

[squim]

Ah, I never got to try it. I have a poloroid 4*5 film holder but I think I might need to give it up.

[eheu]

Has anyone had luck sourcing old short ends of motion picture film stock? 35mm. I’m finding obsolescence catching up to me, or maybe call it the “supply chain,” whatever. But I can’t find non-novelty color film anywhere locally, and now might be as good a time as ever to start bulk loading my rolls.

Previously, the idea of limiting myself to a single stock for dozens of rolls at a time was enough to steer me clear of bulk, but at this point I think $$ economy $$ is outweighing my desire for experimentation.

Just picked up a bulk loader and I’m reading lovely little anecdotes of productions gifting their unused film stock to unchoosy beggars like myself. I develop my negatives at home (C41/rodinal) so I can try and remove remjet backings myself.

[Cementimental]

Just got a lifetime-so-far’s worth of Super 8 film HD log-scanned, excited A lot of nostalgia, editing and colour correcting ahead of me

[mnm207]

& Type 52 – I nearly bought a case of Type 52 via eBay last year with an expiration date from the early 90s. Good sense prevailed over nostalgia, but I still regret not pulling the (quite expensive) trigger.

[coreyr]

Back in undergrad when I heard that the type55 was about to be discontinued, I wrote a grant proposal and snagged a case! It is all gone except for one sealed box of ten and a few loose sheets that have been through countless moves with me. I did a single sheet test from the open ones a couple months back during a big cleaning to see if they were even worth keeping around and to my surprise it still worked beautifully. Not dried out, no half flooded chemistry, full tonal range, now I have to decide what is important enough to use it for!

[antiphon]

I miss Polaroid films in all their forms, but Type 55 especially. I shot this on T55 that expired in 1981, and it was still (mostly) good. Amazingly resilient stuff.

[Cementimental]

Some first fragments, practice colour correcting this very variable-quality, log-scanned footage. Short clip shot at the Studio Ghibli museum in 2003:

Super 8 film of the Laputa/Castle in the Sky robot, Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, 2003 (no audio)

[timp]

Stoked to license some experimental cyanotype prints to Pitch Black for their new album artwork!

[mattymattmatt]

I’m toying with the idea of getting back into printing, and am wondering about the best way to get ahold of an enlarger. They seem to be available new at B&H, but I also feel like these might be available second hand for much less. Anyone have experience there?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/91141-REG/Beseler_6759K_Printmaker_35_Condenser_Enlarger.html

[Hovercraft]

There’s tons of used enlargers out there, usually available at bargain prices. A lot depends on where you live, but check the photo section of craigslist and I’m sure you can pick one up, along with any darkroom supplies you need.

[mattymattmatt]

I hoped that was true myself, but unfortunately there’s just a WTB listing from someone else looking to get back into the swing of things. I’d be willing to bet that there’s some really great equipment languishing in college basements.

[karst]

it’ll definitely depend on your area. if you’re patient, look around online, and are willing to drive a bit, you can find something at an extremely good price (relative to buying the many small accessories that make printing easier).

i might also recommend seeing if a community college or local school has a darkroom that can be made available to the public. working in a bigger and purpose-built space is really nice and you don’t have to deal as much with the chemicals in your home (and disposal).