A normal person's guide to buying an old film camera

Today, Kodak announced it was bringing back one of its iconic black-and-white films, TMax P3200, which has been out of production since 2012. It’s a monochrome film that’s extra-sensitive to light, so you can shoot with it in dark settings, and it will give you a gritty, grimy look that so many smartphone filter apps have tried to replicate. But that’s not the only good news in the film photography world at the moment. Kodak is still preparing another iconic film called Ektachrome for market later this year, and a new film SLR from a company called Reflex slated to ship later this year camera just had a crowdfunding run that raised 150 percent of its goal.



In short: Right now is a really great time to try out film photography. Of course, it’s not as simple as your smartphone camera, but that’s the point. It’s a process—and that’s a large part of what makes it great.

Of course, the first thing you’ll need is a camera. Luckily, there are still lots of old film shooters waiting to you take you to hipster photography heaven in thrift stores, garage sales, and online auctions. Sadly, this renaissance has pushed prices on the secondary market up from rock bottom a few years ago. But, if you know what to look for, you can find a shooter that will hold its value while churning through roll after roll of cellulose acetate (the material from which film is made).

Pick your perfect old camera
There are three general types of film cameras: SLRs, compacts, and rangefinders. The type you should pick depends on lots of variables including your budget, shooting style, and even aesthetic preferences. If you see something you think you like, check it out on a site like Camerapedia, which offers tons of useful knowledge about old gear.

Read more at: https://www.popsci.com/how-to-buy-film-photography-camera

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