{"id":32461,"date":"2026-03-18T08:51:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T07:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=32461"},"modified":"2026-03-18T08:51:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T07:51:04","slug":"analogue-adventures-part-50-what-i-learned-from-shooting-film-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/analogue-adventures-part-50-what-i-learned-from-shooting-film-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Analogue Adventures – Part 50: What I learned from Shooting Film (so far)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h2>\n
\"ms-optics
Leica M6 | 200T | MS-Optics 24mm 2.0 Aporia | f\/8.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In late 2021 I decided to buy an analogue camera and shoot some film, an experiment whose results I constantly shared with you. In the meantime I exposed around 60 films, which I all had developed and scanned and many of these pictures we also discussed afterwards. This is is already the 50th part of this series, so I thought it might be time for an interim conclusion.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind I am only talking about 35mm film here.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Digital gives better results with less effort<\/h2>\n

Let’s first talk about the elephant in the room: image quality. This could not be simpler actually: you will get much better image quality shooting digital and also get there with less effort.<\/p>\n

\"kodak
Leica M6 | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 40mm 1.4 MC | f\/2.0 | Portra 800 +1 | ECN-2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

During day time and under flat light this will not be that obvious, but in high contrast scenes, during the blue hour or indoors, the differences can be huge – and this is without even taking things like HDR editing into account.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Minolta CLE | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 40mm 1.4 MC | f\/1.4 | 500T +1 | ECN-2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is more, thanks to their “what you see is what you get” liveview and electronic viewfinders, it is also much easier to get the results you are looking for with a digital camera.<\/p>\n

2. Dynamic range is limited<\/h2>\n
\"fuji
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 | f\/8.0 | Fuji X-Tra 400 ECN-2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Color negative film actually captures more details in the highlights than the shadows, so you are less likely to blow out the highlights there, which can actually lead to a more appealing look in some high contrast scenes.<\/p>\n

\"review
Leica M6 | SLRmagic 50mm 0.95 Hyperprime | f\/0.95 | Fujichrome Velvia 50 | E-6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Slide film behaves more like digital here and I generally found those to be a bit lacking when it comes to their dynamic range. The exception is Fujichrome Velvia 50, which I found to have a surprisingly wide dynamic range. Not as good as recent digital cameras of course, but better than most other films.<\/p>\n

3. Film is expensive<\/h2>\n

Compared to two to three decades ago not a lof of different films are available these days and when you start to look at expired films that were popular, prices can get crazy fast. I would love to shoot a roll of original Kodak Aerochrome, but am I willing to pay over 100 bucks for a roll of 36 exposures? Not really.<\/p>\n

\"fuji
Nikon F80 | Provia 400F | Nikon AF-S 20mm 1.8G<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Film and high quality scanning has generally become expensive, so you are easily looking at 50 cents to 1 \u20ac per picture. With home development and scanning you can save some money, depending on how much time you want to invest.<\/p>\n

Let’s say each roll cost me 25 \u20ac for the film and development (and often it was more than that) that would be 1.500 \u20ac for those 60 films. You can buy a nice digital fullframe camera for that.<\/p>\n

\"laowa
Leica M6 | Laowa 15mm 2.0 M | f\/2.0 | 500T | Push +1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now for me there is the additional benefit of creating content for this blog, which is always a good excuse to buy another roll.<\/p>\n

4. Know your favorite focal lengths<\/h2>\n

Before deciding what analogue camera to buy you should know which focal lengths you want to use the most. <\/p>\n

\"kodak
Minolta CLE | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 35mm 1.2 III | f\/1.2 | Kodak Gold 200 ECN-2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The M-mount rangefinder cameras work best with lenses from 28 to 75mm. Above that focusing and framing starts to get difficult, below that an external finder will often be needed. A big benefit of the M-mount is that plenty of manufacturers still release new high performance lenses for it.<\/p>\n

\"ektachrome
Nikon F80 | Ektachrome 100 | Tokina 17mm 3.5 AF AT-X Pro | f\/11<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SLRs also work well with longer focal lengths and you can frame properly with ultra wide angle lenses. Focusing with ultra wide lenses or fast wide angle lenses can be more difficult compared to the rangefinder camreas though. In most cases you are also stuck with older lenses, so before committing to a Canon FD or Minolta SR camera be sure the lenses you want to use are actually available (and affordable) for these camera systems. <\/p>\n

5. Film is magic<\/h2>\n

Having read the previous four points, you might not be stoked to give film a(nother) chance, but these things are not enough to paint the complete picture.<\/p>\n

\"fuji
Minolta CLE | Voigtl\u00e4nder VM 40mm 1.4 | f\/2.8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In times of ubiquitous digital photography and Ai enhanced processing<\/a> the raw experience of analogue film can be a refreshing change: the colors come out likable without a lot of effort in post (if you picked the right film) and you will probably put more thought into the capturing process of every single picture. There is also something wildly satisfying to having taken a shot with a shutter speed you know is too slow and then seeing two weeks later it actually came out perfect.<\/p>\n

\"Silbersalz
Nikon F80 | Silbersalz 125T | ECN-2 | Nikon AF-S 28mm 1.4E | f\/1.4 | 1\/8s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I also know for a fact this series inspired many of you (including my colleague Martin) to try out analogue photography (again), which is probably the highest praise imaginable it could possibly receive.<\/p>\n

\"agfa
Leica M6 | MS-Optics 35mm 1.4 Apoqualia | f\/11 | Agfa Vista 200<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Analogue Adventures will continue.<\/em><\/p>\n

Further reading<\/h2>\n