Premium photography on a budget???

[@buchsg]

Your out of focus issue maybe the foam under the viewfinder glass who is too old so what you see when you look in the viewfinder is not what you get on the film… on way to test that is to set a composition at a measured distance, camera on a tripod, no film back and you put a translucent paper instead. Do your focus and see on the paper if the image is sharp, if not I’m pretty sure it’s the foam who is deteriorated (common issue on bronica S)

[@MattGouldphotography]

OOooo a knowledgeable explanation that means I may not be at fault? I can go with that :D. Thank you Gregory, really appreciate the input, I will keep that in mind when working at my shop but sadly I only had this setup for the purpose of this video. I have now sold it as I couldn't justify keeping it. Thank you so much for watching :)

[@claireandtimwest3480]

Well that is a bit of a surprise for the new year .Hope you enjoyed using the camera .The Square format makes you look differently and 12 photos makes you look must slower. Going to try Black and White next time? Happy new year Tim west

[@MattGouldphotography]

Hahahah yes indeed. I wondered if it would raise an eyebrow from yourself Tim :D. Sadly I could only justify keeping the camera for the duration of this video. I may re-invest when I am in a better financial position but I really did enjoy it I have to say and agree with your points. I would definitely like to try black and white for sure. Thank you also for the card, hope you and the family have a great new year :)

[@debbiepierce3045]

Great video Matt, as always. Happy New Year to you. 📷

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thank you Debbie! And to you!

[@adamsmith6594]

I grew up with film. 110 and 35mm. Digital cameras may have existed but mobile phones did. You would often see them in London. A large briefcase with an aerial sprouting from it. So maybe what I thought was someone dragging a small skip around was actually a digital camera. The last film camera owned was a Pentax P30T. Cost me a month's wages and then some. Still have it and it looks brand new. If you want one they are available on ebay. 5 years ago I looked and you could pick one up with a lens or two for the eye-watering sum of £14.99 free postage. Now they are around £50.00. Bearing out this vlogs implication. Film is making a come back.

[@MattGouldphotography]

Hiya Adam Great to hear you have had a fair experience with film. It really is making a comeback thats for sure. Sadly I had to get rid of this after as I couldn't justify making the purchase permanent. Thank you for watching :)

[@adamsmith6594]

@@MattGouldphotography always a pleasure Matt. Happy New Year filming.

[@alangauld6079]

I recently started using a Yashica TLR that was made the same year as me! I only expect to shoot about 4 rolls per year with it and process the negs myself. I then "scan" using my Olympus (oops, OM Systems!) camera in its HiRes setting to get a 50MP image. That keeps costs under control and gives me a hiDef image in situations that the Olympus couldn't handle (eg moving subjects). A lot cheaper than buying a 50MP digital camera for sure. I started in film so processing the film is no sweat but even using a lab it would cost in.

[@MattGouldphotography]

Great to hear you too are giving film a go Alan! Sounds like a very cool way of dodging costs! Love that you are able to process it youself as well! Thank you for watching :)

[@LuciaHewitt]

Happy New Year Matt! Kudo's for this vid - great stuff! What app did you use to check exposure?

[@MattGouldphotography]

And to you Lucia! It's just simply called Light Meter, from the play store.

[@maxencelemoine4190]

I mainly shoot on film, and I mean in a non reasonable way. 2021 was my year playing with a dslr (an old one). My best wildlife shots (birds) were on films, and I have more trust in my old pro film camera than my dslr (better autofocus, lightmeter, frame rate...). But playing with digital is very fun too.

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thats actually super interesting that you prefer your older yet pro level gear. And based on my experience within the making of this video it completely makes sense :). Thank you for watching! :)

[@paulm8157]

Unique content, amicably presented👍. Started w/photography in analog days, w/used gear and did my own “home” darkroom stuff. Film does make you slow down. Focus test chart runs in controlled (indoors) conditions should answer the off-focus issue. What kind of focusing screen was in use (split, matte, etc)? I recall there were also add-on rangefinder split screen focusing devices that might have helped. Pre-smartphones we used hand-held light meters. How would your app exposure reading compare w/reading in your DSLR? Scan of negatives equates to analog/digital hybrid to get final image. Staying w/analog through to prints would add to expense. Most importantly, IMO, your posts prove that you can get premium images w/less than premium (medium format) priced gear. Happy New Year, Matt!🎉

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thank you very much Paul! You're right of course, film does make you slow down. Which i actually loved in the end. And I have had to get rid of this setup now, it was only ever for the purpose of the video that I was using it. BUt a few have suggested it may have been a focusing screen issue, around the foam. I think they work the same, smartphone vs dslr (in terms of results at least as you can tell from the before and after images, it was pretty spot on). So chuffed to hear you agree with my conclusion though :). Happy new year Paul! Thank you for watching as always

[@buzzbeescraps8839]

So interesting to see you learning something new! I loved the relaxing footage of deer and Autumn colours. Great music too :)

[@MattGouldphotography]

Aw glad you enjoyed it :) Thank you for watching!

[@JohnCooper-jl5nt]

Great video I started on film and it was a great grounding and base to start from.

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thanks John, yeah I think its often too easily dismissed if its something you didn't start with. Glad you like the video and thank you for watching :)

[@Markitosgm]

Matt I think everyone should have a go at film whenever possible. It’s a great foundation for those starting at photography and getting the knowledge of how to expose and take correctly well balanced photos. You don’t have the endless numbers of exposures left on a memory card, so you better think thoroughly which will be your next photo and try to get it right. I remember my last day shooting film and I ended up with 27 rolls of exposed Velvia … I nearly went bankrupt when I took them to the lab 😜

[@MattGouldphotography]

Hahahhah thats an incredible amount of film to try and get developed :D. But you're right in my opinion, everyone should have a go with film at some point. It almost felt like discovering photography again due to how different the process felt. Thank you for watching Marcos!

[@zmerc1969]

Great video as usual. Do you always have to use a tripod with that camera though or is it possible to have it handheld? Happy new year to you all

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thank you so much Tessa! I do believe it would be possible to shoot handheld, but I don't have anything close to a steady hand and that day it was quite dark and the film I was using was 120 iso equivalent so it just made sense to shoot with a tripod. The second day was brighter but I was doing all I could to make sure the images were sharp :D. Thank you for watching and happy new year!

[@zmerc1969]

@@MattGouldphotography I have no steady hand either so totally get you. I was just curious about it as taking shots of wildlife that never stands still must have been very challenging

[@angelisone]

Many employees from camera companies got the pink slip for Christmas. ATG pulled out of Costco, Walmart and many major printing stores. Film & DSLR are dead. They rather use cellphones.

[@MattGouldphotography]

I think the photography market is definitely going through a drastic change, but far from dying completely. I work in a camera shop and have done for a few years. I think your casual photo taker, who takes purely to have proof or a memory is shifting to phones. However the hobbyist or "hipster" is very much keeping both film and digital alive in my experience. Thank you for watching :)

[@tacampbell92]

Loved this mate! 😁 made me really regret selling my old Bronica ETRSi 😭 beautiful shots as always bud!

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thank you so much buddy! Good to see your flying at the moment! We need a catch up at some point 😊

[@tacampbell92]

@@MattGouldphotography 100%!! I’m aiming to come visit later this month or early Feb so we should defo get some OG LCE crew together 😁

[@MattGouldphotography]

@@tacampbell92 sounds good man just give me a shout

[@glennhunt2375]

Had many frustrating years with film for wildlife ( no alternative at the time )when digital cameras came on the scene it became a total game changer for wildlife photography. I admire you for having a go with film - great for a change when doing a bit of landscape work but for wildlife if the prospective photographer is on a limited budget - economy digital gear everytime. Sorry to sound on a bit of a downer Matt but have worked with both 35mm and med. format cameras and now digital so have a little idea about the different complexities of the equipment. 👍

[@MattGouldphotography]

Oh for sure digital is a lot easier. But if you are really pushing for the top quality possible I think its always worth exploring and considering other options. I have to say there were many aspects of this camera that really surprised me and some that I would say even beat full frame digital equivalents. But as you say I guess its a case of whether it works for wildlife or not and if the pros outweigh the cons. :) Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts! :)

[@michaelharmon7162]

Possible it was the lens but medium format wide open has a very shallow depth of field.

[@MattGouldphotography]

Hiya Michael, yeah this is what my unscientific conclusion was to be honest. Thank you for watching :)

[@faerphoto]

Wow, this was not what I was expecting. I love film but don't have the option to go back to it. There are no premium photo labs in my state any longer, so to get the film developed correctly with no mistakes would cost a fortune to ship somewhere else, maybe NYC, I don't even know where. Medium and large format film cameras are still top of the line, though, still highly sought after, and still cost a small fortune if you want good quality gear. I don't think I could ever consider any of those types of cameras to be 'budget', unless it was being sold cheap because it had problems and possibly didn't even work. I'm glad you were able to find one in good working condition for relatively cheap. I'm not surprised by the amount of data in the images. As for the look of the images, you'll need to try different film stock, as they all have their own unique looks to them. I hope you have fun with the new camera. I'll hold off asking my question till your next video, since this one wasn't the topic I thought it was. Happy new year. Cheers from Maine, USA. :) Paula

[@MattGouldphotography]

Hiya, glad to give you a bit of a surprise then :D And really? This cost me about £200 with staff discount but are available for around £400 on second hand sites. You definitely can pay a fortune for one, but if you arent too fussy and dont mind it looking a little beaten up you can get one cheap (at least in the uk :D) for sure. Maybe its worth getting one shipped if you are interested? Though to be fair the film developing sounds a nightmare. I actually sold this straight after the video. It was merely a curiosity that I have always wanted to try and making a video was my excuse to :D. I imagine your question will be about what I switched to, in which case it will likely be a couple of videos away :D. But it will be answered ;). Thanks for watching!

[@0action847]

Gotta go with japanese sellers on ebay but that amount of fungus wouldn't effect the pic too much.

[@MattGouldphotography]

Yeah it did alright but it really effects resale value. Thank you for watching!

[@alternatereality7713]

I am so glad I don't have to shoot film anymore. Digital with solid AF is just so much more predictable.

[@lensman5762]

Kudos to you for trying analogue photography. Not exactly the correct film camera for your intended use, but all credit to you. Keep that lens if it didn't cost too much. That fungus could be cleaned by an expert. A huge dose of UV light will probably kill the damn thing. As for wildlife photography with film, I 'd think you be better off with a good 35mm SLR. Had it been two years ago, I would have suggested finding a Nikon F5, but not these days and not at the present crazy asking prices for anything analogue. Use the MF camera for static subjects. And no, you were not imagining things. You'd be pleasantly surprised at how much dynamic range a film like Kodak Portra 400 or Ektar 100 has, and if treated correctly how much information is held on a piece of film, and all analogue not a procession of zeros and ones. Then think about a 4X5 or even an 8X10 negative or transparency. NO wonder Fuji is so keen on killing film off. All the best.

[@MattGouldphotography]

Thank you Lensman! Completely get your points, I have had to now sell the camera though, it was more as an act of curiousity that I used it and could only really justify using it for the duration of the video. And I have had some experience with 35mm film in the past and to be honest, when it comes to full frame I prefer my 5DIV. For me, the 6x6 was merely a way to get that medium format look and to try a slower style with a different aspect ratio. Thank you so much for watching! Glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@Jessehermansonphotography]

I have a Nikon F2 that I have had for many many years. Would never sell it

[@MattGouldphotography]

Glad to hear it Jesse 😁. That's a cracking camera to be fair.