Members bikehorn Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 I just got back from a two week trip to India and for the first time I made sure to photo-document parts of it. I borrowed my brother's(originally my dad's) Minolta XG-1 SLR with MD 50mm lens, bought new in 1981. Prior to this, I had never used a manual focus, manual aperture camera. It does have aperture-priority auto-exposure though, which made life a lot easier, and which I used for most of the shots. After my brother became its "owner" he added an MD 70-210mm telephoto lens, a bunch of filters and a new bag. I unfortunately don't have my high-res scans of the photos I took with me right now(I left the CD at my parents' house ) but I have a few crappy compressed versions of those scans. Even the high-res scans look like crap compared to the prints. Wow. I don't care WHAT people say about how good digital photography is, film cameras are awesome. Maybe next week when I get back to my parents' place I can pick up the CD and post high res versions here. I also decided I wanted a camera of my own, and after some shopping around it looks like I'm picking up another Minolta, an XG-9 for $60 with a teleconverter and three lenses including a telephoto. Here's a few I got with the XG-1. A Royal Enfield Bullet 350. Classiest bike ever. One of my grandfather's hunting trophies from about 1953, having a staring match with me. A horse drawn carriage originally used by royalty. Guest compound in a palace I visited. Cute little kid living in my apartment building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Captain Fathead Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Those look really nice... What were you shooting on? I don't have that much experience shooting color, but I really dig the tones your getting out of that thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Where in India did you go? It's very possible that I might be going to Mumbai or Chennai in the near future. I'm not sure how I feel about that just yet. It would be for work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 If you liked Kodacolor, try Kodachrome 64 slide. It'll blow you away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Captain Fathead Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Where in India did you go? It's very possible that I might be going to Mumbai or Chennai in the near future. I'm not sure how I feel about that just yet. It would be for work... My gf's uncle is the police commissioner of Chennai. If you go, I'm sure she could recommend some hot spots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 My gf's uncle is the police commissioner of Chennai. If you go, I'm sure she could recommend some hot spots. The same gf that I sorta know? I'll just mention Sid's name!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goofball Jones Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 If you liked Kodacolor, try Kodachrome 64 slide. It'll blow you away. Unfortunately, the Kodachrome of today isn't the original Kodachrome of 30 years ago. The process and all has changed dramatically and much of Kodachrome has been discontinued due to the processing of it. As far as I know, there is only one K-14 processor in the entire country left. It's not a simple process like the E-6 processors are. Which is a shame because Kodachrome really is a beautiful thing. But honestly, most chemical processes are dying out due to the proliferation of digital photography. I was a professional film photographer for 30+ years and went kicking and screaming into the digital world. But there's just no going back. The only thing I'm not satisfied with the digital process is the storage of "negatives". One constantly has to be on top of the digital storage of your camera RAW files. You can't just throw them on a CD and hope for the best. CD as we know now only has a life span of 20 or so years....that is if there will be things to actually read something 20 years from now. But say 15 years from now you try to head off that and put all of those CD's or DVD's you stored everything on to a new medium...hoping that it will keep. The photographer is responsible for the process of constantly updating the storage media of his original shots. Contrast that with my film negatives. I have stuff going back 35 years that are stored in a box and perfectly fine today as when I shot them 35 years ago. I didn't have to update anything. Yes, I took care not to store them in a bad environment, but that's it. There are negatives that are around shot 150 years ago that anyone can take and make a contact print of or enlargement. Even if we invent some sort of permanent digital storage, are we going to be able to even read that storage 150 or 200 years from now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bikehorn Posted January 14, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Thanks guys. I was using basically whatever I could get. I left here with a 24-shot roll of Kodacolor 200(pigeon, kid with sunglasses), but for the rest of the trip I used Konica VX 100 and Kodacolor 100. I wanted Agfa just because the box was orange, but I couldn't find any. I also bought a roll of Fuji Superia 200 but never got to use it. I haven't shot enough photos to have a preference so I wanted to use as many brands as I could to get a feel for what they can do. guitargod: I went to Hyderabad, which is in the south but not nearly so far south as Madras, also known as Chennai. My parents used to live in Bombay(Mumbai) in the early 70's while my dad was in medical school. The traffic and population density in Bombay will completely shatter your mind. New York has nothing on Bombay. Take this and the air quality into consideration if you want to work there....although it's the most 'westernised' of big Indian cities so that might be a plus for you. Madras is very different...the English people speak there is better for one thing as it was historically the British capital in India. It's very hot(all the time) and being on the coast it's very humid(but so is Bombay). Some say it's deteriorated since the 70's. Before you commit to being there for a long time, I would see if you can get a temporary assignment there for a while to see if you like it. It's not Kansas. Madras also happens to be where Royal Enfields are built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Unfortunately, the Kodachrome of today isn't the original Kodachrome of 30 years ago. The process and all has changed dramatically and much of Kodachrome has been discontinued due to the processing of it. As far as I know, there is only one K-14 processor in the entire country left. It's not a simple process like the E-6 processors are. Which is a shame because Kodachrome really is a beautiful thing. But honestly, most chemical processes are dying out due to the proliferation of digital photography. I was a professional film photographer for 30+ years and went kicking and screaming into the digital world. But there's just no going back. The only thing I'm not satisfied with the digital process is the storage of "negatives". One constantly has to be on top of the digital storage of your camera RAW files. You can't just throw them on a CD and hope for the best. CD as we know now only has a life span of 20 or so years....that is if there will be things to actually read something 20 years from now. But say 15 years from now you try to head off that and put all of those CD's or DVD's you stored everything on to a new medium...hoping that it will keep. The photographer is responsible for the process of constantly updating the storage media of his original shots.Contrast that with my film negatives. I have stuff going back 35 years that are stored in a box and perfectly fine today as when I shot them 35 years ago. I didn't have to update anything. Yes, I took care not to store them in a bad environment, but that's it. There are negatives that are around shot 150 years ago that anyone can take and make a contact print of or enlargement. Even if we invent some sort of permanent digital storage, are we going to be able to even read that storage 150 or 200 years from now? I hear ya'. I use to do my own E6 as a hobbyist and still have all the stuff. After I stopped doing the E6 I switched completely to Kodachrome. I have over 2000 slides in Ekta/Koda. In high school (1973-74) I worked in a big studio/lab/graphics center and helped with the conversion from C22 to C41. They had three Hills film processors. I'd like to show my daughter how film/photos use to be done. I better do it quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Awesome pics! I have a '79 Nikon EM SLR that I got off my brothers girlfriend. I haven't gotten round to using it (or figuring out how ). But it sure looks like it could be a lot of fun. I've been using a digital camera for years so it might take a bit of adjusting. It interests me a lot though. I have several different lenses too, pretty cool. The zoom lense is reaaaallllyyyy long, probably about 8inches long extended? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hawkeye Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Nice pics, and as you were able to experience, 35mm rocks. I still have a good SLR (the highly collectible Minolta XK professional 35mm) and a bunch of lenses. The rare one is my Vivitar rectilinear 17mm ultra-wide angle. I have to admit though, the convenience of editing makes me use my Canon G9 a lot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 300D & 20D here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Ahhhhhhhhhh..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bikehorn Posted January 14, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Damn rummy, that is a wicked shot. The colours are so vivid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goofball Jones Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Canon film and digital stuff here...my cat tolerates me taking pictures of her: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 ^^^^^^^^^ Very good!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 guitargod: I went to Hyderabad, which is in the south but not nearly so far south as Madras, also known as Chennai. My parents used to live in Bombay(Mumbai) in the early 70's while my dad was in medical school. The traffic and population density in Bombay will completely shatter your mind. New York has nothing on Bombay. Take this and the air quality into consideration if you want to work there....although it's the most 'westernised' of big Indian cities so that might be a plus for you. Madras is very different...the English people speak there is better for one thing as it was historically the British capital in India. It's very hot(all the time) and being on the coast it's very humid(but so is Bombay). Some say it's deteriorated since the 70's. Before you commit to being there for a long time, I would see if you can get a temporary assignment there for a while to see if you like it. It's not Kansas. Madras also happens to be where Royal Enfields are built. It would be a temp thing...pretty much just for training. A few months tops. I have the option of going anywhere I want in the world, but I think I'll stick with the US. Nothing is final either...it's just being tossed around. One of my co-workers was pretty much signed and ready to go, but they keep pushing it back to the point that she's not even sure she is going any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bikehorn Posted January 14, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 It would be a temp thing...pretty much just for training. A few months tops. I have the option of going anywhere I want in the world, but I think I'll stick with the US. Nothing is final either...it's just being tossed around. One of my co-workers was pretty much signed and ready to go, but they keep pushing it back to the point that she's not even sure she is going any more. I would say go for it. India is a unique place, and it might take your mind off of recent...happenings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Goofball Jones Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 I would say go for it. India is a unique place, and it might take your mind off of recent...happenings. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Damn rummy, that is a wicked shot. The colours are so vivid. Thanks! As it turns out, this thread is for film photography. I took that with my digital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bikehorn Posted January 14, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Thanks! As it turns out, this thread is for film photography. I took that with my digital. Er, uh, I mean...damn, that photo looks terrible...what washed out colours and poor focusing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 82Daion Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 My dad has almost every type of film camera imaginable-we've got Nikon SLR's going back to the original F, several Mamiya medium-formats, and god knows what else. Not to mention the darkroom in the basement. I haven't shot with film in a long time, but I have some film and my trusty Nikon FE down at school with me, so I might take some time this quarter (especially if it snows) to do some film work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ModmanQ6 Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 My daughter is taking photography in school and using my old Canon AE-1 with black and white film. It's pretty cool watching her go through the whole process and seeing the results in her negatives, proofs and positives... We were looking at trying to find more lenses for the camera, but were told that Kodak is discontinuing making color film next year, and Fuji will be the only producer. B&W will still be made by Ectachrome and Fuji, but not to expect to find any in say 10-15 years unless it's through rare special order distributors. Film developing will also get rarer and rarer... We'll see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted January 14, 2008 Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 Wow that sucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bikehorn Posted January 14, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2008 My daughter is taking photography in school and using my old Canon AE-1 with black and white film. It's pretty cool watching her go through the whole process and seeing the results in her negatives, proofs and positives... We were looking at trying to find more lenses for the camera, but were told that Kodak is discontinuing making color film next year, and Fuji will be the only producer. B&W will still be made by Ectachrome and Fuji, but not to expect to find any in say 10-15 years unless it's through rare special order distributors. Film developing will also get rarer and rarer... We'll see... I was looking for a Canon AE-1 or a Pentax ME Super, but then I came across this guy selling the XG-9 and I figured I could trade around lenses and the like with my brother since his camera is basically the same body. It's sad about the state of film. I hope Fuji continues to make it for a while, I don't want to give up an enjoyable new hobby that I only just got into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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