I bought two film cameras almost 6 months ago – the Contax T2 and GR1v. I really like the look of film – in particular Kodak Portra – and wanted to give it a go,

The films were processed at snappy snaps in Soho, London. It was really exciting getting the developed photos back back – as I hadn’t labelled the film – and there was a long period between shooting and developing – so had no idea what i was getting – anyway, here are the results:

Contax T2 – Kodak Portra 400

Taken in Nha Trang Vietnam

Taken in Bophut Beach, Thailand

Taken in London, Blackheath/Greenwich 

Ricoh GR1v – Ilford Delta 3200

Analog findings so far

The Good:

– The hit rate of photos i like was considerably higher than i was expecting, and better than with digital. From the first two rolls of 35, there’s two i would consider excellent (both taken on the Contax T2 with Porta 400), and 14 I would rate good. Part of this is probably the nostalgia and excitement of first time film, but also that i used the cameras somewhat more sparingly.

– Fantastic cameras (build quality, lens, etc) available for relatively little money.

– The colours from porta 4oo film are better to my eyes than the digital processing aimed at achieving the same effect (VSCO).

– The excitement of not really know what you’re going to get

The Bad:

– Getting film developed is a bit of a pain: you need to send it off/take to the store, wait, etc. I just haven’t had the time to do this, and therefore left it a long time. The alternative is DIY, which involves even more time, buying the chemicals etc. I may well do this in the future, but for now it’s too much effort.

– Getting film developed is a fricking expensive. I paid £9.99 for colour and £12.99 for black and white, develop and scan, at snappy snaps. If i chose to exclusively shoot film i could see myself spending c.  £500 p.a. on development alone.

– The need to get organised (which i clearly haven’t done) – Labelling film, etc. Takes some of the fun away.

Choosing a camera

– A nice view finder is absolutely key. The view finder is what makes me want to pick up the Contax T2 over the GR1v. Here’s a very unscientific example of why this is so:

Contax T2 view finder:

Ricoh GR1v view finder

Choosing film

– I wouldn’t go above ISO 800. Grain is all well and good, and i like a bit, but the grain from the Ilford 3200 took away from the photos.