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Unlike JH who’s into aesthetics and shine, I went for an opposing route by getting a camera that’s made entirely out of plastic. Given I have done time in film photography, though a short and disappointing one with Lomography’s La Sardina, I wasn’t too sure on taking another dip thus an extremely low budget was set for this one.
Thing is, I already own a nifty fifty and a roll of leftover, an Agfa Vista, not much more was required to give film photography one last go.
PRO
Not difficult to find
EF lens compatibility
Featherweight
Easy of use
CON
Maximum shutter speed of 1/2000
Body rigidity
Limited focus points
SPECIFICATION
35mm SLR
EF mount
1 fps
350 grams
From RM 100
RELATED ENTRIES
ANALOGUE: Pentax 17
ANALOGUE: Mamiya 7
ANALOGUE: Leica M6
The AE-1 has a million focus points. The 500N? Just three. The AE1 brought people from all walks of life into photography while the 500N sits at the very bottom of a family tree aimed at beginners. AE1 has a semi-metal body, the 500 is entirely of synthetic substance that harms the planet and the bad keeps piling on.
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But the ancient relic doesn't have auto winding, this does so there’s no need to wind after every shot. The three focus points, automatic. Multiple exposure, how does nine sound to you? And my favourite, the 500N weights as much as a cigarette lighter.
So I shot anything that caught the slightest of attention as my expectations were low and how little the setup cost didn't help, I just wanted to cement the fact that film is history.
Thinking most will turn out looking like blackholes from various galaxies, the negatives that came back within 48 hours left me astonished. That roll of Vista 400 have gone through x-rays at airports and lived five years in room atmosphere produced 36 interesting exposures. I frankly cannot believe the results produced given how little was put in.
Things are already this interesting prior to diving into a huge array of 35 millimetre film to choose from. When that’s done there are different formats, lens combination and camera bodies to better suit one’s shooting style. Man, it's a good time to shoot film.
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Shot on Canon 500N paired to a Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II
