Film cameras capture images by using a light-sensitive film and a system to expose that film to light.
The Basics of Film Photography
During film photography, the process involves several key steps:
- Film Loading: A roll of light-sensitive film is loaded into the camera. This film is the medium that captures the image.
- Light Exposure: When you take a photo, the camera's shutter opens briefly. This allows light to pass through the lens and onto the film.
- The duration the shutter is open (shutter speed) and the size of the lens opening (aperture) determine how much light reaches the film.
- Image Capture: The light interacts with the chemicals on the film, creating a latent image (an image not yet visible). This exposure captures the scene. The film's light-sensitive emulsion undergoes a chemical reaction when exposed to light.
- Film Advancing: After each exposure, you manually or automatically advance the film to an unused section, preparing the camera for the next shot. This prevents multiple exposures on the same frame.
- Developing: The exposed film must undergo a chemical development process to make the latent image visible. This process is done outside the camera in a darkroom.
- Printing or Scanning: Once the film is developed, the negative can be used to create a print on photographic paper or scanned into a digital image.
How Light Interacts with Film
The key to understanding film camera operation is understanding how light affects the film:
- Light Sensitivity: Film is coated with light-sensitive chemicals (usually silver halides).
- Chemical Reaction: When light strikes these chemicals, a reaction occurs. The light exposure creates a latent image, which is an invisible change in the film's emulsion.
- Development Process: The development process enhances the reactions, making the image visible. It also converts the exposed silver halides into metallic silver, forming the negative.
Film Camera Components
Key parts of a film camera include:
- Lens: Focuses light onto the film.
- Shutter: Controls the amount of time light is allowed to reach the film.
- Aperture: Controls the amount of light passing through the lens.
- Film Advance Mechanism: Moves the film to the next frame.
- Viewfinder: Allows the photographer to see what the lens is capturing.
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Film Loading | Inserting a light-sensitive roll of film into the camera. |
| Shutter Opening | Allows light to expose the film for a set duration. |
| Exposure | The chemical reaction between light and film, capturing the image. |
| Film Advancing | Moving the film after each shot to prepare a fresh, unexposed section. |
| Development | The process of making the captured image on the film visible. |
Film cameras rely on a physical chemical reaction to record images, which sets them apart from digital cameras that use electronic sensors.
