new to film

[JazzTyme]

Hey guys,

I bought myself a Canon EOS 5 expecting it to arrive this week.
I did some black and white film at school and I have been missing the character that film gives in my digital work.
Only im starting to realise that now not having access to a dark room film photography sounds pretty pricy

And i have been looking into negative scanners and wondering how they work? is there special software that you use to convert the negative or can you do it all through lightroom or PS?

cheers,

And expect to start hearing questions from me haha

[fabian628]

I think you get away with a pretty small space for a dark room
I have a flat bed that can also do negatives. The software I have just converts the negative automatically , same as can be done in ps.

[StanW]

If space is a problem, it would be worth looking for a Nova processor. The 8x10 three-slot version has a very small footprint.

[kaiser]

Are you planning on developing your own prints as well or just developing the film and scanning? If it is the latter, you don't even need a darkroom per se. A light tight change bag to load the film onto reels then into a tank - then the rest of the procedure can be done in normal light. I found a laundry or second bathroom works well - nice to have access to water and a big tub or bathtub. Its also usually the least dusty room in the house - so a good place to hang negatives to dry (shower stall works great).

I store all the gear and chems under the vanity and you wouldn't even know it was there.
Creating a proper darkroom takes a little more planning and dedication but is by no means hard and the fun making your own print is definately worth it.

If you're only going to do 35mm film I'd look at a dedicated 35mm scanner as opposed to a flatbed. They aren't as expensive as the dedicated MF scanners and do a better job IMHO.

If you think this is somthing you'll be doing for a while - I'd highly reccomend picking p the book "Way Beyond Monochrome" by Ralph Lambrecht and Chris Woodhouse. It's a very technical book and can be overwhelming at first- but it covers all aspects of B&W film in more detail than any other book I've come across. Well worth the investment

[junqbox]

Not sure what you might have available locally, but when I used to do more of this than I do now, I became a member of the Australian Photography centre in Paddington (Sydney) and then was able to use their extensive darkroom facilities. All I needed was my film and my own paper.

[ollie]

My only recommendation is don't buy on of those cheap film scanners <$200 they simply do not have the dynamic range to give you a decent scan.

[JazzTyme]

Thanks for the feedback so quickly!

Well after doing some research yesterday i have decided im going to do my film own developing and scan in. I dont have the space to do my own printing, and i dont like the idea of someone else doing my prints and maybe developing to what they like.

I do not own a scanner, so i guess i will start to look into this. Someone sugested a epson v500 or v700 on another thread here.

I am also going to start collecting developing tools. Apart from vanbar.com.au is there any other film online stores? there is some good 2nd hand stuff on ebay that i have my eyes on.
Cheers.

Oh! i also bought this ilford PAN 100 film, not sure if it is any good, but im sure it will be good enough to run through the camera to make sure its functional and check quality since the camera is a ebay job.
*Link removed - see site rules 3-7*

[sunny6teen]

just print in the bathroom where you're doing your developing (as previously mentioned, those Novas are pretty small).
all you need for printing is a drinks trolley. place your enlarger etc on that and just wheel it into the bathroom when needed.

[JazzTyme]

just print in the bathroom where you're doing your developing (as previously mentioned, those Novas are pretty small).
all you need for printing is a drinks trolley. place your enlarger etc on that and just wheel it into the bathroom when needed.

Where would i put my drinks then?

Hey so I ordered "Way Beyond Monochrome" got it in yesterday and wow! Its full on! But its great! Makes me realise how just scanning the negatives just are not enough (in my opinion). I’m in the electronic engineering field so technical is right up my alley and I never really saw photography in this way. There is just so much to the whole film to print process.

I will start with film developing first anyway.

Cheers for the support everyone.
Ill do some photos of my first runs if you guys want I’m sure it will be interesting haven’t done this for years.
Just need to collect supplies first.

[ameerat42]

So what are we doing here? (Really, I was following this white rabbit when...)

Are you wanting to develop, scan and print, or only some of the foregoing?

Some answers: Yes, if you scan a negative you can turn it into a "positive" via software. Better type scanners will do a pretty good job of this with their included software. (I know this sounds general, but...)

You have a Canon DSLR, and you talk about scanner, so, once again, I will refer to Chimbu's thread about using the means at hand. It's long but it's still worth a read.

And finally, keep asking away.
Am.

[StanW]

Tim Rudman's books are worth having too.

[soulman]

If I was moving back to film now, which I do think about from time to time, I would only be processing negs, not printing. The latter requires more resources than I could reasonably put to it - water for print washing actually being the main problem for me - and doesn't actually gain you much, if anything, these days. From what I understand, the consensus is that modern inkjet printing is superior to darkroom printing, so it's all about generating good negs & scanning them well, neither of which require a darkroom.

Once you have scanned images you can leverage your existing post-processing skills, software and print workflow so it's not a whole new area to learn. Getting good printed output is still not a cheap or simple endeavour if you're going to do it yourself, but at least you can print from film and digital with the same equipment.

[smallfooties]

I've got a darkroom... it's my bathroom.... and i have to squeeze in and out because the table is too long!
But you don't need a darkroom unless you wanna print the negatives yourself...
to develop the negatives, you need a tank, chemicals and a light tight bag you can get from most camera shops.

[ameerat42]

...light tight bag you can get from most camera shops...

Or even a blanketed bed, where I have successfully loaded B/W IR film and heaps of ASA 400 rolls.
Am.