Why I love shooting film: The cameras
Analogue cameras – especially (purely) mechanical ones – became a big part of the appeal of shooting film for me. They feel great in your hand and are often very solidly built1. Their controls offer everything you need, and nothing you don’t. There’s nothing to configure via menus or an assortment of buttons or screens. You choose a shutter speed, you choose an aperture, and you’re ready for the next frame. Simple2!
With the mechanical variety, you can feel it doing its work every step of the way. It’s a more immediate and satisfying experience for me. And more relaxing, too, compared to handling yet another computer. Plus, it’s a nice feeling to know you’re able to operate an all manual camera.
I also love the little ritual of manually advancing the film to the next frame. I love rewinding the film when it’s full and inserting a new one. I love the simplicity of the rangefinder construction3, where the lens’ aperture blades immediately move when you change its setting, where there are no mirrors involved, and instead you look through a separate little window to frame the scene.
And just like old cars, they’re often great to look at, too.
They’re often heavier than digital ones, though, too, which I’m not crazy about. ↩︎
Of course, that’s possible, because the film is a fixed recording medium, whereas a digital camera and its sensor need to be and should be configurable. But that’s exactly the point: film allows the cameras to stay simple. ↩︎
I’m sure the construction is indeed not so simple. But the idea and the interface are, and that’s what counts as a user. ↩︎