Regular viewers of my work may have picked up the fact that my style of processing has changed over the last few months. I have discovered a real love for a softer, more muted look to my images that in a lot of ways, emulates aged or vintage film.
I absolutely adore this look. I find that my photos are looking more true to life and less artificial in comparison to the clean, bright and contrasty hues of digital processing.
The problem with this approach is that I have never, actually even picked up a film camera, never mind shot with one. How could I possibly emulate the look of film that I really love, without ever having any experience of shooting with it?
So I decided it was time to try film and to buy my first ever 35mm film camera.
After doing some research, I immediately had my heart set on a Nikon FE2, but used prices for these are anywhere between £150 -£250 due to their reliability and popularity. As I wasn’t sure how much I would use a film camera, I decided to go with a fully manual camera, of a similar age, (Mid 1970’s) but wasn’t such a big investment.
Enter my best photography bargain ever, the Olympus OM-2N.
The gorgeous, heavy, all metal, all manual, back to basics SLR is an absolute dream to shoot with. I’m kind of in love with it.
The Olympus OM-2N complete with Zuiko 50mm f1.8, is in mint condition and works perfectly. Every dial and lever feels sturdy and solid. And the best thing is that it only cost £65.00.
Here’s a video of me gushing over the Olympus OM-2N.
What a great looking camera.
I’m about 21 exposures into my first roll of film (Kodak Ektar 100) and I am super excited to see what the images are going look like.
Based on just how much fun I have had shooting with the Olympus OM-2N, I think I’m already hooked on shooting with 35mm film.
Give it a few months and that Nikon FE2 maybe mine. And of course, there’s medium format, large format etc. There a lot more to look forward to….
Why oh, why didn’t I try film sooner?
by Chris Scuffins
James - ill quite happily look after you Nikon D700 while you have you’ll love ffair !!&
Chris - Heh. The D700 is still getting used.
Film and digital are different kind of loves. 
Chris - I wish more photographers would shoot in film, not primarily of course, but at least take a 35mm film camera with them. It kinda ‘forces’ you to think like a photographer. Composition of the picture is of course more or less the same, but the technical side of it is brought to the fore. No instant results, no option of deletion, no option of the scourge that is photoshop, just the utter reliance on the light meter!
I started with a Zenith 12XP, and I still have it. I think I’ll start shooting with it again, there’s nothing quite like the wait whilst the film is away for processing.
Frazer Irwin - I’m 98% 35mm and the only way DP would take over is when there’s no film available. Am running an OM2N alongside a Pentax P30, Pentax 105-R and a Panasonic HX-WA10. Have a Zenith B for nostalgia as it was one of my first SLRs, with a few more of similar vintage. Joined a local camera club only to find I was the only one still using film. All that’s needed now is dark room equipment but that will have to wait a while.
Frazer Irwin - There’s one here still using film and wth an OM-2N among others.
Have a Panasonic digital but still prefer real photography. Come
back to the film fold. All will be forgiven….
Vladimir Bell - Woa, I’m a bit late to the party, but what the heck - thought I’d throw in my twopence!
I was primarily a Pentax guy (and here I’m referring to the trusty ME Super variety) until a few days ago when the EvilBay threw a bargain: a minty looking OM2n, complete with lens, hood, and some filters, all for £35! Beat that, Chris
The package arrived today and hmmm…. not too sure what to make of it. Form a purely tactile point of view, the camera is a delight - slightly bigger than my old ME Super (but only slightly so) and it feels different too; this last statement is pretty hard to quantify in words. Maybe because the Oly is meant to be a “professional” level camera, whereas the Pentax isn’t. At any rate, it feels “tighter”, more solid. It is a beautifully crafted piece of Japanese engineering. Given that I’m prone to slobbering over old cameras, it could be love at first sight.
The new toy does have its quirks though: the aperture ring, pushed so far forward on the lens barrel is a tad too close to the focus. I often find myself twiddling that instead of the focus ring. The aperture only goes up to f16, but I don’t see this as a major limitation either. The speed selector is in a pretty funny position too, but that’s not such a big deal, considering I’m coming over from a different camera. It will probably only take a short while before it all becomes second nature. Oh, and did I mention just how nice it feels to hold it?
And now, the not-so-nice things: focusing indoors is a pig. Really. How do you guys do it? Focusing indoors using available light and trying to see the shutter speeds on the left hand side of the viewfinder… Don’t get me started. But more worryingly the meter seems a little bit weird: I put a set of batteries in it (LR44′s and no, they were not new but the battery check lamp says all is okay) and the meter seems to be…um… I dunno. Limited a little bit?
Set on ISO200 and outside, under a cloudy sky, the Oly struggles. In order to get a decent speed (1/60) I have to open the aperture RIGHT UP - I’m talking 2.8 or 1.8. I “might” get something decent if I jiggle the camera about a little, but if say I select something like f4 - f5.6, the needle will indicate speeds of 1/30 and below. Changing the ISO to 400, improves the situation somehow, but not that much. The Oly well and truly struggled. Trying to get anything over 1/60 was pretty much impossible, unless of course I pointed the camera right at the sky. I find it a little strange, especially as the humble Pentax would have taken it all it its stride and would have happily fired away at decent speeds. Yup, it was 5ish PM, cloudy but I’d like to emphasize the fact that it wasn’t dark at all…
So overall, I’m not totally sure what to make of it. I’d genuinely like to like the Oly - its such a joy to look at and hold, but the meter thing is a little strange. I’ll try a fresh set of batteries tomorrow and see how it behaves. I’ll also put a roll of film thru it at the weekend. I guess if the situation doesn’t improve I’ll probably have to send it for a service.
Anyway, that’s about it from me for now! Really enjoyed the article btw!