Shooting Film as a Beginner: Why I Chose the Olympus OM10

In a world where convenience wins and where a smartphone is rarely more than an arm’s length away, buying a film camera felt like a small act of rebellion.

When I chose to buy a 40-year-old Olympus OM10, it wasn’t just about nostalgia, it was my way of ensuring that my family’s memories wouldn’t disappear into the cloud but would live on as something I could hold.

Shooting film in a digital age

I’ve always been interested in photography but I’d never really done anything about it until earlier this year. I was looking through my childhood photo albums and thought how we don’t print photos anymore – in my household at least.

With the birth of my first child just around the corner, I felt a strong urge to not only capture the moments of her growing but to have them in a physical form so that one day, like me, she’d have an album of her childhood to look through.

There’s something almost indescribably special about a printed image. Like many of you, I have thousands of images buried in cloud storage which I only get reminded about when a memory notification pops up. But without that notification, I can honestly say that I’d likely forget the photo even existed.

I didn’t want my child’s photos to end up in the same desolate place where they’ll never get looked at and enjoyed. I feel that photos want to be enjoyed. That they need to be seen.

Thus began my search for a film camera. And in true nostalgic fashion, I wanted something a little vintage with a bit more to it than a simple point and shoot.

Examples from the Olympus OM10 manual

Choosing the Olympus OM10

Fortunately, I work with photographers and could ask them about which camera would be a good fit for a beginner like me. Initially, I was after a Nikon FM2 but the price point was a little high for my budget and they were scarce to find. After some chats, a fair amount of research, and seeing what was available in my city, I landed on an Olympus OM10.

The Japanese-built SLR camera was released in 1979 as an entry-level 35mm aimed at consumers rather than professional photographers. The camera is mostly manual; it operates in aperture priority mode, which allows the user to set the aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed. A unique feature of the OM10 is its manual adapter (which I haven’t braved using yet), that allows the user to manually set the shutter speed. This felt like a good entry level camera for me as it had the option of gaining more control once I’d mastered its basic features.

Another thing I liked with the Olympus OM10 was its user manual. Luckily, the one I found came with the original manual, still intact! A few YouTube videos helped fill in the gaps. From a collector’s perspective, the OM10 is cool piece of analogue technology, encapsulating the style of the late 1970s. It makes me feel as though I am another owner in a line of users who came before me. There’s a certain element of history and lineage there which I wouldn’t have if I went with a new camera.

Shooting with the OM10: My experience so far

Using the OM10 has been a joy! It’s light enough for me to take around and I think it looks great too! Most importantly, it’s changed how I think about taking photos. The limited number of shots on a roll of film (24 or 36 frames) has forced me to be more intentional when snapping pics. Each moment feels more finite and unique, as opposed to the endless stream of shots one takes with a smartphone. This is obviously not exclusive to my OM10 but to film cameras in general.

Up until now, I’ve mostly used the camera for more ‘special’ shots of my baby and family. However, as I’m still learning, I make sure to take the same pics with my mobile as I’m uncertain about the exposure and focus and I don’t want to lose those moments entirely if the film photos don’t work out.

Overall, photographing with my OM10 has been great. I feel like I’m capturing something. There’s a whole build up and ritual around taking a photo that ends with the final click of the shutter - which I find very satisfying. The experience has been totally different from shooting on a mobile phone which is underwhelming and monotonous in comparison.

For more mundane day-to-day shots, I don’t bother using the OM10. For those pictures, I use my phone which is more convenient and makes it easy to share photos with family and friends. For more ‘special’ shots, however, the OM10 almost always makes an appearance.

Photo by cottonbro studio

Film vs digital: A conscious choice

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by choice and in our consumerist culture it can be a challenge to follow what we actually want when there are so many options available. I considered a digital SLR because of the ease of use and for the (almost) limitless number of photos you can take. But for my needs, and the reasons behind why I was in the market for a camera, going with film was the way for me.

Sometimes it can feel difficult to make choices based on what suits our needs versus what we could buy. I’d imagine this situation only gets more intense the further down the photography rabbit hole you go. With a multitude of options out there, and the constant development of new tech, I can see how one might feel that the gear you have is outdated compared to the super-impressive new versions that are constantly being released. As Yvan wrote in his piece The Great Megapixel Myth - photography has more to do with the skill of the photographer than the gear they have in hand. I suppose it’s a skill on its own to be able to see through the clutter of new tech and discover what gear best suits your needs.

Slowing down to see more

Ultimately my choice of a film camera over digital was about more than just aesthetics and memory-making. On a philosophical level, it was about pushing back against the “snap and forget” culture that has seeped into contemporary photography. Every shot I take with the OM10 needs to be carefully thought out, prepped, and focused. I need to be intentional about what, and how I shoot; to capture memories that last, rather than getting lost in the endless, disposable snaps that fill my phone but never my home.

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Written by Katya Mulvaney | Katya is a brand creation and digital marketing specialist. She heads up marketing and communication here at LightRocket. If you subscribe to our emailer or follow us on social media, then you're probably already familiar with some of her work. She also never shies away from a good plate of pasta.

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