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Hello,first of all i am sorry for my broken English.I want to learn everything about film cameras-how can i load the film,how can i shoot etc...Of course my budget is not high for 35mm film cameras.So can you recommend me 8mm and 16mm cameras to understand and practise how they work.Thank you.

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The budget is really affected by where you are, if you want to try out Super 8 there are many brands out there, a good source for Super 8 is www.super8data.com, Nizo and Canon seem to be popular, my favourites are the Bauer and Minoltas. If you're thinking of 16mm, which in my recent experiences can be as cheap or even cheaper and easier to work with than Super 8mm. You can hire professional 16mm camera packages, which are quite cheap, or if you want to buy then virtually any camera that takes 100ft loads of film would be work. The Canon Scoopic's are very similar to Super 8 cameras, they are small, compact and easy to use, if you'e after a simple, small and portable camera then any 16mm camera that takes 100ft will be fine. There are lots of older amateur wind up 16mm cameras that still work and can produce great pictures, they are often incredibly cheap to buy too. You need one that can accept lenses, a lot will take C mount lenses and a camera that is for single perf 16mm, which most cameras built after 1950 tend to be anyway, unless they are high speed cameras.

 

Pav

Edited by Pav Deep
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Thanks for your replies,appreciated... I think it is wise to buy 8mm film camera because my budget is limited (max 200US) . 8mm will cost me much less i think,including buying film etc....I will buy everything from international websites.So it must be accessible.And of course i want to find the lenses easily...I am thinking about Krasnogorsk by the way...

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Thanks for your replies,appreciated... I think it is wise to buy 8mm film camera because my budget is limited (max 200US) . 8mm will cost me much less i think,including buying film etc....I will buy everything from international websites.So it must be accessible.And of course i want to find the lenses easily...I am thinking about Krasnogorsk by the way...

 

8mm is usually quite expensive and hard to acquire as it is made as a special order but if you have a good cheap source for it that's fine, you will need to carefully research the full costs however.

 

Super8 has traditionally been the budget option but the cost of it has increased a lot lately. There's still plenty of people making it work however and it is a lot easier to find Super8 stocks than 8mm. There is normally a greater variety of stocks available in Super8 than 8mm too.

 

16mm often works out cheaper than even Super8 these days but it depends on how you are going about things and what you are up to. If you are looking to have your own projector and to shoot reversal for projection than this will be a lot easier in Super8 than in 16mm. If you are looking to shoot colour neg that may work out better in 16mm.

 

Freya

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You should buy a 35mm film (photography) camera and shoot photos in different settings with different techniques.

 

This is the best way to understand how film works and you will also learn the importance of composition and light.

 

Using ebay, you could purchase a Nikon/Canon/Olympus/Minolta manual camera and lens, plus film for less than $150.

 

Processing can be done at a photo-lab, drug store, or by purchasing your own scanner.

 

If you want to learn how to shoot movie film you should take a course and borrow or 'rent' equipment, though many schools are liquidating their film gear so you may be able to find a good deal.

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Hello,first of all i am sorry for my broken English.I want to learn everything about film cameras-how can i load the film,how can i shoot etc...Of course my budget is not high for 35mm film cameras.So can you recommend me 8mm and 16mm cameras to understand and practise how they work.Thank you.

I think the first question should really be where are you based? (which country, city).

If you are based somewhere central I think the best way to actually learn is to go to the nearest rental house that have a super16/35mm cameras and ask if you can learn a bit about the cameras or even work there or help them out for free.

 

Then rent a super16 camera for a weekend and shoot 1 roll of film maybe asking for someone a bit more experienced to give you a hand in the shoot.

 

The reason why I personally not go super8 (I love super8) is because the cameras and film cartridges are not similar to the professional cameras where as super16 cameras resemble much more the way of working in the industry and actually being used to shoot feature films even today.

 

I guess if you're not close to a rental house so your best bet will be super8 after all.

 

It is a good idea to learn more about exposures using a still camera like Luke has suggested but it wouldn't give you the full effect of learning about shooting cinema film IMHO.

 

Learning how to work with film is a great idea in any case!

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Hello again, I am using 35mm slr cameras for a long time including darkroom(developing,printing etc..).But i also want to learn how film cameras work,i mean light measuring,focusing etc...

So i decided to deal with the cheap ones actually.

 

I am living in a city surrounded by only digital cameras.And when i ask somebody like this question above,they call me crazy and say buy Canon 5dMark ii and have fun.So it is

 

difficult.And also renting film cameras like 16 or 35mm is so expensive that i can buy 35mm film camera from ebay.I am thinking to buy Arri iic or moviecam compact for my

 

full lenght movie in the future...So making practise is important before starting my project.

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If you can afford an Arri II-C, go for it. Bear in mind that you will need to purchase lenses, magazines, a motor, etc. Packages which include all of these items are often very expensive, even on ebay. You can purchase a 16mm camera - like the Arri-S or the Bolex - and still learn all the basic photographic principles you would with a 35mm camera. Why purchase something that might not wind up being what you need by the time you begin your production?

 

I own an Arri-S and it is an excellent camera. It is especially good for silent shorts (which is mostly what I do.) And since you are just starting out, you should concentrate on learning visual storytelling. I think it's GREAT you want to learn that on film, but I would go with a less expensive camera system than the II-C or Moviecam.

 

A 16mm camera will serve you just fine.

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