Spooling to the dark side…

Do. Or do not. There is no TRI-X.

If you really bug me then I’ll say goodbye

I’ve been thinking for a while about having a camera specifically for monochrome photography: and, yes, a Ricoh GR IV Monochrome would be lovely, thank you! – but I just can’t justify the cost of it (nor of that of a Leica M11 Monochrom, which is what I really want; what I really, really want…).

But then – while I was pondering… – courtesy of the lovely Jim Graves, an article by Jim Grey appeared, extolling the virtues of the Nikon N60, known as the F60 on this side of the pond. (“Not bloody¹ film again!” hollers Paul Maven from the other side of the Lake District. And I can hear him loud and clear even without my hearing aids in!) In a companion article, Jim Grey then goes on to praise its successor, the lightweight and very capable N65/F65. And this got me pondering even more (so much so that my brain still hurts).

The first thing that came to mind was how much I love using Nikon cameras; and the F65 has plenty of features that overlap with my first love DSLR, the D200 (still in use). This is not really surprising, considering that they were released only four years apart – the F65 in September 2001; the D200 in November 2005. The F65 is also stonkingly cheap: and a good one² can be had for around forty quid ($55) – including the wonderful Nikkor 28-80mm 1:3.3-5.6 G kit lens.

Black, black, and white (trees) with the Z6III

So, all I need now are some batteries; and then some…

Well, that was the second thing, of course (after paying for the camera). But I haven’t used film since Canon produced the first Digital IXUS (launched in June 2003): which replaced a non-digital IXUS L-1 (which I still have, somewhere) that travelled around the world with me – always in a pocket; unless being used, of course – which it was: a lot…! I always filled it with colour film, though – mostly Kodak Gold 200 and Max 400: hundreds of rolls of which also documented the first decade of my son’s life.

The Water Pavilion in the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Vancouver, BC (scan)

So, I have a question…

I would also be extremely grateful if you could recommend reliable places for me to send my film to be developed (preferably alongside the provision of accurate online scans). Ta muchly.

I know I don’t really need yet another Nikon camera: but this seems the cheapest way possible – at the moment – of having a dedicated monochrome one; plus it gives me a chance to see if film photography is still as engaging for me as it was thirty years ago. If not, I shall just put the F65 back on eBay; and buy a used Leica have a custom setting for black-and-white on my Z6III. Simples.

Thank you so much for reading; and, of course, for any help or advice you can provide.

1. Of course he didn’t actually say “bloody” – it sounded more like “F-stopping” to me.

2. Well, the seller said that it was “very good”.