how to choose your first analog camera ?

How to choose your first analog camera ? Good question, isn't it ? Before starting analog photography a year ago, I was dreaming this world like a very complex universe. To me, an analog camera was very complicated and put a film on it required great skills that I didn't have. Bullshit ! 

An analog camera is a lot easier to use than you can imagine. But the best way to start is to choose the good one. 

A COMPACT ANALOG CAMERA ! To me, and I'm sorry if you're not okay, starting with a compact analog camera will help you to take away your beliefs about analog photography. A compact analog camera is like a compact digital camera. In the end, analog and digital are pretty the same. 

I started analog photography with an Olympus mju ii (please read my blog post about all the Olympus mju I tried over a year). I chose this model because two bloggers that I loved had it and they didn't look like experts (no offense). I asked a friend who have a huge collection of analog cameras and he sold one to me.

After that, I went to a photography shop, met a real photographer and I literally told him : "I just bought this but I don't know how to deal with it". He gave me a battery (I paid of course) and a film. I asked him : "how ? how... I mean... omg... A film... How ?"

When he saw my face, he took the battery, opened my mju and put the battery in, then he opened the film and the camera and show me how to do. And I was like : "OMG NO ! Don't put your fingers on the film blablabla my dad when I was young told me that..."

Yes, when you were young, your parents maybe didn't let you touch films etc because you were a kid with dirty hands...

The photographer explained me that there were no worries to put fingers on a film. He closed my mju and then the famous noise...

Bzzz, brrr, bzzz. It's ok ! You can shoot now. 

He explained me quickly the ISO, because I didn't know that the ISO was on the film (the major difference with digital actually). 

TAKE A 200 ISO FILM ! That's my second advice. No matter which film (kodak, agfa, fujifilm, ilford) you will take for your first time, but 200 ISO is to me the best even if it's summer or winter. Of course, don't shoot in the dark. 

And if you have any doubts, please contact someone, or go to a photography shop and ask people ! Google can be a great tool too, of course. But don't be afraid to ask the most foolish question to an expert. 

Analog photography is SO easy ! 

But if I had to resume this article in one sentence : how to choose your first analog camera ?

Take a compact (like Olympus mju i, ii or iii, or Olympus AF1, I don't know a lot of good one because I didn't test a lot of compact). 

Take a Kodak Gold 200. And shoot, shoot, shoot. 

When you finish your film, ask someone to develop it and enjoy the result. The more you shoot, the more you will learn and the more you will be confortable with films. 

If you have any questions, comment below !

Cheese !