Back to Film

When I first contemplated going back to film, I immediately pulled out my Canon F1.  This was my go-to camera back in the 70’s. I had that camera with me all the time and hundreds of rolls of film went through it.  It had a built-in light meter, but all the controls were manual.  Aperture, shutter speed and focusing were all adjusted by hand prior to pressing the shutter.  This is what I want, going back to the simpler days.  (Actually, this isn’t so simple compared to all the things todays digital camera does for you.)  But after the initial thrill I didn’t find myself picking the camera up, so I dug out my Rollei 35.

Turns out I had 2 Rollei 35s, a black one, I prefer black cameras, and a silver one.   The Rollei 35 is a very small camera that you can easily put in your pants pocket.  It is like the F1 in that it has a light meter, but you still need to set the aperture, shutter speed and focus.  What makes it different is you can’t change the lens, the lens is a static 40mm f3.5.  You also can not focus it while looking thru the viewfinder so you must guestimate the distance.  If you’re not good at judging distance, like me, focusing becomes a challenge.  I’ve shot a few rolls with the Rollei 35 and there is a place for it in my camera bag, I think.

And then there is the rangefinder camera.  I have never shot with a rangefinder camera increasing the challenge for me.  A rangefinder is a device used to measure distances to remote objects.  Most varieties of rangefinder show two images of the same subject, one of which moves when the focusing ring is turned; when the two images coincide and fuse into one the subject is in sharp focus. As with all camera gear there are pros and cons to rangefinder camera but what is a challenge without a challenge.

So, I decided to go back to technology prior to the introduction of the SLR camera, rangefinder cameras first appeared in 1916 whereas SLRs were introduced around 1950 and learn and use a rangefinder.  What better way to go back to film than pre-dating my experience.