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I am a beginner photographer and this is the first time I have used an old film camera that belonged to my parents. It is a Fujifilm Clear Shot 20 Auto.

What kind of film should I use and how do I develop it by myself? Thanks for your time.

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There are 2 questions here - you really should consider them separately.

What film to use... The camera uses 35mm film, which, even still, is not all that hard to find, certainly online. But there are some supply chain issues these days, so prices/stocks have been negatively affected.

You should look for the following:

  • new film, not expired film
  • 35mm, colour, C-41, ISO 400 or ISO 800
  • as cheap as you can find

C-41 means it can be easily developed by a lab, and ISO 400 or 800 film will be better able to handle all kinds of lighting with this camera.

Highly recommended - find and read the manual for the camera. I would not consider this camera a "vintage" camera. Yes, it's a couple of decades old, but that doesn't imply any classic quality. It's a cheap compact camera that didn't even autofocus as far as I can tell. It might be a bit of fun to use, sure, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone who wants to properly get into film photography. Try to use it predominantly outdoors in sunlight - indoors you won't get good results with this camera, even with the flash.

How to develop film yourself... That's a complicated process. I would start off simple - try a couple of rolls of 35mm colour film and pay for a lab to develop and print/scan the film first. See if you like it first before going down the route of developing your own film.

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  • FYI The manuals of the came are available online and easily found with a google search. And I can't resist to add that this year I shot and had processed several rolls of B&W 120 film that expired in 2007 (and was not kept in a fridge all this time) and I was surprised to find that it worked as expected.
    – Peter M
    Oct 9, 2022 at 14:30
  • @PeterM yes, expired film often gives results that are just fine, and in particular, traditional black & white film is much less sensitive to "poor" storage than C-41 film is. But as general advice, it is best to buy new film. If a newbie buys old film from eBay, who's to say the seller didn't store it in the glove compartment of their car for the past several years??
    – osullic
    Oct 9, 2022 at 15:36
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The Fujifilm Clear Shot 20 Auto is a basic point-and-shoot camera that uses standard 35mm film readily available from Fuji, Kodak, and others.

Format magazine has a solid guide to developing your own film at home, as well. It would be a good first step on your film camera adventure. Have fun!

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