35mm film..what to do?

[feral]

Does anyone use 35mm film anymore?

I have been cleaning out a few cupboards and have come across some of my old camera gear.

Minolta X-700 w/ Minolta MD 50mm f/1.7
Tokina RMC 70-210mm f/4
Tokina SD 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5
King MC Auto Tele Converter 2X MD
Minolta 280PX Flash

I have even found a roll of Kodak Max 400 colour print film so maybe I could run that through to see if its all functional.

But what other problems could I run into if I want to play with all this again?

Can you still buy film relatively easy or is it impossible to find?

What do you do for processing? I think I had to send it away the last few times I used slide film so could this be the case for prints now?

Part of the reason I am reviewing this is that I am a little disappointed in the Canon Powershot S5 IS. I wanted to step up to a proper DSLR but funds are tight and the Powershot was purchased two years ago. Since then the gloss has gone off and the camera does not get used.


So....would the Minolta X-700 be better than the Powershot if you can overcome the film developing issue?

Collective wisdom, much appreciated :)

__________________________________

Lyndon.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

35mm film can still be bought and processed at specialist camera shops (at least in Brisbane). If you want to do fancy stuff (slides, b&w, professional processing) though it's getting harder and harder.

Having said that 35mm film is probably only now coming close to being matched for resolution by the best and most expensive DSLR's. So, if it works for you use it and love it :)

Depending on how much you use your camera it might take a lot of processing before a DSLR had paid for itself... by which time it would be out of date...

[Ferret]

How old is your Minolta X700, is it still working OK. They had a problem with the shutter electronics. There are 2 capacitors in the shutter circuit which over time dry out and fail.

Mine failed after about 10 years of use. Easily fixed I'm told but digital is so easy these days I have not bothered.

I had the same 280PX Flash too.

[abaddonxi]

Try this!-
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/camera-corner/75779-how-process-film-instant-coffee-vitamin-c.html?highlight=develop

I've got a few rolls of old film lying about that I keep meaning to give it a go on.

These days, film SLRs are going just about free on ebay. As long as you've got the lenses to match.

[rick130]

Film is still available in all the ISO ratings, hell, you can still buy Fuji print film at Woolies.

The only way to ever get decent prints from negs was to send them off to a Pro lab, the local 60/90 minute processors did a pretty poor job on average, so it's not a huge loss if you are serious about quality.

[rick130]

<snip>

I have even found a roll of Kodak Max 400 colour print film so maybe I could run that through to see if its all functional.

<snip>


Check the processing expiry date on the box. If not too far out of date it should be OK, if kept in the fridge and it's miles out of date it should be OK.
If it's years out of date and your house gets stinking hot in summer and the film has been hot too, good luck :(

When we had snow here a few years back the only rolls of print film I had were a couple of years out of date. "No worries" I thought, I've done this before.
Not one image on the two rolls of film came out.....

[Chucaro]

Minolta X-700 w/ Minolta MD 50mm f/1.7




__________________________________

Lyndon.

Awesome lens!!!

[feral]

35mm film can still be bought and processed at specialist camera shops (at least in Brisbane).

I will investigate our Melbourne suppliers today.


How old is your Minolta X700, is it still working OK. They had a problem with the shutter electronics. There are 2 capacitors in the shutter circuit which over time dry out and fail.

Mine failed after about 10 years of use. Easily fixed I'm told but digital is so easy these days I have not bothered.

I had the same 280PX Flash too.

I've had this problem before and it has been repaired. Since then the camera has sort of been in storage.


Check the processing expiry date on the box. If not too far out of date it should be OK, if kept in the fridge and it's miles out of date it should be OK.
If it's years out of date and your house gets stinking hot in summer and the film has been hot too, good luck :(

When we had snow here a few years back the only rolls of print film I had were a couple of years out of date. "No worries" I thought, I've done this before.
Not one image on the two rolls of film came out.....

Same hot/cold storage facility as the camera.....might as well go straight to the bin :p


Awesome lens!!!

Yeah...thats what I thought. I don't think the Powershot lens is anywhere near the quality of SLR lenses.

I just so happened to mention my findings to the Chief Financial Officer this morning....best not to come home with a DSLR today :D



__________________________

Lyndon.

[Chucaro]

I just so happened to mention my findings to the Chief Financial Officer this morning....best not to come home with a DSLR today :D
__________________________

Lyndon.

Develop a hearing problem or use the "me no english" technique and come home with the camera and a nice present for your other half :cool:

[waynep]

Wouldn't his Tokina lenses fit a Nikon DSLR ?

[Chucaro]

Wouldn't his Tokina lenses fit a Nikon DSLR ?

It is diferent bayonet mounting :(

[loanrangie]

It is diferent bayonet mounting :(

Yes but dont tokina use a removeable mount that you just swap to suit the body in use ?

[PSi]

Yes but dont tokina use a removeable mount that you just swap to suit the body in use ?

AFAIK, back in the last millennium, only Tamron made lenses that were of common design with adaptors to fit various brands' mounts.
Made sense in the old days when things were simpler but not nowadays with so many electronic thingamajigs and therefore, connectors and even computers on board.

[Taz]

I still use my minolta gear regularly, an X700 like yours (loaded with velvia), a SRT 101 (portra) and an XE1 (PRO160C). I have the rokkor 24, 28, 50/1.4, 58/1.4, 35-70macro and a collection of telephoto lenses. This stuff is as cheap as cheaps. I mainly use negative film, at only $3 for processing (no prints) from gerry gibs it's still cheap. Slide film processing is around $12 from fitzgeralds. You can buy film on ebay for btn $3/36exp upto around $15/36 exp for velvia slide film. I purchased a V700 scanner, so I scan them at around 10 mega pixel resolution and then work in the digital world (inc printing). So using cheap film it can cost as little as 16cents per shot. And film is not dead yet - kodak recently anounced a new negative film designed for scanning (very low grain). It's not for everyone, but I enjoy taking my time with the film equipment. If shooting sports or anything fast - forget it thou. I work with optics and couldnt bring myself to purchase a DSLR with kit lens, and good DSLR lenses cost a lot more than my film and development costs, especally if you try to match the image quality, speed and field of view of the old rokkor optics. Going to full frame sensor DSLRs would help, but they are too expensive for me at the moment.

[ADMIRAL]

make the jump...talk to the pros. A lot resisted the move, but are now in there. I have had to relearn a lot of techiniques but essentially the principles are the same. The beauty of digital is the ease of use, editing etc. Take a bracket of exposures, edit in camera, keep the one that works best. Fantastic for travel pics. You get to experiment and see the results immediately. Less lost shots, more keepers. Check with your local camera shop. I think your lenses will still be compatible. If not, don't settle for the kit lens. I did a deal with my shop. They will usually do a deal to enable you to buy a body, and spend a little more getting a good prime lens.