Thirty-six frames on a roll. No screen on the back, no delete button. I bought a Canon Canonet QL17 a few years ago, a small silver rangefinder from the seventies, and started carrying it around Saigon.
Shooting film in Saigon changed how I look at the city. There’s a shot everywhere: up in the sky, down on the street, on the ground at your feet.
Why shooting film in Saigon just works
Saigon isn’t a clean city, and film doesn’t try to make it one. The haze over the rooftops. The sun dropping orange through the smog. A faded shophouse wall next to a tower that went up last year. Digital tries to fix all of that. Film keeps the grime and the shine together, and to me that looks more like Saigon than anything I’ve shot on my phone.
The light helps. The afternoon haze softens everything, and golden hour here lasts longer than you’d expect.
The camera: Canon Canonet QL17
Mine is a Canonet QL17 G-III, which Canon made from 1972 to 1982. Silver body, black leatherette, a fixed 40mm f/1.7 lens. QL stands for Quick Loading: lay the film leader across, close the back, and it catches on its own.
It has a leaf shutter, so it barely makes a sound. Pick a shutter speed and it sets the aperture for you, or switch to full manual. The light meter was built for a mercury battery that isn’t made anymore, so check what’s in yours before you trust it.
Why a prime rangefinder?
One lens, fixed at 40mm. No zoom. You want it closer, you walk closer.
That limit is the whole point. One focal length, one roll, thirty-six chances. It slows me down just enough to actually see the corner before I shoot it. And a small silver camera doesn’t change how a street behaves the way a big lens does.
The film: Kodak ColorPlus 200
The film is Kodak ColorPlus 200, an everyday ISO 200 color stock. It runs warm. Reds stand out, blues come out a little muted, and the grain is finer than the price suggests.
That warmth suits Saigon, with its orange sunsets through the haze and its faded shophouse walls. At ISO 200 it wants light, and it handles too much better than too little, so it does best in daylight and struggles in the shade.
The sky
Skyline from a balcony, sunsets over Thủ Thiêm. Landmark 81 and Bitexco are the city’s mountains, and on windy afternoons the kites come out.
The street
Street corners, a café sign under the Saigon Pearl towers, a café window, an empty road at dusk in Thủ Thiêm. I keep people in the background, part of the scene and never the subject.
The river
The Saigon River from Ba Son Bridge, the cable-stayed bridge that opened in 2022 and runs from Tôn Đức Thắng in District 1 across to Thủ Thiêm. Landmark 81 through the cables upriver, and container barges on the water below.
Where to buy a film camera and develop film in Saigon
The camera: I found my QL17 at Tiệm Cố Thời, a tiny vintage camera shop tucked inside a café. Every camera gets cleaned and checked before it leaves, and they sell film too.
The lab: my rolls go to 47plus Minilab in Tân Định. Hand your film through the window, and the scans usually land in your inbox the same day. Every print in this post came from them.
Tips for shooting film in Saigon
- Shoot early or late. The hour after sunrise and before sunset is when the city glows. Midday is flat and brutal.
- Keep your film cool. 34 Celsius and a motorbike seat will cook a roll. Bag it, shade it, develop it soon.
- Get up high. Café balconies, rooftops and pedestrian bridges give you Saigon in layers.
- Respect the people in the frame. Ask first, or keep them part of the scene.
- Hand-check at the airport if you’re flying in with fast film.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The afternoon haze softens the light, the streets are dense with color and detail, and film handles the city’s mix of old shophouses and new towers beautifully.
Tiệm Cố Thời is a small vintage camera shop inside a café. Cameras are cleaned and checked before sale, and they sell film too.
47plus Minilab in Tân Định, District 1. Drop rolls at the window; scans often arrive by email the same day.
The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. Midday light is harsh and flat.
Keep rolls out of direct sun and hot bags, never leave them on a motorbike seat, and get them developed soon after shooting.
Kodak ColorPlus 200 works well. It is warm and fine-grained, and Saigon’s bright, hazy daylight suits its ISO 200 speed.
Shot on a Canon Canonet QL17 around Saigon in 2022, printed at 47plus Minilab. For the stories behind some of these streets, read The In-Between, and for where I sit after a shoot, the best cafés in Saigon.
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