Camera-Oid | The Darkroom

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Alright. Shutter here.

Been shooting film since I was 12 and fixing cameras for longer than I care to admit. Found an old camera in a drawer? Wondering if your lens is any good? Want to know what that mystery SLR is worth? Snap a photo and I'll tell you everything. The darkroom's warm and the developer's fresh.

Camera Identification

Snap the body, the lens mount, or the nameplate. I'll handle the rest.

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Camera

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Gallery

What Shutter Checks:

📷 Camera make, model, and production era
🔍 Lens mount type and compatibility
🎞️ Film format (35mm, 120, large format)
💡 Shutter mechanism and metering system
💰 Current market value and collectibility
🖼️ Condition assessment and repair notes

Get the nameplate and lens in shot for best results.

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The Learning Lab

Everything you need to know about cameras, film, and technique

SLR (Single Lens Reflex)

The workhorse of film photography. A mirror reflects light from the lens up into a pentaprism viewfinder, so you see exactly what the lens sees. When you press the shutter, the mirror flips up, the shutter opens, and light hits the film. That satisfying "clunk" is the mirror slapping back down.

Icons: Nikon F, Canon AE-1, Pentax K1000, Minolta X-700, Olympus OM-1

The Canon AE-1 is the most-produced SLR ever. If you've found a film camera in a drawer, there's a decent chance it's one of these.

Rangefinder

No mirror, no pentaprism. Instead, a separate viewfinder window with a focusing patch that overlaps two images. Line them up and you're in focus. Quieter than an SLR, more compact, and the viewfinder shows you what's outside the frame too. Street photographers love them.

Icons: Leica M3, Leica M6, Contax G2, Voigtlander Bessa, Canon P

Henri Cartier-Bresson shot almost exclusively with a Leica rangefinder. The "decisive moment" was a Leica moment.

TLR (Twin Lens Reflex)

Two lenses stacked vertically. The top lens projects onto a ground glass screen you look down into. The bottom lens exposes the film. Beautiful waist-level composition. Shoots 120 film for gorgeous square 6x6 negatives. Quiet, elegant, and people don't notice you photographing them because you're looking down, not at them.

Icons: Rolleiflex 2.8, Yashica Mat 124G, Mamiya C330

Point & Shoot / Compact

Pocket-sized, autofocus (mostly), auto-exposure. The ones from the late 80s and 90s are having a massive resurgence. Some have genuinely excellent lenses. The Contax T2 went from 200 quid to 1,500+ because celebrities started using them. The Olympus MJU-II is the one to find in charity shops.

Icons: Contax T2, Olympus MJU-II, Ricoh GR1, Yashica T4, Nikon L35AF

Medium & Large Format

Medium format uses 120 roll film for negatives from 6x4.5cm up to 6x17cm. The detail is extraordinary. Large format uses individual sheets of film (4x5", 5x7", 8x10") loaded into holders. Ansel Adams' landscapes were shot on large format. Slow, deliberate, and the results are unlike anything digital can touch.

Icons: Hasselblad 500C, Mamiya RB67, Graflex Speed Graphic, Sinar, Toyo

35mm Film

The standard. 24x36mm frame on 135 cartridges. Oskar Barnack invented the format at Leitz in 1913 when he built the Ur-Leica to test 35mm cinema film. It became the world's most popular format. 36 exposures per roll. Cheap, available everywhere, and thousands of cameras shoot it.

Stocks to try: Kodak Portra 400, Ilford HP5+, Fuji Superia 400, Kodak Gold 200, Cinestill 800T

120 / Medium Format Film

Roll film on a paper-backed spool. No cartridge. The negative is 2-4 times larger than 35mm depending on the camera format (6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9). More detail, shallower depth of field, more tonal range. The quality jump from 35mm to medium format is like going from DVD to 4K.

Stocks: Kodak Portra 160, Ilford Delta 100, Fuji Provia 100F, Kodak Ektar 100

Black & White

The soul of photography. B&W strips away colour and leaves you with light, shadow, form, and texture. Easy to develop at home with basic chemicals: developer, stop bath, fixer. A changing bag, a tank, and a thermometer is all you need. Ilford HP5+ pushed to 1600 is the look. Tri-X 400 is the American classic. Develop in Rodinal for grain, in XTOL for smoothness.

Classics: Ilford HP5+ 400, Kodak Tri-X 400, Ilford FP4+ 125, Fomapan 400

Slide / Reversal Film

E-6 process. Produces a positive transparency instead of a negative. Hold a Velvia slide up to the light and the colours glow like stained glass. Zero margin for exposure error — nail it or lose it. Fuji Velvia 50 has the most saturated colours in any photographic medium. Provia 100F for accuracy. Ektachrome for warmth.

Stocks: Fuji Velvia 50, Fuji Provia 100F, Kodak Ektachrome E100

Instant Film

Polaroid invented it. Fuji Instax perfected the modern version. The magic of watching an image appear in your hands never gets old. Instax Mini is the gateway. Instax Wide for bigger prints. Original Polaroid 600 and SX-70 film is being made again by Polaroid (formerly The Impossible Project).

Formats: Fuji Instax Mini, Fuji Instax Wide, Polaroid 600, Polaroid i-Type

The Exposure Triangle

Aperture (f-stop) controls depth of field: f/1.4 = dreamy blur, f/16 = everything sharp. Shutter Speed controls motion: 1/1000 freezes, 1/30 shows blur. ISO/ASA is your film speed: 100 = fine grain daylight, 400 = versatile, 1600+ = low light but grainy. These three work together. Change one, compensate with another. Once you feel it intuitively, you're a photographer.

Zone System (Ansel Adams)

Adams and Fred Archer created a system of 11 zones from pure black (Zone 0) to pure white (Zone X). Meter the shadows, place them in Zone III, and develop to control the highlights. "Expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights." The zone system is why Adams' prints have detail from the deepest shadows to the brightest peaks. It works with any camera and any film.

Darkroom Printing

Enlarger, easel, timer, three trays (developer, stop, fix), safelight. Put the negative in the enlarger, focus the image on the baseboard, expose the paper, then watch the image appear in the developer tray under red light. That moment never stops being magical. Dodging (blocking light to lighten areas) and burning (adding light to darken areas) are where craft becomes art.

Street Photography

Zone focus your lens at f/8, set a distance of about 3 metres, and use a fast enough shutter speed. Now you don't need to focus at all — just lift, frame, and shoot. Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment" method. A 35mm or 50mm lens on a small camera. Shoot from the hip if you're nervous. The best street photos are the ones where you weren't noticed.

Home Development

You need: a developing tank, a changing bag (or a completely dark room), film reels, developer, stop bath, and fixer. B&W is easy to start with. Load the film onto the reel in the dark, seal the tank, then everything else happens in daylight. Developer (5-12 mins depending on stock and developer), stop bath (30 secs), fixer (5 mins), wash (10 mins), hang to dry. The whole process takes about 30 minutes and costs pennies per roll.

Composition

Rule of thirds is a starting point, not a law. Leading lines draw the eye through the frame. Negative space gives the subject room to breathe. Frames within frames add depth. But the best composition advice: shoot a lot of film, look at a lot of photographs, and trust your eye. Edward Weston said "Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk."

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Frequently Asked

Common questions from the darkroom doorstep

I found an old camera — is it worth anything?+

It depends enormously on what it is. Common SLRs from the 80s-90s (Canon EOS, Minolta Dynax, Pentax MZ) are usually 20-50 quid. Classic manual SLRs like the Canon AE-1, Nikon FM2, or Olympus OM-1 run 80-250 quid depending on condition. Rangefinders are where it gets spicy — a Leica M6 will fetch 1,500-2,500 quid easily. Compacts like the Contax T2 or Olympus MJU-II have exploded in value. The lens matters as much as the body — sometimes more. Snap a photo and I'll give you a proper valuation. Or check sold prices on eBay for the most accurate market data.

Browse Camera Price Guides on Amazon

What's the best camera for a beginner shooting film?+

The Canon AE-1 or AE-1 Program. Cheap (60-120 quid), absolutely bomb-proof, massive lens selection (FD mount), and it has aperture-priority auto exposure so you can learn one thing at a time. The Pentax K1000 is the other classic choice — fully manual, no batteries needed for the shutter (only the meter), built like a brick. If you want something lighter, the Olympus OM-1 or OM-10 are gorgeous little cameras. Don't overthink it. The best first camera is the one you'll actually carry and shoot with.

Search Canon AE-1 on Amazon

Can I still get film developed?+

Absolutely. It's easier than you'd think. Boots and Max Spielmann still do C-41 colour processing in most UK branches. For better quality, use a mail-order lab: AG Photolab (Birmingham, excellent and fast), Carmencita Film Lab (Valencia, beautiful scans), or take7 (London). B&W and slide (E-6) processing is more specialist — mail-order is usually the way. Or develop at home — it's genuinely easy and enormously satisfying, especially black and white. A basic development kit costs about 50 quid and processes dozens of rolls.

Browse Film Developing Kits

What film should I buy?+

For colour: Kodak Gold 200 is cheap and cheerful with warm tones. Kodak Portra 400 is the portrait king — creamy skin tones, incredible latitude. Fuji Superia 400 is sharp and slightly cool-toned. For B&W: Ilford HP5+ 400 is versatile, pushes beautifully to 1600, and is genuinely forgiving. Kodak Tri-X 400 is the American classic — punchy contrast and gorgeous grain. For slide: Fuji Velvia 50 if you want saturated landscapes, Provia 100F for accurate colours. Start with a couple of rolls of Kodak Gold — it's 6-8 quid a roll and the results are lovely.

Buy Kodak Portra 400 on Amazon

My camera's shutter is stuck — can it be fixed?+

Usually, yes. The most common issue with old cameras is dried lubricants. Shutters get sluggish or stick because the oils have gummed up over decades of sitting in a cupboard. A CLA (Clean, Lubricate, Adjust) from a camera technician will sort most mechanical shutters. For simple leaf shutters, a tiny drop of lighter fluid (naphtha) on the blades can free them up — but this is temporary and you should get a proper CLA. In the UK, look for specialist repairers: PPP Cameras, Miles Whitehead, or Newton Ellis. Expect to pay 60-150 quid for a CLA depending on the camera. It's almost always worth it for a quality body.

Camera Repair Tool Kits

Is film photography actually better than digital?+

Different, not better. Digital is technically superior in almost every measurable way — resolution, dynamic range, ISO performance, convenience. But film has something digital can't replicate: the process. You've got 36 frames. Each one costs money. So you slow down. You compose more carefully. You think before you shoot. And the grain, the colour science baked into the emulsion, the highlight roll-off — there's a character to film that people spend hours trying to fake in Lightroom. Plus, there's no screen to chimp at. You shoot, you move on, you find out what you got when the lab sends the scans. That uncertainty is half the magic.

How do I know if a lens is any good?+

Look at the glass. Hold it up to the light and look through from both ends. Haze (a milky fog) reduces contrast. Fungus (branch-like patterns) can spread and etch the coatings. Dust inside is usually cosmetic and doesn't affect images unless it's severe. Check the aperture blades — they should snap open and closed cleanly, not stick or leave oil marks. Turn the focus ring: smooth and damped, or dry and gritty? Zoom should be firm, not loose. The real test is shooting a roll through it — but for a quick check, those basics will tell you if it's worth the price. Prime lenses (fixed focal length) are generally sharper than zooms, especially vintage ones.

Browse Vintage Lenses on Amazon

What does CLA mean?+

Clean, Lubricate, Adjust. It's the standard service for mechanical cameras. The technician strips the camera down, cleans old lubricants and debris, re-lubricates with modern synthetic oils, calibrates the shutter speeds across the range (checking them with an electronic tester), adjusts the meter if applicable, and checks the film transport. Think of it like a service on a classic car. A properly CLA'd camera from the 1970s will be as accurate as the day it was made. It's the single best investment you can make in a vintage camera.

Where can I buy film cameras in the UK?+

Charity shops are still the best hunting ground — cameras turn up regularly and most volunteers don't know what they've got. eBay is the biggest marketplace (filter by "sold" to see real prices). Ffordes in Inverness has a huge online stock of tested cameras. MPB for graded used gear. London Camera Exchange has branches nationwide. Camera fairs (like Photographica in London) are excellent for handled inspection. Facebook Marketplace and local selling groups. And of course, car boot sales — that's where the real finds happen. Always test the shutter, check the light seals, and inspect the lens before you buy.

Browse Film Cameras on Amazon

How do I store film properly?+

Keep unexposed film in the fridge — not the freezer (condensation issues). Let it come to room temperature for an hour before loading. Keep it in the original packaging or a sealed ziplock bag. Away from heat, humidity, and X-rays (though modern airport scanners up to ISO 800 are usually fine — ask for hand inspection for fast film). Exposed but undeveloped film: process it soon. The latent image degrades over time, especially in heat. Colour negative is more forgiving than slide film. Once developed, store negatives in archival sleeves in a cool, dry place. Properly stored negatives will last a century or more.

Archival Negative Sleeves on Amazon

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