I've switched to the Dark Side (no, Literally).

[smithy]

@ thepancakeman

Excellent thought. Anyone can develop some film, scan the negatives and fiddle with some sliders in Lightroom. How many people have really solid dark room skills? Probably not many.

I learned darkroom skills a few years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed the full process. While what I do these days - developing and then scanning the negatives - is hardly the same thing, it's still a rewarding feeling to know that what you've done during the development process has directly contributed to the end result. It also means that I don't need to throw out my 1 series film body, just yet. It really does outperform my 40d in virtually every way.

 

[dr croubie]

Woohoo!
Just won an ebay auction for a (very nice condition) EOS 3 (I'd love a 1V but they're twice the price).
No more having to borrow my mum's 40-year-old Pentax Spotmatic, I can finally have AF and AE and my EF lenses and speedlites and all.
First question, for anyone who has one, it's got the 45pt AF, but does it still have the f/8 centre point?

And secondly, what should my first roll be? 400iso B+W for events like i've been doing lately, or stick a roll of Velvia in and hope there's still Autumn leaves around when it gets delivered...

(also, can you change the focussing screen? Is there a split-prism screen that shows DOF accurately? or do I have to go back to KatzEye?)

 

[Synomis192]

Haha, sorry for being MIA for a quite a long time.

Sadly, my finals are quickly approaching and I haven't been able to to mess around with my gear so much. But I've got some time right now haha.

I've experimented with B&W film a fair amount and can highly recommend the Ilford Delta 100 Professional. It has 14 stops of dynamic range, compared with 11.7-12 that the top-of-the-line Canon digitals can currently do. So yeah, it's not dead yet.

- My girlfriend just gave me a roll of Ilford Delta Pro 100. She's proclaimed that its the best film she's ever used. (She's taken photography 101-103 in college). It's loading into my AE-1 right now, I can't wait to shoot with that bad boy. Too bad the weather hasn't been sunny enough for ISO 100.

And secondly, what should my first roll be? 400iso B+W for events like i've been doing lately, or stick a roll of Velvia in and hope there's still Autumn leaves around when it gets delivered...

-Mmm, when I started my photo professor told me to use either Iford 400 (I think it was XP2) or Kodak Tri-Max 400. Or if you'd like use Kodak BW400CN. That was my first roll and I've had great pictures come out of it.
IF you are looking to save some money, go to freestylephoto.biz, they sell repackaged Kodak Tri-Max 400 for 2.95 for a 36exp. Decent film for the price. haha

You bought an AE-1? I have an AE-2 in in a bag within arm's reach that absolutely can NOT find a buyer for. I'd love to ship it to someone for $25.

-Canon made an AE-2? Strange, never heard of it. All Canon A-Series were 1's (A-1. AE-1, AE-1 Program, AV-1).

Speaking of smells, once I made a batch of D76 and didn't realize the container I used was not thoroughly clean from the cleaning liquid that previously occupied it. It didn't affect the negatives in any way except for giving them a very nice and faint smell of lemons that somehow remained even after the fixer and all the washing.

-Mmm, lemons. I love the smell of lemons (hate the taste). ;D

For a lens for FL-mount, i've got the FL 55mm f/1.2 via EdMika on my 7D, it's a great lens (sharp as all hell after f/2, bit of coma wide open I discovered the other night), $200 on ebay is about the cheapest you'll see (the FD/SSC/Asph versions some i've seen up to $800).
Can you mount FD lenses on FL bodies? They did make an FD 85/1.2L...

-Speaking of FL 55mm, I was considering using that exact same lens for my Canon T1i, but I didn't know if it was worth getting a 55mm when I already had a Canon 50mm f/1.8. Would you say it's sharper that the 50mm?
-And I don't think you can mount an FD to an FL body, not entirely sure though. I'll ask my band director, he has an old FT QL lying about.

Ahh..nice chioce for a film camera..loved the small batter compartment and it being the little brother to the Canon A-1. The AE-1 was my first camera as with some of you. Had my own dark room as well and hated the guess work and the waste of time and paper until you got the exposure right. After months of being disgusted I found a new paper called Panalore and believe it was made by Kodak. If it is still available and you shoot B&W this paper was the bomb! Almost every print I did was on the spot or shall I say "spot on"..hope that helps you somewhat.

-Haha, If find a packet, I'll cherish that paper like I'd cherish my child haha.

 

[ShokTHX]

The Vivitar Series 1 zooms were considered very good in the FD days.
Goes to show how far a manufacturer can fall.

 

[bycostello]

always fancied having a go in a dark room...