Kodak 35 mm Camera Using Manual

KODAK
Self-Teaching Guide to
Using an Adjustable
35 mm Camera

Contents

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3

EXERCISES ................................................................................................................................. 3

MORE INFORMATION................................................................................................................. 3

SOME CAMERA BASICS ............................................................................................................ 3

THE SHUTTER ............................................................................................................................ 6

THE LENS OPENING .................................................................................................................. 7

FOCUSING...................................................................................................................................7

THE LIGHT METER ..................................................................................................................... 8

EXERCISE #1 .............................................................................................................................. 9

EXERCISE #2 ............................................................................................................................ 11

EXERCISE #3 ............................................................................................................................ 12

EXERCISE #4 ............................................................................................................................ 14

EXERCISE #5 ............................................................................................................................ 16

EXERCISE #6 ............................................................................................................................ 19

EXERCISE #7 ............................................................................................................................ 20

EXERCISE #8 ............................................................................................................................ 21

EXERCISE #9 ............................................................................................................................ 23

EXERCISE #10 .......................................................................................................................... 24

MORE INFORMATION............................................................................................................... 26

INTRODUCTION

You have a 35 mm camera and want to take clear, colorful, snappy pictures. That’s easy. In
addition to the camera, all you will need is the camera’s instruction book, this guide, some film
and . . . practice.

EXERCISES

The exercises were designed to let you see how the various camera settings are used in
taking different types of pictures. Try each exercise, make a copy of the page and paste your
pictures with each exercise. When you are finished, this book of pictures will be a handy re­minder of the things you can do with your camera.

NOTE: These exercises are designed for manually adjustable 35 mm cameras loaded with
KODAK ROYAL GOLD 200 Film. Some of the suggested exposures are for the purposes of
that exercise only.

MORE INFORMATION

If you need additional information or have questions, contact Kodak in your country.

SOME CAMERA BASICS

Does your camera have a built-in light meter (sometimes called an electric eye, or exposure
meter)? If you’re not sure, check the camera instruction book.

Does your camera need a battery? Many light meters require batteries to operate. Check on
that in the camera instruction book. Also, be sure the battery is fresh. If the battery is dead, the
meter won’t work and your pictures won’t be good. If your battery is weak your meter may work
incorrectly. Most batteries last only about one year.

Does your camera have settings for “manual” (non automatic) operation? If you’re not sure,
check the camera instruction book.

Does your camera have a setting for “automatic” operation? If you’re not sure, check the
camera instruction book.

If you want to take pictures under all kinds of different conditions, you’ll have to adjust the
camera settings. That is what this guide is all about, so read on.

The most important part of taking a picture is the film. Film is very sensitive to light. A tiny bit
of light will make the film change. It darkens at the spots where light touches it. That is why 35
mm film comes in a metal container that keeps light away from the film until it is in your camera.

When you put 35 mm film in your camera and close it, it is okay to start winding the film out of
the metal container because the camera seals out light. When you take a picture, all you do is
let just enough light in to record a nice, sharp picture on the film. You have to set the camera
properly to control the way the light gets into the camera.

Kodak and Royal Gold are trademarks.

KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera

All cameras have three basic settings. They are:

Shutter Speed
Lens Opening
Focus

To get a good picture, you need to adjust the shutter speed and the lens opening settings to
control the amount of light entering your camera.

The shutter speed controls the length of time the shutter will stay open to allow light to reach
the film.

A slow shutter speed lets light in to expose the film for a long time.

1/125 sec, f/11

A fast shutter speed lets light in to expose the film for a short time.

1/1OOO sec, f/11

The lens opening controls how much light will enter the camera while the shutter is open. A
large lens opening lets in a lot of light.

f/4

A small lens opening lets in a small amount of light.

f/16

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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera

To get good pictures, the film in your camera needs to be exposed to the same quantity of
light for every picture.

On a normal sunny day, you will use a fairly fast shutter speed and a medium lens opening so
that the correct amount of light will reach the film and you will get a properly exposed picture.

1/250 sec, f/11

On a cloudy day, the light isn’t as bright and you need to either let light into the camera for a
long time,

1/30sec, f/11

or let in a lot of light for a shorter time.

1/500 sec, f/2.8

Or possibly both—a lot of light for a long time.

1/60 sec, f/8

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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera

Find the shutter speed settings on your camera and learn how to change them. Your camera
instruction book will explain how to do this. Shutter speed settings are usually numbered 30,
60,125, 250, 500—or on older cameras 25, 50, 100, 200. The numbers refer to fractions of a
second, such as 1/30 or 1/500. All further reference will use only the settings for newer camera
(30, 60, etc). If you have an older camera, just remember that 30 is about the same as 25; 250
is about the same as 200.

Find the lens opening settings (f/22, 16, 11, 8, 5.6, 4, 2.8) on your camera and learn how to
change them (see your camera instruction book).

THE SHUTTER

Set the lens opening on your camera at its largest opening (f/3.5 or f/2.8). Set the shutter at 30.
Now open the back of your camera. Be very careful not to get your fingerprints on the inside of
the camera or on the lens. Touch only the outside parts of the camera. Never touch the lens or
the inside parts of the camera. Hold the camera up and look into the lens through the back of
the camera. Press the shutter release and see how long light is let through the lens. The shut­ter was open for only 1/30 of a second. Now advance the camera once and set the shutter
speed at 250. Hold the camera up and look through the back as you did before. Press the
shutter release. The shutter was open for only 1/250 of a second. Compare several different
shutter settings to get an idea of how they relate to each other. Starting at the fastest shutter
setting, each smaller setting lets light in twice as long as the one before it.

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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera

THE LENS OPENING

Set the shutter at its lowest speed. Use the B setting if your camera has one. Set the lens
opening at its largest opening. Open the camera back and hold the camera up as you did
before. Press the shutter release and notice how big the opening is when light comes through
the lens.

Now set the lens at the smallest opening, advance the camera once and repeat the exercise.
Notice how small the opening is when light comes through the lens this time. Compare several
different lens-opening settings so that you get an idea of how they relate to each other. Just like
the shutter settings, starting with the smallest lens opening (f/16 or
f/11), each larger opening lets twice as much light into the camera as the setting before it.

f/16 f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4

In this exercise you have just kept the back of your camera open in order to see how it works.
The inside parts of a camera are easily broken. Therefore, it is normally best to keep the cam­era back closed. Open it only when you are loading or unloading film.

FOCUSING

The next setting to master is the focus. Whenever you look through a lens, a magnifying glass
for instance, you have to move it back and forth until the subject looks sharp and in focus. The
same is true of your camera lens. As you turn the focus ring on your camera, the lens moves
back and forth bringing the subject in focus. If you are taking a picture of something ten feet
away from you, set the camera focus for ten feet and take the picture. If the subject you are
photographing is 25 feet away, set the focus for 25 feet. If you are taking a picture of a scene,
or a building, or anything that is more than 25 feet away from you, set the camera on infinity
(∞). At this setting, everything in the distance is in focus.

These are the three basic camera adjustments: Shutter speed, lens opening, focus. Some
cameras have lots of other things to set and gadgets to fiddle with. They are all helpful and fun
to use after you have mastered the basics. For now, you should stick to practicing these three.
The following exercises will help you learn more about these adjustments and get some prac­tice in using them.

Now it is time to load film in your camera. Get a roll of KODAK ROYAL GOLD 200 Film. It
comes in two lengths—one for 24 pictures and a longer length for 36 pictures. Either will do. If
you are undecided, get the 24-picture length to start with.

All 35 mm cameras use 135-size film. To load the film in your camera, read and follow the
instructions in your camera instruction book.

Film is loaded into most 35 mm cameras about the same way. The film comes in a metal
container to keep out the light. The metal container is put in one side of the camera (usually the
left side). Film is wound over to the other side as you take pictures. Then after you have taken
all of the pictures on the roll, and before you open the camera, the film must be rewound back
into the metal container.

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KODAK Self-Teaching Guide to Using an Adjustable 35 mm Camera

Here’s how to load film in a camera step-by-step. Open the cardboard film carton. Inside you
will find a plastic can that protects the film from humidity. Remove the metal container of film. A
piece of film sticks out of the metal container as though the film is sticking out its tongue. Put
the metal container into the camera so that the small spool sticking out of one end of the film
container is pointing to the bottom of the camera. In most cameras you have to pull up on the
rewind knob before the film container will fit. The tongue of film will stick out across to the other
side of the camera. Then clamp the metal container into place. Since each camera does this a
little differently, check your camera’s instruction book or get your camera dealer to help you.
Usually, pressing the rewind knob down will do it. Now slip the tongue in the take-up spool
found on the right-hand side of the camera (you will have to pull a little more film out of the
metal container to do this). Be sure that the teeth on the take-up sprocket (near where you
fastened the tongue) fit into the holes along both edges of the film. Wind up enough film so that
the teeth are sticking through the holes on both edges of the film. Don’t be afraid that you are
spoiling good film in loading the camera. The processing lab will cut off about six inches of the
film tongue whether it is exposed or not. Once the film is attached and properly wound, close
the camera back and press the shutter and advance three times to get to the first frame. Here,
again, check your instruction book to be sure you do everything right for your camera. Now you
are ready to go.

THE LIGHT METER

You now know about the two basic camera settings that control light entering the camera—
shutter speed and lens opening—but if your camera has a light meter there is a third setting
you must make every time you put film in the camera. There are different types of film made for
35 mm cameras. Each has a different sensitivity to light. Some need less light than others for a
good picture. You have to set the film speed to tell the light meter in your camera what type of
film you are using so that it will know how much light is needed to produce a good picture. Film
speed settings are referred to as ISO. All 35 mm films have an ISO number printed on the film
box and on the metal container holding the film. Be sure that the setting for ISO on your camera
matches the ISO number marked on your film container. The higher the number, the more
sensitive the film.* With KODAK ROYAL GOLD 200 Film, set the meter for 200.

ISO numbers are commonly referred to as the film’s “speed.” Very sensitive films are called
“high-speed” films and less sensitive films are called “slow” films. Sometimes you’ll hear people
talking about the “film-speed setting” on a camera. They are probably referring to the ISO
setting. It has nothing to do with how quickly the film moves through the camera.

*ISO Refers to the International Standards Organization which is the organization that assigns numbers to different
films. ASA used to refer to the American Standards Association, which has now changed its name, but the initials
are sometimes still used. ISO and ASA mean the same thing.

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