How do film cameras actually work?
There’s no denying that there’s an unrivalled aesthetic beauty to film photography when compared to its digital counterpart. While there’s undoubtedly an advantage of convenience (and often cost) when it comes to shooting digital, the result of a well-shot and developed film photograph cannot be beaten.
As society leans ever further into technological reliance, there’s been a pushback against digital modes of creation, with many artists preferring analogue devices and techniques, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in photography. But that raises the question, particularly in digital natives, of how a film camera actually works.
Capturing an image of film stock is a technological marvel, a process of transferring light particles that goes back to the late 1800s. Everything in the process of shooting a photograph begins with the camera’s lens, a carefully constructed piece of glass capable of directing the light from the camera’s target onto the film.
The photographer selects the camera’s shutter speed (although some models can set this automatically) according to the amount of light in the scenery and whether an object is moving or not. With a longer shutter speed, the film is exposed to the light for longer, allowing for darker environments to be shot, while bright environments only need a quick shutter speed as more light is getting through the lens. Fast shutter speeds are also vital for shooting moving objects, whereas still objects can handle a slower speed.
After the light has passed through the lens, it reaches the aperture, which can also be altered to change the amount of light getting through to the film according to the brightness of the environment. The aperture is a series of overlapping blades that can be made larger to allow more light to get through or smaller to allow for less light. The aperture is important because if too much light gets to the film, it will be overexposed and too bright, while if too little light gets through, it will be underexposed and appear darker than it should.
Finally, the light from the shot object or scene reaches the film, which varies in light sensitivity, measured by ISO. Film stock with a higher ISO has a higher number of silver halide crystals on its emulsion, and when light hits these crystals, they begin a chemical reaction, with each one representing the particles of light that hit when the shot was taken. Together, they form the entire image according to the intensity and physical colour of the light captured.
Once the shot has been taken and the roll of film has been used, the photographer rewinds it into its canister to ensure that it is not exposed to any more light, as doing so would ruin the photographs. In darkroom development, the film is soaked in a series of chemical baths that cause another reaction in the silver halide crystals, making them darken and appear visible to the human eye.
The developed film can then be used to create a print, usually done by enlarging the image onto photosensitive paper using a projector and then using a similar chemical bath method to develop the image on a larger scale. Finally, the process of taking a photograph and holding it in one’s hand is complete.
The same method applies to movie cameras, too, which also take into account the aperture and sensitivity of film stock. Rather than capture just one image as a standard photograph, though, a movie camera captures many images for as long as the filmmaker desires, although the process is essentially the same.
Film photography is still practised by many artists who prefer its simple mechanical process, physical feedback and aesthetic result. Though digital can be quicker, and thousands of images can be shot on just one memory card, film photography is going nowhere. Its artistic expression remains unscathed by modern technology, and now you know exactly how the process works.
When was the first 35mm film camera made?
The first 35mm film camera was invented by Oskar Barnack, an engineer from Germany working for the Lietz company, which would later become the camera company Leica. In 1913, Barnack developed what would become the modern 35mm film camera, known then as the ‘Ur-Leica’ or ‘Original Leica’.
Barnack had only sought to use the prototype for personal use, but by creating a 35mm format of film, he began to attract those who had been using bulkier and more expensive equipment. By contrast, the ‘Ur-Leica’ had a compact body and was perfect for easy transportation. Several versions went through development before Barnack’s invention was released commercially in 1925 as the Leica I, marking the moment that photography became accessible to all.
