LESSON 67
Film cameras in practice
Loading, metering by hand, counting frames.
IN THIS LESSON
- The film you will use
- In practice: loading 35 mm
- Metering with a handheld meter
- In practice: a routine for each roll
- In practice: after the roll
The film you will use
Most people starting with film shoot 135 film, also called 35 mm: film 35 mm wide in a light-tight metal cassette. Kodak introduced the name 135 in 1934 for still photography, the same year it introduced a daylight-loading single-use cassette. By the late 1960s it had overtaken 120 film to become the most popular size, and it still is. Its 24 by 36 mm frame, with a 2:3 aspect ratio, is the size digital cameras call full frame. A full roll has always been 36 exposures; shorter rolls of 24 and 12 are common. From the 1980s, DX coding on the cassette has let many cameras read the film speed automatically.
In practice: loading 35 mm
This section is working practice. Load in shade, never in direct sun. Open the back, put the cassette in its chamber, and pull the leader across to the take-up spool, hooking it into a slot or under a clip. Wind on with the back open until the sprocket teeth catch both rows of holes and the film lies flat. Close the back and fire and wind two or three blank frames until the counter reads 1. Watch the rewind knob as you wind: if it turns, the film is moving. If it does not, the film is not loaded, and you could shoot a whole roll on nothing.
Metering with a handheld meter
Many older film cameras have no working meter, so photographers carry one. Exposure meters come in two kinds. A reflected-light meter reads the light coming off the scene, like every in-camera meter, and is calibrated for average scenes; a bright scene such as a sunset fools it into underexposure. An incident-light meter measures the light falling on the subject through a diffuser, usually a white dome, so it is not fooled by light or dark subjects. You hold it at the subject, pointing toward the camera, which is not possible for a distant landscape. A spot meter is a reflected-light meter with a very narrow view, typically one degree.
In practice: a routine for each roll
Also practice. Set the film speed on the meter before the first frame, and set it again when you change film. For portraits and close subjects, take an incident reading at the person. For distant scenes, take a reflected reading from something mid-toned, such as grass or a grey road, or meter the sky and the land and choose between them. Write down the settings for each frame in a notebook or a phone note; it is the fastest way to learn. Colour negative film forgives overexposure much more than underexposure, so when unsure, give a little more light. Rewind fully before you open the back.
In practice: after the roll
Also practice. Store exposed film somewhere cool and develop it soon, especially in summer. Lesson 16 shows how to develop black and white film at home, and lesson 18 how to scan the negatives. Keep negatives in archival sleeves, labelled with date and subject, and keep the notebook with them. If a lab develops the film, ask for the negatives back, not only the scans, because the negative is the original. When a roll comes back blank, look at the edges: the maker's edge numbers appear on any developed film, so clear frames with edge numbers mean the film was never exposed, often because it never advanced, while missing edge numbers point to a development fault. Make a contact sheet or a quick scan of every roll, so you can find frames later.
Try it today
- 01Buy one roll of 36-exposure colour negative film and set its speed on the camera or meter.
- 02Load it in shade and check the rewind knob turns as you wind.
- 03Shoot half the roll with incident readings and half with reflected readings.
- 04Write the settings for each frame in a notebook.
- 05After development, compare each frame with its note and see which method worked better.