Basic Things You Need to Know before Shooting Your First Roll of Film

What Camera Will You Use?

The camera you use must meet the specifications listed below.  You can use:

  1. your own film camera (if it meets the specifications)
  2. a film camera you share with a classmate
  3. one of the two film cameras available from me.  This is obviously not as convenient for you, so really try to find some working film camera that was put away when it was replaced by a point-and-shoot or a digital.

Camera Specifications

You can shoot your first roll of film on any camera that works, but to do most of the assignments, you must be able to control aperture and shutter speed, so a “point-and-shoot” camera won’t do what you need. 

Here’s what it MUST have:

  1. uses rolls of 35 mm film (this is standard)
  2. set the ISO (also called ASA on most cameras).  Almost any camera lets you do this.  If it’s electronic and reads the ISO from the film, that’s okay.
  3. set the aperture.  There should be an aperture ring on the lens, or a mode that lets you set the aperture.  Electronic cameras do this automatically, but there’s usually a mode setting that lets you set it manually.  Figure out how to do this!
  4. set the shutter speed.  There are several ways to do this.  Most common is a dial on top of the camera.  There are also cameras that let you set the aperture, and the camera sets the shutter speed automatically according to the available light.  This is not quite as good, but is okay as long as you can read and record what the shutter speed was.
  5. Read the light through some kind of meter.  Almost all cameras have a built-in meter.  It might be a floating needle that you see through the viewfinder, or a series of lit-up dots, or some other system, but it’s very hard to get a good exposure if you can’t read the light somehow.

Here are things that are DESIRABLE but not necessary:

  1. manual focus.  It’s best to practice focussing on what you want, rather than relying on auto-focus.
  2. Zoom – if your lens can zoom in and out, you have more creative possibilities.
  3. SLR – SLR cameras (we’ll talk about what this means) usually have better quality lenses, usually with wider apertures

Qualifying Quiz

Here’s What I Will Ask You to Demonstrate before you’re given any film:

  1. Open and close the back
  2. Turn the camera on and off
  3. Advance the film
  4. Release the shutter (as in “take a picture”!)
  5. Change the ISO setting
  6. Change the aperture
  7. Change the shutter speed
  8. Read the meter and adjust the aperture and/or shutter speed to get a perfect exposure
  9. Focus
  10. Check the lens, cleaning it if necessary