wingfilm Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 HI. I'm new to filmmaking.. In fact I haven't purchased my camera yet. I wanted to start with 16mm and work my way up before going to digital. i need suggestions on affordable equipment to buy, and how to go about film developing and so forth.. i've been looking at the krasnogorsk 3 as i hear it's a good starter camera. but how difficult is it to get this film developed and what should i look out for.. Also, so far as digital, what suggestions does anyone have. thanks g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Downes Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 For real ease of use, you also might want to look at a used Super8 camera, and shoot with kodachrome. Kodak sells Super8 kodachrome with a prepaid mailer, making developing much less a headache. Also, Super8 comes pre-loaded into a magazine, so you get to worry more about getting results in shooting than weither you'd loaded the camera right. Just an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Tanner Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 In my opinion you have it backwards. If I were you I would buy a digital camera first and worry about film later. Get yourself an inexpensive DV or miniDV camera and learn how to be a filmmaker. Learn how to cover scenes from multiple angles. Learn how to tell a story on a visual medium. Learn how to frame your shots. Get comfortable executing difficult camera moves. Practice shooting hand-held (with any digital image stabilizers turned off). Learn how to light scenes with the items found around your home (like bed sheets, tin foil, mechanics work lights, flashlights, lamps and lets not forget about "controlling" the light that the sun provides). Your choice of medium is the least important thing at your stage. Use your money wisely don't just jump into film...it will end up being way to expensive to learn with a film camera. I forget whose quote this is but it is a quote to live by (actually I'll paraphrase it): If you can't light, it doesn't matter what format you shoot. Good luck and have fun! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Michael Nash Posted June 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted June 9, 2004 In my opinion you have it backwards. -- what he said. Consumer digital video is cheaper and easier to work with for a beginner. The cost of film will prevent you from experimenting and learning the craft. Then when you're ready to shoot something on film for its own unique look, you'll be better prepared with the basics of visual storytelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Belics Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 You can do better than that. Go to a photography store and get a used 35mm still film camera with the best lens you can afford. For less than $300 my local shop had some very, very nice Canons on sale, including lens. It was easy to stay under $200 for others. Then read about art and composition and practice, practice, practice. Shooting 3 rolls on a weekend and developing at WalMart will cost you $24 total, for one hour eveloping. Mostly, play with lighting and composition. Then move up to filters. Shoot as often as you can and as many rolls as you can. You can shoot and develop 3 rolls every weekend for two years and still not reach the price of an XL1 vidjo camera. You will have the added benefit of knowing more than any of your vidjo compadres. You can even shoot movie film with real 35mm Kodak film from rgblabs.com. Or use any kind of slide film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Downes Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Ritz camera special deals on 35mm SLR's: Canon Rebel G w/o lens Canon Rebel Gii w/ lens. Minolta Maxxum 3 w/ Lens Minolta Maxxum 50 w/ lens Pentax w/ Lens Ritz also has the Sigma Sd7 w/ 2 lens kit for $289.99, but not on the online site. Hey, my day job is at Ritz, gotta pitch the product, tee hee. But seriously, Ritz/Wolf camera have the best prices on new stock anywhere, they buy in quantity that no other chain can (having 1400 stores nationwide makes them twice the size of most electronics stores). And with their narrow focus, they will buy huge volumes of stock, to support the sheer number of stores. End result, Ritz/Wolf Cameras have the best prices, and if you can find a better deal from a brick-and-mortar, they'll match it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeltFedLeadHead Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 I was in the same boat as you back in college, so I bought a Kras-3 16mm to start with, but it ended up holding me back a great deal since film and processing is extremely expensive, I couldn't shoot as much as I needed to. So, 4 years later,I just got a GL-2 DV camera from Canon, and I've been able to shoot and learn much more in a shorter amount of time because of the immediacy of the medium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Downes Posted July 13, 2004 Share Posted July 13, 2004 Even a cheap 3rd hand Hi8 or SVHS camera will give you the experience you need. Won't get you work, mind you, but will at least get you practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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