A bad idea to use slide film for mechanical film camera?

[benjamin_kim2]

<p>I use only mechanical film cameras but I wonder if it's ok to shoot with slide films or not. I have Nikon F2 which has a mechanical shutter instead of electronic shutter but it does not provide accurate shutter speed. Both B&W and Color films are fine but not sure about slide films.</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>I found with well maintained SLR and for shutter speed from 1/125 to the top speed 1/2000 there isn't much advantage of the electronic shutter vs a mechanical one. The reason at those speeds the shutter curtain travel time has major influence on speed accuracy and even electronic shutter camera this speed is determine by spring tension and friction. So there is no reason not to use slide film with a mechanical camera. Besides slide films like Kodachrome was available long before the introduction of the electronically controlled shutter. </p>

[john_tran14]

<p>I used slide films ok with Pentax KX, Nikon FM and Canon EF (whose shutter speeds are also mechanical, unless you go under 1 second)</p>

[glen_h]

<p>Mechanical timed cameras slowly change shutter accuracy. Electronic timed ones pretty much either work or not. There are some known common failure modes for some Canon electronic timed cameras.</p>

<p>With an unknown camera, I hand time it at 1, then increase the speed and see if it seems to follow the expected progression. There is usually a change in sound when focal plane shutters go to a speed slower than the curtain travel time. Shoot a few times at each setting, and decide if they look and sound consistent. </p>

<p>One interesting thing about the F2, or at least F2A. Between 1/60 and 1/125 there is a mark for 1/80, which is the fastest X sync. speed. But even more, the speed adjustment from 1/80 to 1/2000 is continuous. You can set half way, or one third of the way, or anywhere else, between indicated speeds.</p>

<p>You might shoot a roll of negative film first, to be sure that you understand the camera, and trust it's speeds. </p>

<p>I note that you didn't mention aperture. Some older lenses don't close and open fast enough, and can also cause exposure problems. You should be able to see this looking through the back, toward a light source. </p>

[John Farrell]

<p>I used to shoot slides with a Zenit 3m, and a hand held meter. They turned out fine.</p>

[SCL]

<p>I've very successfully shot slide film with mechanical cameras since the late 1950s. I think you're just getting your knickers into a knot. The trick is 1) knowing what your true shutter speeds are at various settings, and 2) understanding metering for slide film is different than for negative film. A couple of years ago I splurged )about $90) and got an electronic shutter speed tester. I use it to test all of my cameras when I get them or when there may be significant changes due to a variety of factors. I don't look for all the speeds on a camera to be on the button, merely to feel comfortable knowing the variances from the indicated speed. If the speeds are uniformly within 1/6 of the indicated speed on the shutter dial...no sweat. Greater than 1/3 stop off and I make manual adjustments when shooting. Another trick I learned long ago is that with slide film it is very easy to over or underexpose, so instead of metering off the shadow area, meter off the bright area...slight underexposure results in more brilliant, saturated colors.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>Yes you can shoot slide film on a mechanical camera. Its been done for decades now.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>Benjamin, you may be overworrying the issue. But if you will lose sleep over it then have your camera clean lubed and adjusted and have them set the timing. It may never be "perfect" but it will work fine as it has for many photographers over the years. Or you can just shoot a roll, keep track of you exposure information and compare with your results. If over or under exposed, compensate on the next roll</p>

[glen_h]

<p>Slide film costs more now, and processing too, but not all that much more.</p>

<p>Stay in the middle speed range, and you should either do fine, or know your are not.</p>

<p>At 1/30 and faster, you should not hear separate open/close. </p>

[david_henderson]

<p>I don't think mechanical is the issue. I think shutter speeds incorrect or unreliable is a bigger issue with slide film than with neg or monochrome, because the margin for exposure error on slide film is typically very small- so even under or (especially) overexposure by half a stop can spoil the photograph. </p>

[paul_noble]

<p>Kodachrome, the first color slide film, was introduced in 1935. Ektachrome wasn't too far behind. Many other brands and emulsions were produced over the years.</p>

<p>Electronic shutters didn't appear until around 1980, perhaps a little earlier. These were not true electronic shutters. The shutter was still mechanical, but the control was electronic. There were still plenty of parts to wear out.</p>

<p>So, for those 45 years, what do you think photographers were using?</p>

<p>A Nikon F is/was the workhorse of the professional photographer, especially photo journalists. It is very well built and can withstand years of use and abuse. That said, the oldest of them is 57 years old. The good news is that there are still places that can service them. If you have any doubt about your camera, send it in for a good CLA.</p>

[Uhooru]

<p>+1 Paul Noble...exactly, if you don't trust it send it for a so called CLA. It will be fine.</p>

[Fotohuis RoVo]

<p><img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5767/30081237903_d700dc9e74_z.jpg" alt="" width="478" height="640" /></p>

<p>Worse case scenario: 1/122s instead of 1/125s on my Leica M7. It is Quarz controlled however these 1/125s (and 1/60s) are working mechanically when their is no battery power.<br>

Even with mechanical cameras with a +30% -/- 30% shutter times deviation you can do slide film.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>Paul took the words out of my mouth. I have four Nikon F2 bodies and one of their FM bodies, also mechanical. I put thousands of rolls of slide film through them over the years. These cameras are hockey pucks that you almost need to beat with a hammer to damage, so the odds that your shutter is significantly off in speed is slight. If it is, google Sover Wong. He is the king of F2 repairs and can completely restore your camera to factory specs. I had him do one of mine, and he sends it back with a printout of the shutter speeds.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>Very old mechanical cameras might have enough shutter speed inaccuracies to be off by 1/2 a stop in a bunch of places. Even new you might have had these issues. That is why people typically advise against it. I shot a lot of slides out of my Leica M2s and was usually OK. Bracket for important shots.</p>

<p>If you have the camera's shutter checked you will probably be OK. In the old days you would know your camera and which speeds were a little off and would adjust. Typically it was the fast speeds (1/1000 wasn't REALLY 1/1000 -- the manufacturer was being optimistic).</p>

[benjamin_kim2]

<p>Well, I should try shooting pics with it once then</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Color negative film has much more latitude, which makes it more forgiving of both shutter speed and light meter 'aging' on older cameras.<br>

When they were new, of course the speeds and so on were well within tolerances. </p>

<p>If you want to shoot and show slides, then any of the surviving E6 films will do, if you can find somebody to process them.<br>

Otherwise, I'd suggest something like <a href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/585497-USA/Kodak_6031330_35mm_Ektar_100_Color.html">Ektar 100</a> C/N (C41 processing).<br>

I personally like Dwaynes for processing, if you're not doing it yourself.</p>

[benjamin_kim2]

<p>JDM/ Well Im looking for a film lab in NYC cause the place where I've been using seem to be suck at processing color negatives that I can't even edit or retouch properly. That made me disappoint about that lab. I tried FIND lab by paying more money and then scanned their film negatives. Guess what? Their processing is way better than the current film lab that I used. Well, I can't send films to FIND lab a lot since they charge money for processing, scanning, and shipping(this is quite ridiculous that I have to pay $10 for shipping film negatives.) </p>