What Makes a Good Film Camera Part II: Why Craftsmanship Matters by Tyler Mattas

Written by Tyler Mattas

This is going to essentially be an unintended part two of my previous article – so if you didn’t read it or don’t remember it, maybe start this article by reading that one.

On said article, a certain Adam S. posted a comment that resonated with me and inspired this addendum. Adam noted that much of what I was describing as contributing to a good camera boiled down to engagement with a well-crafted piece of engineering – something that transcends cameras. I couldn’t agree more, and it’s an idea I’d like to explore further here.

More Than the Final Image

As I sit here writing this, like a dozen rolls of film are also sitting nearby on my kitchen table, still undeveloped after being shot on vacation a month and half ago. I’ll get them developed eventually, but in the meantime it doesn’t bother me all that much that I still don’t have my photos. In fact, I’ll probably end up shooting even more rolls to add to the pile before I finally mix up chemicals.

What I’ve realized while thinking through this “good camera” stuff is that what really drives me to shoot film is what Adam pointed out far more succinctly than I did in my prior article.

I actually primarily enjoy using the cameras that I shoot with – even more so than I actually enjoy seeing the resulting images.

Yes, I know plenty of people do film photography for the film photos (shocking, truly). I’m not knocking anyone’s reason for shooting film, especially since shooting photos for the photo’s sake is probably the most logical and obvious reason. For me though, the act of using and engaging with the tool actually turns out to be of primary importance.

I know I’ll probably be crucified for this assertion, including by fellow Shoot It With Film writers (Katya, looking at you), but this is exactly why I’ve never found cameras like the Holga, Ektar H35, all late ‘90s and on Tupperware SLRs, hell even the new plastic fantastic Rollei 35AF, appealing.

Maybe it’s even part of why I don’t like shooting with Sony digital. It has nothing to do with image quality or usability. It’s not gear snobbery. The cameras are just too appliance like, too utilitarian, too ugly – putting it shortly, too… modern.

As I lamented in the prior article, everything we interact with these days looks, feels, and often performs like it was designed and manufactured with a bare minimum “that’ll do” mindset. Everything keeps getting more expensive while simultaneously getting worse. Never mind transcending just cameras, this seems to transcend products generally and has bled into architecture, art, entertainment, etc., but alas that’s a whole other article.

The Lost Art of Craftsmanship

There was a time not long ago when skilled people took great pride in their work. Businesses took pride in their products. Product longevity, fit and finish, innovation, and even beauty were top priorities – and it showed in the tools produced.

Tools that myself and certainly others, (judging by Adam’s comment) seek out and enjoy engaging with to have a user experience that simply doesn’t exist (or is increasingly hard to find) in modern versions.

You’ll never see something like a Contax IIA created again. Pentax showed us not that long ago that people hoping even for a new production K1000 were engaging in wildly wishful thinking (delusional thinking might be more bluntly accurate).

Even Leica who still has the price capacity to do interesting things, just keeps trending more and more in this Apple-like direction of $8,000 minimalist black boxes that look like a 3 year old’s conception of a camera.

With few exceptions (those exceptions being obvious, just look at who has the mile long waiting lists, over MSRP scalpers, never in stock, etc.), cameras over the past several decades have gone the same way as all the other products: uglier, crappier build quality, more uniform and uninteresting, etc. And maybe that’s really the appeal of vintage products generally. They tend to be… not those things.

Manufacturers actually recognize this, too, because there’s been a trend across industries to make vintage looking products.

This actually works when the products also live up to the vintage build quality (Olympus enters the chat) or when the consumer base doesn’t care about the build quality (Dodge enters and quickly exits the chat).

It fails miserably when the manufacturer doesn’t understand that the looks are only part of the magic and cannot single handedly carry a cheap feeling, plastic-y ambassador of the cost cutting department (Nikon sadly avoids the chat)… unless you’re Dodge.

The Vintage Appeal

Not coincidentally, people into film cameras tend to be into other vintage products as well. I found a lot of the same appeal and enjoyment in mechanical watches that I’ve found in vintage film cameras, and for all the same reasons.

It still blows my mind that I’ve simply disassembled, cleaned, and lubed century old watches… and I have a working watch that keeps good time. Try that with your A7IV in the year 2120.

It amazes me that in 1890 someone didn’t just do the already extremely intricate work of building a watch, by hand, but then also took the time to elaborately hand decorate parts of the movement that would then be covered with a case and never seen again until the watch was serviced a decade or more later.

Today that would be called a waste of time and fall victim to the first round of cost cuts. Does it tell time? Good enough. Ship it.

Make a camera with all brass internals? Madness. Some injection molded plastic will do just fine for the 90 day warranty period. Serviceability? We just need it to last those 90 days so we don’t have to give them another one; when it breaks on day 91 they can throw it out and buy a new one.

Elaborate decorative ironwork on a street light? You must be crazy. Someone just go install a raw metal pole with a bulb on it, puts out the same light.

I find this mentality and everything it produces, and I mean everything, annoying and disheartening. Actively getting away from it by seeking out interactions with products and tools (mostly vintage) not made with this mentality helps me maintain my sanity.

Final Thoughts

So alas, whether it’s film cameras, vinyl records, vintage clothes, classic cars, mechanical watches, or whatever old stuff anyone might be into – I think a lot of us are here for the same reason.

We’re all reaching back to an age when the products we interacted with didn’t just get the job done or get it done in the most utilitarian way possible.

They made us admire their craftsmanship, they made us want to look at them because they were beautiful, they made us… want to use them. That’s what makes a good camera – or good anything else.

Thank you so much, Tyler! Tyler is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and be sure to check out his other articles, like What Makes a Good Film Camera? It’s Not as Simple as It Seems and Repairing Your Own Film Camera: Lessons I’ve Learned.

You can also find more of his work on Instagram here, and find his eBay store here.

Leave your thoughts about craftsmanship and what makes a good film camera below in the comments!

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Tyler Mattas

Tyler Mattas specializes in landscape photography, and he is a regular contributor for Shoot It With Film. You can find his other articles here, such as Repairing Your Own Film Camera: Lessons I’ve Learned and Voigtlander Bessa R4M Review.

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