"Cameras are a cheap hobby, aren’t they?"
That’s what my friend E said to me the other day. It may have been a casual comment, but it prompted me to reflect on my own photographic practice. Some of you might even say that if you hadn’t started photography, you could have bought a luxury car instead. Especially in the past two years, film prices have only continued to rise. When shooting with 35mm film, each frame can cost anywhere from 100 yen to several hundred yen, making it a rather expensive and immersive pursuit.
However, if you start worrying about the cost of every single frame, you’ll find it hard to create compelling work—and the romance and joy of photography will be lost. To enjoy shooting freely, it’s important to find ways to reduce the running costs of film photography. If you’re on a budget, ingenuity and hands-on effort are key. In the process of working with your hands, you may even discover new dimensions to the allure of photography. In this feature, we introduce creative and enjoyable ways to save on film photography.
Double Your Shots per Roll: The Joy of Half-Frame Cameras
Image by miho
One of the easiest ways to save is by using a half-frame film camera. These cameras use standard 35mm film but capture two images per frame, effectively doubling the number of photographs you can take on a single roll.
As the name suggests, images are recorded at half the usual frame size, resulting in lower overall resolution and making them less suitable for those seeking fine detail. However, for many film enthusiasts, the joy lies more in the act of recording and remembering than in technical perfection, making the cost-effectiveness of half-frame cameras especially appealing.
The OLYMPUS PEN series is a familiar sight at camera shops, and recently, ILFORD has released a disposable half-frame camera as well.
Bulk Loading: Rolling Your Own Film
Most 35mm film sold commercially comes in a cylindrical canister called a cartridge, which is loaded into the camera. Film sold without these cartridges is known as bulk roll film. Like refilling detergent, bulk film is more affordable because you load it into cartridges yourself.
While you’ll need to invest in a film loader to wind the film, the initial cost pays off quickly if you shoot film regularly over the years.
A pile of cartridges after developing
Start Developing Your Own Film
Another significant cost in film photography is not just shooting, but also developing. Of course, professional photo labs offer expert skills and handle the entire process—developing, printing, and scanning—with meticulous care, so there’s no need to insist on home developing solely for the sake of saving money.
Darkroom work: projecting film onto photographic paper using an enlarger
However, as a way to deepen your understanding of your own work, trying your hand at developing can offer new perspectives. The more time you invest, the more you may come to cherish your work and discover new contexts within it.
Like film development, printing also follows the sequence of developing, stopping, fixing, and washing
Especially with black-and-white film, many photo labs outsource the process, often requiring two to three weeks for completion. There are various home developing kits available online, and you can find clear instructions from film enthusiasts on blogs and YouTube.
Welcome to the Addictive World of Film
While the high cost of film may prompt you to seek out ways to economize, in the end, you may find your love for film only deepens. There’s something about working with film that slows down time and draws you into deeper contemplation. For those who have already entered the world of film, saying "film is expensive" might be as habitual as saying "I’ll quit smoking." Let’s dive into the world of film together.