How to Use Almost Any 35mm Film Camera

Once your camera is set up, you can go out into the big blue room and take some great photographs . Older cameras, however, will require that you set many (sometimes all) of the things that a modern film or digital camera would handle for you automatically.

1. 1
   Focus your shot. We'll detail this first because some old SLR cameras need their apertures stopped down in order to meter; this makes the viewfinder much darker, and makes it harder to see when you're in focus or not.

   • Auto-focus cameras , common since the mid-1980s onwards, are the easiest. If you either have no focusing ring, or a manual/auto focus switch on either the lens or the camera, then you probably have an autofocus camera. Simply half-press the shutter very gently to focus. When focus is obtained (usually by some indication in the viewfinder, or possibly by an annoying beeping sound), then the camera is ready to take a shot. Fortunately, most (probably all) auto-focus cameras have automatic exposure as well, which means that you can safely ignore the next step about setting exposure.
   • Manual-focus single-lens reflex cameras are slightly more awkward. SLRs are distinguishable by their large central "hump" housing the viewfinder and their pentaprism (or pentamirror). Turn your focusing ring until the image in the viewfinder is sharp. Most manual-focus cameras will have two focusing aids to make it easier to tell when you're in perfect focus. One is a split screen, right in the center, which splits the images into two pieces, which are aligned when the image is in focus. The other, a microprism ring around the outside of the split screen, will cause any defocus to be far more obvious than it would be otherwise. A very few will have a focus confirmation indicator in the viewfinder when focus is obtained. Use these focusing aids if you have them.
   • Manual-focus rangefinder cameras are nearly as easy. Coupled rangefinder cameras show two images of the same subject through the viewfinder, one of which moves as you turn the focusing ring. When the two images coincide and fuse into one, the image is in focus. ^[4]
     
     Some older rangefinder cameras do not have a coupled rangefinder of this kind. If this is what you have, then find the desired distance through the rangefinder, and then set that value on the focusing ring.
   • , a viewfinder camera from the 1950s.]] Viewfinder cameras look much like rangefinder cameras, but offer little assistance in finding the distance to your subject. Either use an external rangefinder, or guess the distance and set that on your focusing ring.
2. 2
   Set your exposure. Remember that older cameras have stupid meters; they only read a small area at the center of the screen. So if your subject is off-center, then point the camera at the subject, meter, and then reframe your shot. The specifics of getting a good exposure differ from camera to camera:

   • Fully automatic exposure cameras are the easiest. ^[5] If your camera has no controls for shutter speed and aperture, then it's probably one of these cameras (like many compact cameras, most notably the Olympus Trip-35). Otherwise, the camera may have a "Program" or "Automatic" mode; if it does, save yourself a lot of hassle and use it. Modern Nikon and Canon SLRs, for example, will have a mode dial that you should turn to "P". If you have the option, set your metering mode to "Matrix", "Evaluative" or similar and have fun.
   • Cameras with aperture-priority automatic exposure (like the Canon AV-1) will allow you to set an aperture, and then choose a shutter speed for you. On most of these, just set an aperture according to the amount of light you have and/or your required depth of field, and let the camera do the rest. Naturally, don't choose an aperture that will require your camera to use a faster shutter or slower speed than it has available.
     
     If circumstances permit (and you don't want either an extremely shallow or extremely deep depth of field), then don't shoot your lens either at its largest aperture, and don't stop it down past f/11 or so. Nearly all lenses are slightly sharper stopped down than they are wide open, and all lenses are limited by diffraction at small apertures.
   • Cameras with shutter-priority automatic exposure, which is not necessarily a distinct class of camera from the above, will allow you to choose a shutter speed and then it will set an aperture automatically. Pick a shutter speed according to the amount of light you have and whether you want to freeze (or blur) motion.
     Of course, this has to be long enough to ensure that your lens actually has an aperture wide enough to match the shutter speed, but fast enough that your lens has an aperture small enough (and so that you're able to hand-hold the camera, if that's what you're doing, and you should be).
   • , a very typical fully-manual SLR camera.]] Fully-manual cameras will require you to set both aperture and shutter speed yourself. Most of these will have a match-needle meter in the viewfinder which will indicate either over- or under-exposure; if the needle goes above the middle mark your photo will be over-exposed, and if it goes below it will be under-exposed. You normally meter by half-pressing the shutter; some cameras such as Praktica L-series bodies will have a dedicated metering key to do this (which also stops the lens down). Set either your aperture, shutter speed, or both, depending on the requirements for your scene, until the needle sits more or less at the half-way mark. If you're shooting negative film (rather than slide film), it doesn't hurt a bit for the needle to go slightly above the half-way mark; negative film has a huge tolerance for over-exposure.
     
     If you don't have a meter in the viewfinder, use an exposure table ^[6] , your memory of one, or an external light meter--the best kind is a digital camera; an obsolete compact one is fine but you'll want it to show the exposure reading in the viewfinder. ^[7] (Remember that you can make offsetting adjustments in aperture and shutter speed ). Or try a free light-metering program for a smartphone, such as Photography Assistant for Android. ^[8] .
3. 3
   Frame your shot and shoot. The artistic elements of composing a photograph is well outside the scope of this article, but you will find some useful pointers in How to Take Better Photographs and How to Develop Your Photography Skills .

   • To click a good photo, you should have even lighting on your face, and it should not be too bright in the background. ^[9]
   • If you take your photo standing in the sun, keep in mind that you should be facing away from the sun. ^[10]
4. 4
   Shoot till you hit the end of the roll. You'll know when you're there when either the camera refuses to wind on (for those cameras with automatic winders), or otherwise when winding the film on becomes very difficult (if this is you, don't force it ). It won't necessarily be when you've used up 24 or 36 exposures (or however many you have on your film); some cameras will allow you to milk up to an extra 4 frames above the rated number. When you get there, you'll need to rewind the film. Some motorised cameras do this automatically as soon as you hit the end of the roll; some other motorised ones will have a rewind switch.If you don't, don't worry. Press your rewind release button. Now turn your rewind crank in the direction indicated on the crank (usually clockwise). You'll notice that near to the end of the film the crank gets stiffer, and then becomes very easy to turn. When you hit this, stop winding and open the back.
5. 5
   Get your film developed. If you're shooting negative film then fortunately you can still get this done nearly anywhere. Slide film and traditional black-and-white film requires very different processes; check with a local camera store if you need help finding someone to develop your film for you. You can also develop film at home with the right supplies.
6. 6
   Check your film for exposure problems. Look for obvious under- and over-exposure. All films tend to look horrible and murky when underexposed; slide films will blow highlights nearly as readily as digital cameras when overexposed. If these things do not indicate poor technique (such as metering on the wrong part of your scene), it means that your meter is wrong or that your shutter is inaccurate. Set your ISO speed manually, as described earlier. For example, if you're underexposing on ISO 400 film, set the ISO dial to 200 or so.
7. 7
   Stick another roll of film in and go shoot some more. Practice makes perfect. Go out and take as many photos as you can afford to take. And don't forget to show your results off to the world.
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