Introduction

Looking to buy an analog camera for someone as a gift? It can be a confusing experience, with hundreds of cameras to choose from and sellers all over the world. That’s why we’re here to (hopefully!) make it a bit simpler for you.

But first, some important info about buying from our store this holiday season. In order to make sure your package gets to you on time, your order has to come in by:

There’s not much time left, but you can still make it!

With that out of the way, let’s talk about some good gift options for film photographers.

Film

Film is an easy choice. There are plenty of options out there, but the truth is that most film photographers would appreciate film of any kind.

But what kind do I get? Well, it depends a bit. The vast majority of film cameras in use today use 35mm film, so that’s a safer bet than 120. If your photographer friend talks a lot about one specific camera (as we tend to do) then maybe find out what kind of film that one uses. Feel free to reach out to our customer service for help identifying film formats.

There are also both color and black & white films on the market. It may be worth looking at some of the recipient’s photos (if they post them publicly) to see whether they prefer black & white or color.

To give some easy choices, I’d recommend Kodak ColorPlus as a beginner color film and Ilford HP5+ as a beginner black & white film. For more professional uses, I’d recommend Kodak Portra 400 as a color film and  Kodak Tri-X as a black & white.

We also have our own film, Santacolor 100, that's a great entry level film or something fun for an experienced shooter to try!

Cameras

Can’t shoot film without a camera! There are thousands of different cameras out there in tons of different conditions, but don’t fret! We’re here to help.

To keep things simple, we’ll break things down into two camera types that are easy to find: point & shoots and SLRs.

Point & shoots are, just like the name suggests, designed to be super easy to use. You can point the camera at the subject and shoot away without worrying about anything. These cameras became very popular in the 1980s and 1990s, basically taking over the entry level market and making it easy for anyone to take photos.

Point & shoots make great gifts for film photographers of any skill level. They can be the spark that gets someone interested in film or a second, easy camera for someone that’s already invested. You can click here to browse all of our point & shoots.

We also have some quite interesting new-old-stock cameras for sale too. These have never been used, despite being produced in the 1990s or earlier. For a collector, or someone interested in camera history, these could be a great gift. They’re more expensive than used versions of the same cameras, but they justify it by being really cool, in our opinion.

SLRs are a bit more complicated. These are higher end cameras that offer manual control and interchangeable lenses. As simply as possible, the photographer gets more control over how the photos end up.

For an SLR kit to work, you need the camera body and a compatible lens. On our site, these are normally sold separately.

The lenses that fit a certain camera are part of that camera’s “system”. A system can include lenses made by the same company as the camera or other companies entirely. For example, Nikon makes lenses for Nikon cameras but not for Canon cameras. Tamron, on the other hand, makes lenses for Nikon & Canon cameras. It can be confusing, we know, so it’s worth checking with someone (like us!) if you’re unsure.

A basic SLR kit would include a 50mm lens or a standard zoom (something like 28-90mm or 35-70mm). These lenses are a good starting point and cover most general photography without being too specific or expensive. Some good systems to use as starting points are Pentax K and Canon FD. We have tons of lenses for these systems. Our customer service team can also build a camera kit for you if you give us a budget. Feel free to reach out!

Adapters

If your friend is more of a digital person, why not get them into vintage lenses? Adapting old lenses is cheap, fun, and gives an interesting look to your photos that can’t be replicated with newer digital lenses.

We offer a full suite of adapters for putting vintage lenses on modern bodies. If you know what kind of camera they shoot with, we can help you pair an adapter with a fun vintage lens that will definitely change the way they shoot.

Conclusions

Hopefully our suggestions here can help you get a fulfilling gift for a friend or loved one. Film photography doesn’t have to be scary or difficult to understand, but there are many options out there that can muddy the waters a bit. If at any point you need help figuring something out, don’t hesitate to reach out to our customer service chat and we’ll gladly point you in the right direction. We can even build an entire order for you!

Thanks for choosing Kamerastore, and happy holidays!