Tag: film

Last night I watched Fellini’s movie 8 1/2. Some how after a ton of art school and old film obsession I had never seen it. Besides the amazing dream sequences what really struck me was the silver color of the black and white film. Amazing!

So this morning I googled “silver black and white 8 1/2” and stumbled upon this conversation over at the Analog Film Users Group (APUG) titled Black and White film with tones more silver than grey. Lots of stupid responses from people who don’t understand the thread owners question and probably haven’t seen the film.

But I think the answer to why and how there is so much silver in 8 1/2 has to do with every element of film photography. Light, lens, film stock, development, cinematography, etc. A more technical answer lies in the descriptions of Holden Richards 8×10 photography on Flickr. I will be investigating more because this silver is EXACTLY how I dream my still photos will appear.

Image Source

To use the chart:
1. Find the focal length of the lens in question in the left-hand column.
2. Then look to the right to find the 35mm equivalent for that focal length when used with the film format that interests you.

Thanks to viewcamera.com for this chart. I use it all the time when checking out medium format gear.

Camera Batteries, you need them

After doing a bunch of research on old film cameras I found that many need obsolete batteries. Sometimes they use disposable batteries that have been discontinued and outlawed. This can be a real problem because these cameras require specific voltages. No battery. No shutter. (Some cameras like my Nikon F3 only use batteries for the light meter. Many need power to fire the shutter. ) So before you buy a camera on eBay check this page out. It’s a chart that could really help.

Camera Batteries, you need them


(via Lomography Belair X 6-12)

This camera is damn attractive. Great price too for a new medium format camera with some glass in the lenses. But the examples of the pics taken with it haven’t really impressed me. Probably just a reflexion of how the photographer chose to use the camera. That and I’m not really a plastic Lomo camera fan…