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I know nothing about photography but I've bought an LX. Help!

Posted 20/11/2013 - 21:05 Link
Greetings all, I'm new here. I live near a rather good photography centre with courses, darkroom, scanning suite etc so I've taken it into my head to learn from scratch. I don't even know what focal length is. But you've got to start somewhere and I thought that a manual film camera would be the thing to learn on. I was given a KR-10, then I noticed three highly rated screw thread primes on Gumtree at a good price, with a Spotmatic thrown in. Then, just for the thrill of it, I spent £25 on a job lot of five mystery K mount lenses from someone clearing out their grandad's attic. No doubt they'll come with plenty of free fungus. Then I had a reality check and decided I would probably never have the bottle to get much street photography done with a SLR unless it had a nice big waist level viewfinder...and then I read about the LX and saw a nice one on ebay complete with Action Finder. So by this time tomorrow I should have three bodies and eight lenses...but I haven't taken one photo yet. In at the deep end. If it doesn't work out I reckon I can sell the gear for a modest profit!

So...can anyone recommend any beginners' books or web sites to learn from? I've got the Spotmatic manual, which looks surprisingly helpful. I would like to understand some of the physics of film cameras, but I'm afraid I failed my physics O level.
Posted 20/11/2013 - 21:08 Link
I can't help as far as 'ye olde film' is concerned but I wish you good luck!
Always great to have new members
BrixtonNick wrote:
Greetings all, I'm new here. I live near a rather good photography centre with courses, darkroom, scanning suite etc so I've taken it into my head to learn from scratch. I don't even know what focal length is. But you've got to start somewhere and I thought that a manual film camera would be the thing to learn on. I was given a KR-10, then I noticed three highly rated screw thread primes on Gumtree at a good price, with a Spotmatic thrown in. Then, just for the thrill of it, I spent £25 on a job lot of five mystery K mount lenses from someone clearing out their grandad's attic. No doubt they'll come with plenty of free fungus. Then I had a reality check and decided I would probably never have the bottle to get much street photography done with a SLR unless it had a nice big waist level viewfinder...and then I read about the LX and saw a nice one on ebay complete with Action Finder. So by this time tomorrow I should have three bodies and eight lenses...but I haven't taken one photo yet. In at the deep end. If it doesn't work out I reckon I can sell the gear for a modest profit!

So...can anyone recommend any beginners' books or web sites to learn from? I've got the Spotmatic manual, which looks surprisingly helpful. I would like to understand some of the physics of film cameras, but I'm afraid I failed my physics O level.

G1DRP
Posted 20/11/2013 - 21:16 - Helpful Comment Link
I started in 1980 with a Zenit EM. Use the Spotmatic to learn on as it is totally manual.
I repair professional photo gear for a living and I've noticed more people are using film again.
What do you need help with? Just load your camera and shoot some film. I've been having fun using an Olympus Trip 35 recently.
Try "The 35mm Photographer's a Handbook" . There's also lots of stuff on film photography on YouTube.
Cheers,

Ian
Edited by G1DRP: 20/11/2013 - 21:18
Posted 20/11/2013 - 21:29 Link
I want to know how it all works - the relationship between aperture, film speed, focal length, depth of field...
johnha
Posted 21/11/2013 - 00:00 - Helpful Comment Link
It's not difficult to get average results, beyond that takes a lot of effort/experience/gift etc...

I can't point you in the direction of a website, I learned from several books on 35mm photography (probably by Michael Langford), but the basics are fairly easy (it gets more complicated but this is enough to get started):

Your film speed (ISO) is fixed by the film you load and determines the amount of light you need for a 'correct' exposure. The ambient light level determines your shutter speed/aperture combination required to achieve this. Longer shutter speeds (lower numbers) let in more light and vice versa. Wider apertures (lower numbers) also let in more light and vice versa. For a given light level and ISO, a wider aperture means a shorter shutter speed and vice versa. For each 'step' in shutter speed (called a stop) there is a corresponding step in aperture (in the other direction). There is usually some overlap in the shutter speed/aperture combination to allow flexible choice in the following:

Shorter shutter speeds freeze movement, longer ones blur it. Wider apertures produce less (shallower) depth of field, smaller apertures produce more (deeper) depth of field. Shorter focal lengths create more DoF for a given aperture, longer ones create shallower DoF for the same aperture.

When you get the LX put it into manual mode (shutter speed dial not in 'automatic'). As you change shutter speed or aperture, you should see the red LED in the finder move up or down corresponding to the recommended speed for the given ISO, ambient light level and aperture. When the indicator of your set speed lines up with the LED, that means you're set at the recommended exposure. Take note how this works (easier to see for yourself than trying to explain it) pointing at different light levels.

Slide (transparency/E6) film shows up errors immediately (print film is 'corrected' in the printing process) and noting your settings when shooting will help you work out what (if anything) is going wrong.

Hope this helps, there must be useful stuff on the web too.

John.
Sdeve
Posted 21/11/2013 - 11:14 Link
I recognise a fellow gadget junkie. Well done you!

One fairly easy way to get an introduction to photography is to download manuals for the cameras you have, or at a push, any similar camera. These manuals often explain photography at a very basic level and will get you off to a good start on the mechanics of the game. Then there is simply bound to be a shedload of info on the web. You'll be up and running in no time I'm sure. Enjoy.
JAK
Posted 21/11/2013 - 11:22 Link
Quote:
So...can anyone recommend any beginners' books or web sites to learn from?

Quote:
I want to know how it all works - the relationship between aperture, film speed, focal length, depth of field...

There are some useful tutorials here:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm

John K
John K
Mannesty
Posted 21/11/2013 - 11:26 Link
If you really want to learn photography skills fast, use a digital camera, not film.

When using a digital camera, you will see the results more or less instantaneously, good or bad, and can immediately learn by trial and error if necessary, where you went wrong.

With film, you'll have to wait for it to be processed and printed, which could be weeks later, and you'll need to take notes as to exposure settings, location, time of day, date, etc.

With digital, it's all (except location) stored in the image file. If you have any old GPS and you synchronize the date and time between your GPS and camera, you can add the location data to a digital image file later.

If I were ever to be asked to teach somebody photography, I'd never choose to use film, it all takes too long in the instant world we now live in.
Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
womble
Posted 21/11/2013 - 17:28 Link
Even though I love using film (just got back from Paris and I didn't even bother taking the K20D, just the LX, the MX and a selection of films), I agree with Peter. Teaching, for example, depth of field is pretty easy when you can tether the camera to a laptop attached to a data projector and show the students in real time what is happening. The trick is to use digital, but stick the camera on manual...!

K.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.

My website
Posted 21/11/2013 - 17:45 Link
I also want to play with different films, learn printing and scanning...and the mechanical precision of a hefty metal SLR is sublime. When I've mastered all this I'll be much better at digital too. Perhaps in a couple of years I'll graduate to a full frame mirrorless digital body and stick my Takumars on it. I want to understand all the differences between film and digital. In the meantime I've got a clever little Lumix compact which I'll carry on using.
womble
Posted 21/11/2013 - 18:06 Link
Although I have way too many film bodies these days, the LX/MX combination is my go-to pair when I am travelling. They went all the way around the world with me last March/April. Love 'em.

K.
Kris Lockyear
It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera… they are made with the eye, heart and head. Henri Cartier-Bresson
Lots of film bodies, a couple of digital ones, too many lenses (mainly older glass) and a Horseman LE 5x4.

My website
nass
Posted 21/11/2013 - 19:41 Link
Can I (sorry) throw a spanner in the works. On manual cameras you pay for film and development so the cost of learning and the cost of mistakes are both far more then on digital. You might be better off buying a really old digital one first to learn the basics, then move onto manual later. Sorry.
... just another middle-aged guy with a hobby. I have an extreme macro learning site at extreme-macro.co.uk - Pentax-centric, your feedback and comments would be appreciated!
Mannesty
Posted 21/11/2013 - 20:01 Link
BrixtonNick wrote:
I also want to play with different films, learn printing and scanning...

Why?

BrixtonNick wrote:
When I've mastered all this I'll be much better at digital too.

If you master digital first, you'll master it faster, and become more knowledgeable about film too, but faster.

BrixtonNick wrote:
I want to understand all the differences between film and digital.

Again, why?
Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
Posted 21/11/2013 - 20:07 Link
nass wrote:
Can I (sorry) throw a spanner in the works. On manual cameras you pay for film and development so the cost of learning and the cost of mistakes are both far more then on digital. You might be better off buying a really old digital one first to learn the basics, then move onto manual later. Sorry.

Too true! If I get my act together maybe I'll save a bit at Photofusion. They charge £4.15 for processing and I'll be doing printing and scanning myself. The darkroom is £22 for 4 hrs, the scanning suite is £30 per hour.
Edited by BrixtonNick: 21/11/2013 - 20:09
Jetsam1
Posted 21/11/2013 - 20:44 Link
Because film and old film cameras are fun?
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Fun?

SO I should throw anything non-digital in the bin closely followed by "obsolete" digital?
K5, K200 and several film Pentax cameras!

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