10%

Starting at Film

First Two Rolls with the Minolta X-700

By Danica Eliana Ferino

October 25^th, 2017

Minolta X-700

I bought my Minolta X-700 from eBay last September. This is my first film SLR.

I initially bought another camera from a local store - a Canon AE-1 - but there was some problem with the courier. I was really heartbroken with that. Fortunately, this one arrived safely and is almost in mint condition. I also bought another camera, a rangefinder Yashica Electro 35 GSN, also from eBay (I won the bidding for it!). Unfortunately, someone else claimed it at the post office. But I digress; that's already another story to tell some other time. I guess I'm not really that lucky with "old" cameras.

But looking at it from another perspective, I'm stuck with the good-looking and awesome Minolta X-700 and I can focus more on learning from it.

And with that, here are some photos from my first two rolls (developed by Sunny16 Lab).

Fuji C200

When I initally started shooting with this camera, I picked the cheapest film I got to experiment with. At that time I was thinking that it was just a test roll. And then I got lazy. I found myself shooting carelessly with the first few frames.

First frame is just some random stuff. But that bokeh! I never thought that it would be this good when I took this photo.

A small part of me wanted to shoot the entire roll in one go so I can have it developed already and see the results. I was getting lazy and impatient. I forgot to think.

After a while, I realized what I was doing. I slowed down then. I may not know if the camera works right but I feel like I have to give my photos some thought as I shoot along. If I've gone through the entire roll in the same way I started, I wouldn't have appreciated the photos and the camera like I do now.

The Minolta is just awesome. The stock lens, 50mm F1.7, is pretty good. The bokeh is fantastic.

I wish there's still split prism for manual focusing in modern cameras. I find it easier to use.

I'm really trying my best here not to compare film with digital photography. It is very different. And the photos also feel different. It is not comparable. But just allow me this one thought:

There are some articles that say you learn more from film photography as opposed to digital photography. That is true for me. With a DSLR or mirrorless camera, I just look at the preview everytime I take a photo. I don't feel any pressure to really do good the next time I push the shutter. But with film, I feel compelled to try my best with every shot because every single one matters. And that makes every photo more personal. The effort and thought you exert with every pull of the lever and the push of the shutter - they engage you and unconsiously, you form a connection with every frame.

Agfa Vista 400

I was a bit partial before to Agfa films because I already took some photos with an Agfa LeBox. It's only a film camera but I liked the colors it produced.

I was expecting that the Fuji C200 would have more grain than the Agfa Vista 400. I'm still not sure how different the film stocks are from each other but I am excited to try and learn more.

The following photos are taken at Intramuros (Manila Cathedral and Casa Manila).

The shadows and the grain from the Agfa Vista 400 feel so nice.

Overall, I loved the results from the Minolta X-700. It is one awesome camera and I would definitely use it often. I just finished another roll of film with it and I am excited to see the results. And as a before-the-year-ends resolution, I promise to try and exert more conscious effort on how I take my photos - not just with film, but with every camera I have at the moment.