Can you still buy a film camera?
Someone recently asked me if it’s still possible to buy traditional film cameras. The answer is a resounding yes.
There are always a huge number of film cameras for sale on Ebay. Many camera retailers have extensive used equipment departments that have a wide ranging selection of used film cameras for sale. Take a look at these online retailers to see their used film camera offerings:
Jack's Camera Shop - Used Department
Used Cameras and Used Camera Equipment For Sale
There are even a limited number of new film cameras being produced and offered for sale - in 35mm, Nikon and Leica offer new cameras; Horseman and Linhof have new 120/220 medium format cameras in the market. Arca-Swiss, Linhof, Toyo and Wista have large format view cameras for sale.
The death of film photography has been enormously exaggerated. Over a hundred different kinds of roll film - mainly 35mm and 120 format - are still being made and sold as are many kinds of cut sheet film for large format view cameras.
I’ll never forget the first time someone told me that film photography would soon be dead and that no one would be able to buy film, let alone chemicals to develop it in and paper to print on. It was the summer of 1997.
Here we are 22 years later and film based photography is alive and well. It’s not the only kind of photography like it was back in the early to mid 1980s but it is far from dead.