How do I practice without a lot of $

[newbie from Ohio]

I love the pictures in your web site but I have a question. My dad let me use an old camera that he had for a long time. It says Pentax K1000 on it. I want to take some pictures with it but I dont know how to use it. I figurred out how to put the film in I think and shot a roll but the pictures came back mostley white. I didnt touch any of the dials. Theres one on top with a bunch of numbers on it and one on the front of the camera. I think its on the lense. I asked my dad but he said someone gave it to him and he dosent know either. I looked for a web site that I could leard but I just got confused. They talk about shut speed and aberter but I dont know what those things are. Can any one help me? Thanks a bunch.

[Rick Baker]

Well, there is probably a dial for film speed and shutter speed and a dial for aperture(f-stop). Film speed is a measure of a film's sensitivity to light. The higher the number(usually called ASA or ISO), the more sensitive to light the film is. High speed film is used for situations in which there is low light and/or the subject(s) are moving fast. Low speed film is good for situations in which there is a lot of light(sunny day) and/or the subject is still. Also, the higher the speed, the more grainy the photo will look. Set the dial for film speed to match the film you are using. The film speed settings are probably on the shutter speed dial on top of the camera. For an optimum photograph, you need to learn how to adjust the aperture(f-stop) and shutter speed for each situation. Aperture is a measure of the size of the opening letting in light usually referred to on a camera as f-stop or f-number. The higher the number, the smaller the size of the opening, or aperture, letting in light. The aperture dial should be in front on the lens. Next, there is shutter speed. This is a measure of how long the shutter stays open to let in light. Typical setting are 1,2,4,8,15,30,60,125,250,500... 1 meaning the shutter stays open for 1 second, all the other setting are 1/ the number of a second. So if you were to set you shutter speed to 250, the shutter would stay open for 1/250 of a second. Usually there is a B setting too. This is called "bulb" and it allows you to hold the shutter open for as long as you press the shutter release. You can use different combinations of shutter speed/aperture to acheive different effects and to get an optimum photograph.

[Sepia]

Just incase you think that using older equipment means that photographs won't be as good as on a new camera, this is the equipment I used to take a-level photography.
# http://www.scribblers-inc.ic24.net/camera/index.htm

[Georgews_old]

Your Pentax K1000 is a good basic learner (or even more) camera. You need to check the light meter in it and use that to set the exposure for your photos. If the light meter does not work you can guestimate. On a normal sunny day with 100ASA film try a shutter speed (round dial on top) of 1/60th and and aperture (ring around lens with numbers such as 2.8, 5.6, 8 - - 16) set at F11. If the day is darker try f8 or f5.6 (the smaller the number the larger the aperture and the more light gets too your film. If very bright you could go to a faster shutter speed of 125th etc.
If you use a faster film use either a faster shutter speed or a smaller aperture.
Buy a couple of rolls of nearly dated film, which shouldbe on sale price, and take a series of photos of the same thing adjusting the shutter an aperture. Put a piece of cardboard somewhere in the photo with the settings written on it for each photo so you can see the result when you get your prints.
Remember to focus properly also otherwise they will be all blurry!!
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George

[Brandon -B-]

Hello. what is the best (cheapest) way to get your film developed. when I shoot film I usually only want 1 or 2 of the 25 pictures that I took. is there a way of putting them on a sheet and then only choosing the two that I want to make prints out of? What is the best way to get them on the computer?

[Jim Ven]

Just incase you think that using older equipment means that photographs won't be as good as on a new camera, this is the equipment I used to take a-level photography.
# http://www.scribblers-inc.ic24.net/camera/index.htm

Amen to that Sepia! I always say, Lean to see then worry about the camera.
The good thing about digital cameras is you can take as many pictures as you want without worrying about film and development cost. It is hard to beat the instant feedback and what the camera was set to when you took the picture. Big plus for digital


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Jim Venner
Every Photo is a moment in TIME, never to be repeated.

http://www.pbase.com/jimven/galleries