So Ive been thinking about this for a while and Id like to get an antique b&w camera to take pictures at car shows, cruises and maybe some rusty cars in fields and stuff. I was at a couple of antique stores today and looked at a few cameras and they seem relatively cheap but Id imagine the film is the expensive part. So I need some advice on what type of camera, what to look for in a used one, a realistic price range, where to get film, etc. How do the Burbank Choppers fit into this? Very good question. At the end of the Rides episode featuring Bad News and the Choppers they are at Carson park. They get a club picture taken and the photographer apparently pulls the film out of the camera, pulls a cover off the film and bam a sweet black and white photo of the club and the car. Is this some type of early Polaroid process or . Anyhow this would be cool to be able to do, also it looks like the photog was using a fish eye which made the picture look very cool. So, if anybody could give me a few pointers or if one of the Choppers (I think there are a few on the board) could let me know what type of process this is Id really appreciate it. Thanks in advance, Barz
looks like you can still get polaroid film packs http://www.polaroid.com/service/filmdatasheets/3_4/index.html
Yeah it's poloroid film. You need some photography skills becuase it aint gonna be a point and shoot. Hyfire
and you might even be able to find a camera a****st these 250 choices that some of those film packs will fit http://photography.search.ebay.com/polaroid-camera_Vintage_W0QQcatrefZC12QQsacatZ3326
http://www.keithweesner.com/ Thought this would help ya out alot better. He is a Chopper member. KNUX!
In the days before digital most professional photographers had an interchangeable back for their cameras so they could check composition/lighting on a Polaroid before taking the "actual" shot. Marcy
Film is the tricky part for the old cameras. I remember a big Kodak my parents had when I was a kid in the 70's and even back then it was a real trick to find the film. The best option is probably to stick with a 35mm format camera such as a Leica (German made), but thet are not cheap.
if you dont want to go with the poloroid cameras, you can find old cameras that use regular film reels (35mm). i have a "voightlander vito II" from the 50's that uses regular B&W film rolls. it takes great looking photos, but still has that vintage look to it. i'm sure if you search for Vito II camera on ebay, you'll be able to find one. i also have some older bellows cameras, but you have to hand roll the unexposed film onto the used reels, because they dont make the reels anymore. thats a pain......
http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/121391726.htm looks like you can get 120 film still, and you can put it on 620 spools if you have the spools, so your options are pretty much open....most of the really old fashioned roll film cameras used 120 or 620 film
A polaroid camera is fun to mess with, but it's a one shot deal. You can easily get 35mm film for SLRs. The b&w film is sometimes hard to get, but even harder to get developed. If you don't process it yourself, you're not going to be happy with the results. They just send it through the machine. If you go with a larger format camera it's even harder to get printed, it's all custom photohouse stuff. That's why those cameras are in an "antique" shop. A digital camera and photoshop is all you need. Just my .02c
35mm and 120 (medium format) film are still very readilly available as is processing. If you choose to shoot standard BW film, be prepared for a bit of a wait as they will prolly have to send it out to be processed. Or you can shoot what is called "chromagenic" BW. It's basiclly a BW type film that can be processed in standard C-41 color chemisrty. Or better yet, you can process it yourself and have allot of fun doing it as well as saving a little bit o' dough. Also the peel aprt film that you are refering to is in fact Polaroid. You need either a special polaroid camera that takes type 84 & 89 (square) pack film or type 667 & 669 (3.5"x5") pack film or a medium format SLR that can accomodate a polaroid back. I'm a professional photog and I collect and shoot alot of vintage cameras, so if you have any questions, hit me up.
can you still get the old b&w chemicals pretty easily? we used to develop our own bw film when I was a kid, 120, 127, 126, and 35mm. I even made my own enlarger from an old bellows Kodak camera and some slide projector lenses...
i THINK that if you want to use modern 120 film in something like a kodak brownie you need to cut off the sprocket holes. you can find old 35mm cameras around without much trouble. the only problem is they're usually pretty worn out, and have most likely been taken to the beach a few too many times. my gf picked up a nice old 35mm leica at a yard sale a few years back for like $15. works nice.
Most old Kodak bellows cameras used 120 format film. I have about 30 of these in my collection dating back to 1900. They still take reasonably good photos, but keep in mind that shutter speeds are not very fast, so high speed objects may look blurry, and the apertures are typically f5.6 or smaller, so low light photography is only possible with a tripod and long exposure. The great part about this type of film and camera is that you can process the B&W stuff at home very easily, so your prints can have a very professional custom look. Color is harder but print film and Kodachrome is available. BTW, Kodachrome looks fantastic in this large format! Digital cameras have yet to achieve the depth and grain of this film. The best part is that working cameras, new in the box, are still very cheap in flea markets and antique malls.
If you're interested in the medium format cameras, there are DLR's (Dual Lens Reflex, has one lense for the view finder, and one for the film) all over the place relatively cheap and film is easily found. you can also buy these items brand new, Seagull out of China makes them. For occasional use, it does well. The drag about 120 film is the scarcity of places that process it and the cost per photo. A roll of 120 only takes 12 shots and it costs me $35 a roll to get it developed, printed, and scanned to CD-ROM. Ouch! A cheap yet reliable option is to find an older 35mm SLR camera. I have a 1976 Minolta XD-11 that I picked up at a pawn shop with 2 lenses for $80. It does me just fine & up untill I bought a modern digital SLR this was my only camera & have used the snot out of it. They are heavy as hell, but many times more durable & relaible than most modern cameras, & you can get lenses & accesories cheap. As for film, true B&W film is harder to get developed, it will have to be sent to a lab that can process silver base films,m the corner 1-hour photo cant handle those and they are a bit more expensive to process. There are B&W films that can be processed at the 1-hour joints, they are simply color film w/o the colors, but I have found they lack the depth of the true B&W. then again I scan my stuff in very fine detail and make big prints, so I notice these things. For you it may be just fine. I dont shoot for a living, I've just been taking pictures of all kinds of things & people all over the world for 18 years. I'd call myself a serious hobbyist, but nowhere near a pro. With that said, the best advice I'm offering: Get an older 35mm and a couple different types of B&W film. Go out & poke around, take some shots of whatever catches your eye, then get em developed & see what film works best for you.
Other than the rare stuff, the price of used 35mm have dropped alot with everyone using digital now. I bought a fully automatic Canon for $25 at an auction a couple months ago. You want to look the part or just get some cool looking B&W photos? If I just wanted the photos, I'd do as suggested above and get a digital with a photo program. You can do B&W easily. Age the look of the photo. Put the old white border around your picture and print it all out yourself in a manner of minutes. More expensive than an old 35mm and B&W film, but as mentioned, unless you are going to set up a development area yourself, you have to send them off for processing.
It's not an antique, but I have a Toyo 45CX studio 4x5 camera. This is a 4x5 large format camera. Everything is manual on this puppy (smile). What you are interested in, is a Polaroid 545 film holder I have for it. It takes the color or black and white polaroid film. These were almost required equipment back in the 70's when I started. Generally, you took a few polaroids to check the studio shot, and focus (lighting, depth of field, etc), before you took a money shot. This was important, because the person sitting would have gone out and got their hair done, and usually wore a wicked dress. People don't sit for photo's like that anymore. Artists call the polaroid film "peel-apart." It's a crafty name, and if you do a google search on peel-apart you will see some pretty neat artistic stuff. You basically throw away the picture and play with the negative with its soup of chemicals. What I do now, is take a shot with my digital, open my trunk, and print out a picture (smile). Although I can see where polaroids would be kind of neat to someone who didn't live through the era. Sort of like a church key and a can of Billy Beer...
120 roll film does not have any sprocket holes in it. The 120 film the make today is the same, format wise, as the day they first made it. Complete with paper backing. Also as far as processing goes, you are prolly better of to just have it processed and then scan in the negs yourself and then print the ones you want at a photo place. You'll save allot of money that way.
Very true, I do this myself. I costs me $2 a roll to have the film developed, 15 minute wait and I take it home & scan it myself.
I have a couple cameras. I use my digital for color. I have a Nikon 35mm a Mamiya 645 and a Mamiya rb pro SD. I have been getting most of my medium format done for around $10 a roll and that is with prints. Check your phone book and there still may be some sort of small shop in our area that does b&w processing in house. I am looking to do it all myself, so I am looking for a potential darkroom space as we are looking for houses. I would personally recomend getting a 35 mm or one of the cheaper twin lens cameras that were mentioned before. You can get a new twin lens for $200. Check e bay and you should be ablr to get a good deal on either since most peple are going to didgital and selling off the film stuff.
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