Want to expand my photography a bit more and get back to the roots of it. I decided I want to shoot film and pick up a Nikon Fm2 for that old classic feel.
For the people who shoot with the older Nikon film bodies, what do I need to get? I know very little on the subject.
Not sure as well as to where to buy film and get it processed.
How does it meter? What is a light meter? As well as any other things I need to know.
j_ross23 wrote:
I decided I want to shoot film and pick up a Nikon Fm2 for that old classic feel.
Not sure as well as to where to buy film and get it processed.
How does it meter? What is a light meter? As well as any other things I need to know.
As per Zebrabot: all you need is a roll of film. IMO, BH Photo has a great selection of film (I switched to BH from 'the other NY photo store' just for that reason)
Over a year ago I decided to make the same move as you. I am positive you will love it.
In my case I got Nikon FE2, which has A-priority as well as fully manual function. Test metering of your 'new' SLR against your D7000 to ensure it exposes correctly. Also, Nikon FM3A may be a great option for a few $$$ more.
Have fun!
I've got an FE, FE2, 2x F3's, a F100 and a few 'fun' cameras like a lomo fisheye.
Depending on what you like to shoot, a camera with a built in meter can be very useful.
My favorite camera would be the F3, followed closely by my FE2.
I shoot all kinds of film, mostly black and white. I've got 1 camera loaded with some asa 100, one with 1600 (or 400 that I am pushing) and usually a camera with some colour in it.
Jako, what kind of strap have you got there? Looks nice
If you already have AF lenses and want a camera body that works properly with "G" type lenses (those without aperture control on the lens) then the F100 is a great camera for not a lot of money to use.
However, to shoot film, all you need is film One roll, at a time Try Tri-X (BW film) 400
For scanning, I use a cheap Epson V500. At less than $150, it is about as good as I could do with a flatbed, and until I can save up enough pennies for a Nikon Coolscan, it does the job just fine.
Film, well, you can read up on that till the cows come home. Best thing is to get a few rolls of a few different types, and shoot them. Films can all be developed in different ways, so I find that trying to find sample images of different films online is a wasted effort. We could both shoot the same type of film, but depending on how it was dev'd, it could look completely different.
I am an avid photo gear collector and have some thoughts although I don't buy anything newer than the 1950s myself. The two cameras I'd consider for what you want are the (1) Nikon F3HP (2) FM2n. These are two of the best cameras Nikon ever made, and are still a good choice today! For film, I'd suggest Ilford HP5. It's b&w, ISO 400 and gives a classic look. It's also forgiving of errors. Finally, processing. I'd find a place as local as possible that can do b&W film, and simply pay to have them scan it to a CD. If you find you really get into it, you can then start looking for a scanner etc.
Also another body to consider is the N80...a lot of people call it the mini f100...has a lot of the same features, minus the build qual, sync speed, and frame rate...but it handles just like a digital body, and they are DIRT cheap...i bought mine on ebay for $25 in EX condition....thing is really sweet...it gave me the itch to switch to FX digital...
As a side note, good luck trying to break the habit of looking at the back of the camera when you wanna review your images...i literally do it every time i pick up my film body... :-/
DTOB wrote: Jako, what kind of strap have you got there? Looks nice
It's a strap by a company "Annie Barton" out of Hong Kong (fantastic customer service, BTW) This particular strap, from their 1972 Collection, is 'Rollei Style Distressed Leather'
I use it for FE2 and D800E and I am possitive it can handle heavy DSLR+lenses.
If you already know the basic manual operation of your DSLR, a film camera operates using the same principle of exposure. Get a cheap FE or FE2, load the film, advance it, balance the exposure using the needle, manual focus, and shoot! When you're done, pull out the film, drop it off and come back for the prints. You can even use slide film (like Velvia 100F - my favorite) and get slides, which is cool to look at. You can even get some cheapo Kodak 35mm film at 99cents store and play with it. That's all there is to it. have fun!!
New member on this forum. Been over on nikonians for years.
The problem with film Nikon bodies is they last forever. I still have my F body as well as an FE, FE2, and a recently acquired F4s. Ran a roll of B&W through the F4s just after I picked it up to verify functions.
Yeah, their durability is a problem, I still have the F I bought when I was a teen in the early 70's, along with a whole lot of it's cousins....hard to explain to the wife, other than the emotional attachment part. (I still have the Rolleiflex I used my Senior year as well)
One roll, at a time 
