{"id":31676,"date":"2022-04-02T10:30:22","date_gmt":"2022-04-02T09:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=31676"},"modified":"2023-06-20T11:35:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T10:35:37","slug":"analogue-adventures-part-4-barcelona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/analogue-adventures-part-4-barcelona\/","title":{"rendered":"Analogue Adventures – Part 4: Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n
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Leica M6 with Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 21mm 3.5 and 21mm finder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Luckily the Leica M6 had been fixed<\/a> just in time for the trip to Barcelona, so I was finally able to shoot some film. Let’s have a look how the pictures turned out and what got in the way.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | 200T | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"analogue
Leica M6 | 250D | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/2.8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Leica M6 | 500T | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Leica M6 | 250D | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Traveling with film in 2022<\/h2>\n

I can’t say I ever particularly liked traveling on plane with camera gear, but undeveloped films seem to make things even worse, as the X-ray scanners at airports apparently have the potential to damage those films.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | 250D | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/5.6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now there are varying reports on this topic. Some sources say only (but certainly) the bigger scanners for the checked in luggage will damage film, others say the scanners for carry on bags are fine as long as the sensitivity of the film is less than ISO 800, some sources say the latest TSA CAT scanners for carry on bags will definitely damage film and even the TSA advises to ask for a hand inspection<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | 500T | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 21mm 3.5 | f\/4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now the thing is: I haven’t done a thorough analysis trying different airport scanners with films featuring different sensitivity ratings and then took the same pictures with an “unscanned” film to compare the results and I don’t think anyone except for Kodak – who shares some examples in a 20 years old article<\/a> – has actually ever done that. If you have more scientific information you are as always invited to share it in the comments section.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | 250D | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/5.6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was traveling with films ranging from ISO50 to ISO3200, so was a bit concerned about the more sensitive ones and while I found the Stuttgart Airport Security to be of the more reasonable type I was a bit worried about that in foreign countries – for good reason as I was about to find out.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | Delta 3200 | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 75mm 1.5 | f\/1.5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now in Stuttgart a hand inspection was no problem at all, whereas in Barcelona it was totally out of the question, even after talking to the belt officer’s superior (who admittedly was only able to speak broken English).<\/p>\n

I have been using one of these small Domke film protection bags<\/a> (affiliate link) and again: I haven’t done a with\/without comparison here so I mainly hope it helps, but as it cost as much as two rolls of film it isn’t exactly a huge investment in the first place, so I thought: better safe than sorry.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | 250D | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the thing is, it didn’t end when having left the airport. These days for visiting many sights and attractions having your belongings (especially cameras) x-rayed is mandatory. How strong these scanners are and if they can damage film or not no one will be able to tell you.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | 500T | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sometimes I managed to get a higher sensitivity film from my bag and put it in one of my pockets, but in the end all of my films have been scanned at least once in the lead bag, most additionally one or several times at some attraction without.<\/p>\n

Flexibility<\/h2>\n
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Leica M6 | 250D | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have mostly been using the Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 III<\/a> on the Leica M6<\/a> and the Laowa 9mm 5.6<\/a> as well as the Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 21mm 3.5<\/a> on the Leica M10. I also used the Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 75mm 1.5<\/a> for a handful of shots.<\/p>\n

With a shutter speed range of only 1\/1000s to 1s (+bulb) – and a fixed ISO value determined by the film currently loaded – the exposure range is quite limited compared to digital cameras. So when shooting indoors or during blue hour a fast lens and a higher ISO film are necessary to get fast enough shutter speeds whereas on a sunny day I often used a 4-stop ND filter on the 35mm to be able to shoot at wider apertures.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | 200T | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/2.0 | 4-stop ND<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Films also feature a fixed color temperature (or white balance), so using a film optimized for shooting in sunlight at night may result in very orangey pictures whereas using a film optimized for night shooting during daylight will give your pictures a blue teint. You can make slight white balance alterations to the digital files afterwards though – if you have your negatives scanned.<\/p>\n

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Leica M6 | 250D | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/1.2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nevertheless, the point here is: with a digital camera you can switch between a very wide variety of shooting situations whereas with a film camera (especially a mostly mechanical one) you are way less flexible.<\/p>\n

How did it go?<\/h2>\n
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Leica M6 | 200T | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 | f\/5.6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Leica M6 is a rangefinder camera so you have to deal with all the rangefinder amazingness already outlined in my M10 article<\/a>:<\/p>\n