About cameras and film formats

Well as I said before, I will not go into the realm of brands, instead of that, I would prefer to talk about kinds of cameras, by the format they can hold. You will find more precise information through books or the Internet itself. This entry is more focused on what are you going to need after to develop and print your negatives.

Since the start of photography inventors and engineers developed quite a variety of film, in size and form. Today we still have three major flavors of film, and so three kinds of cameras:

• 135 film: The most used film, even before used by photography (its first primary use was to do cinema), from hi-tech SLR to just plastic point-&shot and even disposable cameras. One of the most recognizable format. 
• The pros are:
• Easy to handle, it is self contained inside a canister, last generation cameras (even point-&shot) were able to determine the film speed, thanks to DX codes.
• Easy to find, as the most famous member of the film family it is still available in convenience stores, super markets and photographic materials supply.
• Wide variety of cameras, in the second hand market, flea markets and forgotten attics, you have a great chance of finding a usable cameras.
• Most amateur photo stuff was designed for this format.
• Any enlarger will be prepared to let you print images.
• The cons are:
• It is the smallest of film sizes found near, it captures great detail, but you are not going to be able to print enlargements bigger than 60" (in.) (It is not so con but is the classic one!).
• Without the correct tools, like a film picker, you are going to end breaking a lot of canisters, which can make you spend a little bit more of money. If you wish to save some pennies, it is worthwhile to search for bulk film, is a package that contains 100 ft. (30,5 m) of film, without the canisters. I will discuss about bulk film latter.
• 120 film (or 6x6): This is a bigger film, it was the first to be commercialized by Kodak to easy to use market, it is older than 135. It is the favorite flavor of pro photographers, the cameras are not that big, but thanks to the size of the film you are going to get a lot of details, this was also the favorite size of NASA, most space photographs were made with Hasselblads.
• The pros are:
• Great detail, capable of doing much bigger enlargements.
• Some cameras were able to have 6x6 or 6x4 or 6x4,5, so the photographer was not constrained to just one aspect ratio.
• Most cameras have the ability to change were the film is loaded, so the photographer was able to change from B&W to color to slide, without the need to finish the film.
• The cons are:
• More oriented to pro markets, so cameras are quite expensive, even used ones, do not forget accessories.
• Due to the fact the film is bigger, you may need to have an enlarger capable of hold the format, it is also recomendable to have an 80 mm lens for the enlarger.
• If not very used to it, you are able to spoil the film, because the film is just winded in a spool and covered by a special paper.
• Only 12 photographs by package.
• Plates: The oldest brother from the family, it has evolved through the years but preserves the aura. The favorite of studio photographers, as the cameras are big, bigger than your head, and maybe your chest, you are attached to its stand, hopefully with little wheels so it can move a bit. 
• The pros are:
• Best quality, most plates nowadays are about 6x4 in. (10x15 cm), if you shot slides the colors are the most amazing than any Photoshoped photograph and if compared to a digital realm, a photograph from a plate would be the equivalent of using an 80 megapixel camera.
• No need to do enlargements, photographs can be positive by contact printing.
• Most cameras have a tilting and shifting lens, capable of modify the focus plane and/or the fugue of lines, making them really vertical.
• The cons are:
• Plates can not be developed in small tanks, can be done in trays, but with any kind of light, or can be processed in bigger tanks, oriented to printing processes.
• Cameras are so big, is very difficult to go around with them, is like going out with a mini fridge.
• Also you need to carry out a case for holding plates, as the holder can only have one at a time, later iterations from Kodak were able to hold two plates, one against the other.

This has been quite a fair amount of information. In my case, I use 135 film, mainly because my first camera is that format, then the older cameras from my house are also that format (just some point-&-shots). When I am able to buy a medium format (120) camera, I will inter to that realm, hope so soon. But in both cases, in the developing process are the same actions, the only considering point is about developing tanks. If you get a plastic developing tank, like the ones from Kaiser, the spirals can be size changed, so they can handle 135, 126 (a dead format) and 120, just be sure is the taller tank, the one that can handle two 135 at a time. If you are more likely to have metal spirals, you need to have the tank and the spiral for each format, in the case of the 120 tanks you can develop two 135 at the same time.

As mentioned with the plates, only if you have the tank for print processing the procedure is not that easy, as developing must be done with trays and there is not any safelight to use with. I recommend to start with 135 or 120, so they are the most easy to use formats.