Our Film Camera Collection

written by Carson Hope

Film is something we value so very much in our personal moments, little adventures, and now in our business. There’s a certain freedom in the unknown, and the forced patience of waiting is refreshing. This makes us feel like we’re living in the moment that we’re in, rather than snapping a picture and immediately looking back on the past.

Over the last few years, we’ve collected quite a few film cameras; mostly hand-me-downs from family members and a few golden thrift finds. We thought it might be fun to catalog & document our precious treasures for any other film-obsessed people out there, or anyone that is looking to explore this little niche of the past.

Pentax ME Super // our everyday go-to

This little guy was given to us by Logan’s aunt (shoutout to Cindy) this past Christmas, and it is now our go-to manual 35 mm camera. We take it on every single adventure, road trip, shoot & elopement. Paired with a 50 mm lens given to me by my great-grandpa, this dude is a sharp shooter. I’m seriously stunned every time I get scans back at what’s captured. I’d recommend this camera to anyone who’s just starting out in film - the manual settings are great for early learners!

Bell & Howell Super 8 Zoom 1201 // our new experimental obsession

I thrifted this gem about a year ago and I had no idea I would become completely enthralled in it’s blast-to-the-past video capabilities. When I found it for $4 bucks at Value Village I immediately called my film buff of a brother to brag. It took me a few months until I became fully invested and started researching, and to my surprise the motor worked when I popped a battery in. Although the camera itself was super cheap, the hobby of experimenting with Super 8 film is… not. Saving this dude for special occasions, but I do have a reel ready to be sent off to processing! A huge goal of ours is to ramp up our business’s videography department (I should probably put my film degree to use…) and we would be so stoked to offer Super 8 videography in the future!

Pentax K1000; a special hand-me-down

Although this 35 mm isn’t in working condition at the moment, it’s the most special one in our entire collection. My great-grandpa gave me this camera to me along with a huge case of lenses and accessories before his passing. Although I’ve only gotten blank negatives back, this Pentax sparked my curiosity towards film photography and is a huge part of why I love this passion so very much. I hope to get it restored one day soon and celebrate it’s new life by exploring Oregon coast & snapping pictures with my great-grandfather’s camera in one of his favorite places on earth.

Vintage Polaroid; a surprise every snap

Logan spied this vintage Polaroid at Value Village and I snagged it right as a hipster couple saw our interest and was eying it (sorry but also… not sorry). The film for it isn’t all that cheap either, so we try to keep our snaps to a minimum. We do love taking it on special adventures, and we documented so many cool memories on our cross country road trip. It’s a tough dude to figure out… sometimes ya get crazy light leaks, and sometimes the film doesn’t quite develop right. That’s a huge part of the fun though; you could never create a filter or preset to recreate the type of strange beauty this baby puts out.

Pentax IQZoom EZY-R; a little automatic gem

Logan’s aunt also put this little 35 mm automatic camera in the Christmas mix. At first we kind of chuckled at it, but we took it for a spin on a spontaneous trip to the beach and were pretty surprised at the photos we got back. It’s super sharp, and such a fun camera to take along on little adventures. If you find yourself grabbing the fun disposable cameras a ton, take a chance on finding a cheap automatic! You pop the film in the back and it loads it right up for you. Such a fun time!

Bonuses; my old Canon AE-1, Fujifilm Instax and an unused & expired Jazz disposable film camera

These are all beloved vessels as well, I just don’t use them anymore, or have held off at the moment. I used my Canon AE-1 for a couple of years before it jammed and replaced it’s necessity with our Pentax ME Super. Back in the day I was all about the Fujifilm Instax (as everyone else) and saved up some money to buy it from our local Walmart. I used it a bit in the past, but now I mainly use our vintage Polaroid. Logan actually found the Jazz disposable camera in one of their company’s old trucks. It’s been expired for … awhile… but I think it would be really fun to use in the right moment!

Photos from our Pentax ME Super