35mm; Types of Camera and How to Use Them

35mm is a great place to start if you want to get involved in film photography, as it is much easier than medium or large format in many ways.

So How Does it Work?

If you've used a DSLR with manual settings before, you shouldn't find it too difficult to use a 35mm film camera, as the principles are pretty much the same. If the aperture and shutter speed settings aren't correct, your image will come out either under or overexposed, resulting in something like this;

With these of images, I had set the ISO wrong on my light meter (set it to 400 when the film speed was 100) which resulted in the images being extremely underexposed (which is where the bright areas of the image are effectively all white - or 'blown out'). You can tell they have been developed properly because the edges of the film are black, and the writing is perfectly visible. Unfortunatly with overexposed film, there isn't much you can do about it.

So one of the most important things to remember (which I often forget!) is what speed the film is. It may be useful to make a note of the film speed when you put it in to the camera, so that if you want to finish off the roll at a later date, you'll know which settings the camera needs to be at. Another thing which you'll need to remember when loading a film in to a 35mm camera is that the camera has an ISO setting which is usually next to the sutter release. If you pull it upwards, you will be able to turn it to apply the ISO setting. IT IS IMPORTANT that the correct ISO is set before you begin taking pictures. THIS WIKIPEDIA PAGE is quite useful in explaining exposure settings.

Setting up the Camera.

   To load the film, pull A up and the back will pop open.

     The film fits upside down in to the B section, and you can then push A back down to hold it in place. Pull the film along the back of the camera towards C. There is a spool with a slit down the middle, which the film will fit in to. The sprockets running along each side of the film will hook on to those running along the sides of the camera, which will drag the film along when D is pulled to the right (this winds on the film). Once the film is hooked on to the spool, press the shutter and then pull D to check whether the film is moving. If so, the film back can then be closed, and you can continue to press the shutter and wind on the film until a number 1 appears in the window on the top of the camera, which indicates that the film is ready for the first shot. As with the medium format camera, there are a lot of youtube tutorials which show you how to do this. Here is one that may help.

Finding a decent camera.

  Getting your hands on a 35mm camera is very easy (depending on the type you want and how much you are willing to spend!). Ebay is great for second hand cameras, i've bought a few from there myself. This is a 35mm lomo camera priced between £7.99-£9.99, and if you scroll down the page, it shows you some of the results of shooting with this particular camera. This would be a great for a first time user, it is a lomography camera and the images produced may not be to everyones taste. Lomo cameras are mostly made out of flimsy plastic (which is why they are so cheap) and tend to lack in focus, resulting in a dream-like image. If you require more information about lomography, here is a detailed section from my blog.

 Most standard 35mm film cameras look like this:

 There are many many different types of 35mm camera. I have an Olympus OM10 (pictured above) which is a great camera, but there are some other excellent cameras made by a variety of different companies such as Pentax, Canon, Nikon, and of course, Leica. Most of them are very similar in design, so once you've got the hang of one you'll probably be able to use them all. However, Leicas are slightly different.

One big difference is that the viewfinder is on the left of the camera rather than in the middle. Reportage photographers used these cameras a lot because it allowed them to look at what they were photographing with the left eye while they had their right eye to the viewfinder. I have never had the pleasure of using a Leica as they can be very expensive, but they are definitely something which I will be looking in to in the future. If you'd like to see some of the results of shooting with a Leica, this Flikr group is for Leica users and has thousands of photographs taken with various Leica cameras. You can also go to Magnum Photos and search for specific cameras to see the results.

   I would highly recommend an Olympus to anyone who was interested in buying a 35mm camera. It is very easy to load the film in to and is easy to use. The only thing you need to be aware of when using a 35mm camera is that if it doesn't have a built in light meter, you will need to know the correct camera settings for shutter speed and aperture. I have a Sekonic light meter which does this for me, and you can get that HERE for about £100, although you can get some cheaper versions. Light meters are also great for studio photography, as well as any type of film photography. Whenever I take my cameras out, my light meter comes with me.
 
 35mm Photographs. 

  Below is a selection of photographs that I have taken with my Olympus OM10

For more of my photographs taken with a 35mm camera, see my Flikr set