Last March, I dug out a film camera from the back of my shelf — a Minolta X-700 that I'd used maybe three times before abandoning it for mirrorless. I loaded a roll of Kodak Gold 200, set the ISO dial, and took it to Cubbon Park on a Sunday morning. I shot the whole roll in about two hours.
When I got the scans back a week later, I sat staring at them for a long time. Something was different. Not just the grain or the colours — though both were beautiful — but the way I'd shot. Every frame had a reason. There was no spray-and-pray, no burst mode, no scrolling through 40 nearly-identical shots to find the one.
I've been shooting mostly film ever since.
Why Film Is Having a Moment (And It's Not Nostalgia)
Film photography has been growing steadily since around 2020. Kodak has expanded production. Fujifilm brought back Velvia 100 in 35mm after discontinuing it. New film stocks are entering the market for the first time in years. B&H and Adorama are selling film cameras faster than used inventory can keep up.
The people buying into this aren't just grey-haired photographers who remember the darkroom days. The fastest-growing demographic for film cameras on eBay and KEH is 18–28 year olds — people who grew up entirely digital.
The reason isn't nostalgia, because you can't be nostalgic for something you never experienced. It's something else: the intentionality that film forces on you, and the tangible result at the end of it.
What Changes When You Only Have 36 Exposures
With digital, I'd come home from a shoot with 300 photos. Finding the good ones took longer than the shoot itself. My hard drive filled up with near-misses I kept "just in case." I spent evenings in Lightroom instead of evenings actually thinking about what I'd seen.
Film changes the economics of every shot. When you have 36 frames on a roll that costs ₹900 to buy and another ₹500 to develop and scan, you do the math differently. You look longer before raising the camera. You think about whether the light is actually good enough, or whether you're just shooting because you're there.
After two months back on film, I noticed something had shifted in my digital shooting too. I was being more deliberate. The film habits were bleeding over.
The Practical Reality: Film in Bangalore in 2026
Let me be honest about the friction, because there's real friction.
Finding film: It's easier than it used to be, but not effortless. Kodak Ultramax 400 and Gold 200 are available at some camera shops in Shivajinagar and Commercial Street. Online, both are reliably available through Amazon India and specialty shops. Prices have gone up — expect ₹700–1,100 for a 36-exposure roll of colour film.
Getting it developed: This is the bigger challenge. A few labs in Bangalore still do C-41 processing (standard colour film). Turnaround is typically 3–7 days for develop-only, longer if you want scans. I'd recommend calling ahead because some shops have reduced hours and there are long queues during weekends. For black and white, you can develop at home with basic chemistry — it's not as intimidating as it sounds, and I'll write a separate guide on that.
Scanning: The lab scans are fine for sharing online. For serious work, a dedicated film scanner (Plustek 8200i or Epson V600) will give you much better control, but that's an investment of ₹15,000–30,000.
Cost per shot: At current prices, you're looking at roughly ₹40–50 per frame once you factor in film, development, and scanning. That's not cheap. It's part of why every shot matters.
Which Camera to Start With
You do not need to spend a lot of money. The best film cameras for most people are the ones that were common in the 1990s — there are millions of them floating around in the used market, and most still work perfectly.
For beginners who want simple: A point-and-shoot with autofocus. The Canon Sure Shot series, Olympus Stylus (Mju), or Nikon L35AF. You can find these for ₹2,000–6,000 on OLX or from camera dealers. They're genuinely pocketable and produce great results.
For people who want to learn manual: An SLR like the Pentax K1000, Canon AE-1, or Minolta X-700. These teach you aperture, shutter speed, and exposure in a way that no digital tutorial will. Budget ₹3,000–8,000 depending on condition.
The overhyped ones to avoid: The Olympus OM-1 and Nikon FM2 are great cameras, but they've been "discovered" by the film revival crowd and are now significantly overpriced for what you get as a beginner. Same goes for the Contax T2 — the prices are absurd.
What Film Does to Your Eye
This is the part that's harder to quantify but matters most.
When I shoot film, I slow down enough to actually see what I'm looking at. I notice the quality of light — whether it's directional or flat, warm or cool — because I know I'm going to commit to it. I notice backgrounds and distractions that I'd normally crop out in post. I make decisions before pressing the shutter rather than after.
It's made me a better photographer. Not because film is technically superior to digital — in most measurable ways, it isn't. But because it changed the way I approach a scene.
A digital camera is a supercomputer that gives you unlimited chances to get the shot. A film camera is a mechanical box that forces you to be present.
Should You Try It?
If photography has started to feel like a chore — if you're coming home with hundreds of shots and feeling nothing — then yes, I'd genuinely suggest picking up a cheap roll and an old point-and-shoot and spending one weekend with it.
Don't expect the images to look like the ones on film photography Reddit. Expect them to look like they were made by someone learning something new, with effort behind each one. That's the point.
The goal isn't to abandon your digital camera. It's to remember why you started taking photos in the first place.
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If you're in Bangalore and want recommendations for specific labs or where to buy film locally, feel free to reach out via the contact page. Happy to share what's working for me.
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Taresh Sharan
support@sharaninitiatives.com