Buying Your FilmIt seems like film is available literally everywhere you go, which begs the question: Is it okay to buy it anywhere you see it? The answer, for the most part, is yes.
Film made for consumer use is designed to be relatively tolerant of condition changes, and it generally has a longer shelf life than professional film. About the only thing you need to worry about is its expiration date. All film deteriorates over time, and its light sensitivity and color balance changes. Out-of-date film isn't necessarily bad or unusable, but it may not deliver the results you want or expect. Check the box when you buy it, and use it before it expires for the best results.
The film box will also tell you what kind of film you're buying and what it's best used for. More information on exposure times and processing data is generally available inside the box or on an enclosed data sheet.
Brand Versus Brand
Professional photographers often favor one brand of film over the others because they've used their favorite enough to know what it can do and what they can do with it. For amateur photographers, brand isn't that big of a concern unless you're buying slide film. Since this kind of film varies somewhat significantly between manufacturers, buying by brand name will assure you of getting film with the characteristics you want. Print film also varies somewhat between manufacturers, but the processing process will determine how your images turn out more than the film does. Unless you're looking for specific properties that only a certain film from a certain manufacturer can deliver, buy the stuff that's priced right.
Consumer Versus Professional
Camera snobs often swear by professional film even when they have no reason to do so. There's really not that big a difference between the two types, and pros often shoot with film made for consumer use because they like its characteristics and price.
What does distinguish pro film from consumer film is how it's manufactured, which affects its shelf life. Consumer film is made to tolerate a certain amount of abuse — temperature variations, sitting on the shelf for a long time, delays between shooting and processing — and still deliver good results. Since pros often buy large amounts of film at a time and shoot and process it relatively quickly, the film that's made for their use is manufactured to more exacting standards and isn't as stable as consumer film.
Film Loading
Most cameras on the market today have automatic film loading devices that make film handling a breeze. All you have to do is drop the film cartridge into the film chamber (located on the left side of the camera as it faces you), check to make sure the film is lying flat, then pull the film leader (the part of the film sticking out of the cartridge) across to a mark on the opposite side, and close the back.
The automatic film loader does the rest, at least most of the time. Filmloading errors can happen, but they are usually the result of the film not being correctly caught by the sprockets in the loading mechanism. If your camera indicates the film wasn't loaded correctly, just open it up and do it again. Don't worry about touching the leader with your fingers; it's only there to facilitate loading the film.
When loading a camera that has an automatic film-loading device, simply pull the tip of the film to the mark indicated in the camera.
How to Manually Load Film
Try to avoid loading or unloading film in bright sunlight. Put the camera in your shadow or go inside before you open it up. High-speed films are more sensitive, of course, and if you are doing lots of shooting in bright sun you might choose to work with a slower ISO film. Even so, get the film from the packaging to the camera and back in the shade.
Storing Your Film
If you shoot a lot, chances are you'll want to keep extra film on hand. This allows you to take advantage of sales and is a good way to be sure that you'll always have a few extra rolls, just in case you need them quickly. Film is happiest when it's kept cool and away from direct light. Storing it in your camera bag is fine if it's consumer film and you keep your bag in your home instead of your car (never a good place for equipment or film for extended periods of time).
Storing film in a refrigerator or freezer, as many professionals do, will slow down changes in its emulsion that can affect its performance. If you do store your film in the refrigerator or freezer, allow it to warm up to room temperature before putting it in your camera. Pro film, due to its shorter shelf life, should always be stored in the fridge or freezer.
Film made for consumer use is designed to be relatively tolerant of condition changes, and it generally has a longer shelf life than professional film. About the only thing you need to worry about is its expiration date. All film deteriorates over time, and its light sensitivity and color balance changes. Out-of-date film isn't necessarily bad or unusable, but it may not deliver the results you want or expect. Check the box when you buy it, and use it before it expires for the best results.
The film box will also tell you what kind of film you're buying and what it's best used for. More information on exposure times and processing data is generally available inside the box or on an enclosed data sheet.
Brand Versus Brand
Professional photographers often favor one brand of film over the others because they've used their favorite enough to know what it can do and what they can do with it. For amateur photographers, brand isn't that big of a concern unless you're buying slide film. Since this kind of film varies somewhat significantly between manufacturers, buying by brand name will assure you of getting film with the characteristics you want. Print film also varies somewhat between manufacturers, but the processing process will determine how your images turn out more than the film does. Unless you're looking for specific properties that only a certain film from a certain manufacturer can deliver, buy the stuff that's priced right.
Consumer Versus Professional
Camera snobs often swear by professional film even when they have no reason to do so. There's really not that big a difference between the two types, and pros often shoot with film made for consumer use because they like its characteristics and price.
What does distinguish pro film from consumer film is how it's manufactured, which affects its shelf life. Consumer film is made to tolerate a certain amount of abuse — temperature variations, sitting on the shelf for a long time, delays between shooting and processing — and still deliver good results. Since pros often buy large amounts of film at a time and shoot and process it relatively quickly, the film that's made for their use is manufactured to more exacting standards and isn't as stable as consumer film.
Film Loading
Most cameras on the market today have automatic film loading devices that make film handling a breeze. All you have to do is drop the film cartridge into the film chamber (located on the left side of the camera as it faces you), check to make sure the film is lying flat, then pull the film leader (the part of the film sticking out of the cartridge) across to a mark on the opposite side, and close the back.
The automatic film loader does the rest, at least most of the time. Filmloading errors can happen, but they are usually the result of the film not being correctly caught by the sprockets in the loading mechanism. If your camera indicates the film wasn't loaded correctly, just open it up and do it again. Don't worry about touching the leader with your fingers; it's only there to facilitate loading the film.
When loading a camera that has an automatic film-loading device, simply pull the tip of the film to the mark indicated in the camera.
How to Manually Load Film
- First, drop the film cartridge into the film chamber. You'll need to pull up on the film rewind crank (located on the top of the camera) to do this. When the film is in the chamber, push the crank back into place. Check to see if the film is seated correctly in the film chamber.
- Next, pull the leader across to the film loading mark. (These steps are the same as above).
- Rotate the film takeup spool (located on the camera's right as it faces you), until you see a slot in it. Insert the end of the film leader in this slot.
- Check to make sure the holes on the edges of the film are lined up with the camera's sprockets. If they aren't, the film won't advance properly.
- Manually advance the film forward a few frames by releasing the shutter. As you do this, watch the rewind crank to make sure it's moving. If it is, the film is loading onto the takeup spool.
- Close the camera and continue advancing the film until the first frame shows up in the frame indicator. Keep watching the rewind crank — it should continue to move. If the back doesn't snap into place, you may need to reopen the camera and reseat the film cartridge.
- Check to make sure there's no slack in the film by pulling up on the film rewind crank and giving it a slight turn backward. If it won't turn, your film is tight. If it will turn, rotate the crank until you feel good tension on it, then put it back into place. Don't turn it too hard — doing so may break the film.
Try to avoid loading or unloading film in bright sunlight. Put the camera in your shadow or go inside before you open it up. High-speed films are more sensitive, of course, and if you are doing lots of shooting in bright sun you might choose to work with a slower ISO film. Even so, get the film from the packaging to the camera and back in the shade.
Storing Your Film
If you shoot a lot, chances are you'll want to keep extra film on hand. This allows you to take advantage of sales and is a good way to be sure that you'll always have a few extra rolls, just in case you need them quickly. Film is happiest when it's kept cool and away from direct light. Storing it in your camera bag is fine if it's consumer film and you keep your bag in your home instead of your car (never a good place for equipment or film for extended periods of time).
Storing film in a refrigerator or freezer, as many professionals do, will slow down changes in its emulsion that can affect its performance. If you do store your film in the refrigerator or freezer, allow it to warm up to room temperature before putting it in your camera. Pro film, due to its shorter shelf life, should always be stored in the fridge or freezer.
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