I got bit by the 35mm film bug just like every other digital creator looking for a new and interesting creative outlet. You know, something to separate us from “all the other creators”. You know, something that would make our work “standout" and “be different" that would evoke emotions the way gliding archival photos in a Ken Burns doc makes you feel. As the old Kanye said, “it’s hard to standout when everyone is dressed the same” and thats basically where a new community of photographers have found ourselves. Shooting the same type of images, on the same film stocks, using the same cameras for the same insane prices it takes to develop film. Nonetheless, it’s still fun. And that’s why we do it. For me, how much longer is the big question?
What I really want to talk about is my latest film camera purchase, the Konica C35 V. A 70’s era, range finder. I bought the camera out of a flea market bin in Berlin
The camera looks really small because I have big hands and shot this on the wide setting on my iPhone.
I had been on the search for a new film camera ever since my Olympus died. I have a cheap point and shoot which is pretty great but I wanted something with a few more manual controls. When I saw the Konica, I instantly knew I was going to buy it. However, it had years of dirt & dust caked on it. After a good cleaning with soap and water, I brought it back to life. Now, the next step is to see if it works. Before I bought it, I tested the shutter and the advance and it all seemed to be good. Not really being familiar with range finder cameras, I had to get used to the settings. With this camera, the shutter speed is automatically adjusted with the f-stop. Naturally, I figured shooting at a smaller aperture (f-16) would give me the fastest shutter speed which should then give me sharper images. No. For some reason, most of the images out of this camera have been extremely blurry. Not out of focus blurry but like camera shake blurry. I’m not sure if thats because of the 200 speed film or if it’s because there’s something wrong with the camera. And most of the images from the first 2 rolls were over exposed which I didn’t think you could do with 200 speed film.
I’ve now put five rolls through it. I’ve gotten a few sharp images but not as many as I should have. I’ve even done some test where I’ve shot the same thing and changed the settings and I’ve still gotten similar results. With the few sharp images I’ve gotten, I think the camera has a sweet spot for a specific range that I haven’t quite consistently figured out yet.
Since I only paid about 25 euros for this camera, I didn’t have the highest hopes for it but now I’m obsessed with figuring it out. Developing film is also not cheap. Shooting test roll after test roll can really start to add up without the reward of getting good shots. But much like anything else, you have to fail at the beginning to really learn. As they say in the startup world, “test, learn, iterate” and the faster rate you can do this, the better off you you’ll be. I think I’m going to use 400 speed film next since it’s more sensitive to light.
One important note I’d like to add is that I’m not one of those people that believes just because I took a shot on film that it’s always better. Digital is the greatest thing ever. However, film does provide a certain thing that digital can never.
The images I captured at the Puerto Rican Day parade were the worst. I don’t think any of them were not blurry. I was in the flow that day too. Maybe I just need to get better at zone focusing or not moving so much while taking photos. I think I’m pretty spoiled by Fuji X100 series cameras where I can’t take a blurry photo if I tried.
For now, I think I’m going to continue shooting with the camera simply because it’s so much fun. I just love the sound of releasing the shutter and advancing. That rhythm is so satisfying. Moral of the story, keep trying until you figure out the problem and solution. And sometimes it can be as easy as, it’s broken get a different camera. The journey continues. I’ll make an update soon.
