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I wonder.

wonder

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16 replies to this topic

#1
Tony

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Does anyone besides me believe that a return to film photography is imminent?  The reason I say this is because on other sites I read about some folks that have increased their purchases of color print film along with a film SLR.

 

I cannot imagine why anyone would want to revert back to film unless they are just shooting film to be doing something different  occasionally.  I myself am looking at an old (vintage) film camera to use every so often, but the expense of film purchasing and developing seems to be excessive.

 

The last time I purchased Black & White film was about 8 years ago and Ilford HP 5 was approximately $10.00 for 36 exposures, but it also cost me nearly $30.00 to have them developed.  That really was my catalyst in migrating over to digital photography.

 

Please share any thoughts on this.

 

Thnx, 

 

Tony



#2
mikew

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As much as i loved the film days i dont ever want to go back, i did my own darkroom work, B/W color prints and slde developing,that was all part of the fun at the time, i now need instant gratification :D



#3
Merco_61

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Analog still thrives, but not as an alternative to digital. It is an artistic medium in its own right.

 

Developing black and white film is still cheap if you do it yourself. A basic Paterson System 4 tank with two reels is less than $30, a changing bag costs about the same and developer, stop bath and fixer are about $3 per film. A used enlarger doesn't cost much, neither does a scanner with film capabilities. It is much more hands on than digital and the discipline one develops when every frame costs is beneficial even when shooting digital.



#4
Nikon Shooter

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Does anyone besides me believe that a return to film photography is imminent?

 

 

I was very reluctant to join the D world… very. But, since the D3S,
I did the jump and there is NO WAY BACK.

 

I too have some film nostalgia but no thanks.



#5
Bengan

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I took up film photography again a couple of years ago. It started with me taking my old friend, the 1969 Pentax Spotmatic, for a stroll. It was actually great fun and I have now and then continued to put a roll of film in an old film era camera. Using film also gives me some kind of acknowledgement that I know what I'm doing.

B/W film also gives me a nother challenge as I have to think and try to see the world in black and white. It is a completely different mindset from digital color shots that may look good in B/W.

 

Although film photography has a renaissance and Kodak has reintroduced Ektachrome, I don't think that it will make a lot of people throw away their DSLRs.

I follow a number of threads at Pentaxforums where there are a number of people who are exclusively dedicated to film photography, but it's not a huge bunch.

 

I think that old cameras are exciting. My old Rolleiflex was built in the late 1950's and is still in perfect working condition. I don't expect either of my digital bodies to be working when (or rather if) they become that age. Just my two cents.



#6
Nikon Shooter

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I don't expect either of my digital bodies to be working when (or rather if) they become that age. Just my two cents.

 

 

I don't see why?

 

It is like Macs machines: they get obsolete before they failed
in any way. DSLRs have way less moving parts to go wrong

but the supporting technologies are moving on fast.
 



#7
ScottinPollock

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Film never truly went away. But like vinyl and other analog, most consumers won't put up with it, and most pros can't afford to be without the accelerated workflow digital provides.

#8
Tony

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Some excellent commentaries here.  I suppose getting down to the bare bones of the issue, one would have to ask himself/herself, "Which medium do I find to be the most rewarding?".  So dollars and cents aside, which one makes me the happiest?  Sort of like, "To be or not to be."

 

For me, the fact is, I like it all and now I am stoked and may start looking around for a good, used Nikon N8008s (best film camera ever made) and work from there.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback.

 

Cheers,

 

Tony



#9
Merco_61

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If you want the best SLR Nikon have made, there are three that I, personally rank higher than the F801s/N8008s. These are the F2AS, F4 in any version and the Nikkormat FT3.

 

There is one 35 mm SLR that I rank even higher than the Nikons, that is the Contax RTSIII.

 

All these are very sturdy workhorses where you worry about the table and not the camera if you hit a table with the camera. I have cracked three top covers on my F801s over the years and know that it doesn't take much impact to do so. OTOH, these were used for PJ work where an F4 would have been a better choice.



#10
Ron

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I know a couple of people who have adopted a sort of hybrid approach to this. They shoot B&W with film cameras and develop the film normally. They then use a slide/film converter to make digital files which they manipulate in Photoshop or other software. They get the satisfaction of using their analog cameras and some of the advantages of digital. But they are doing this strictly for their own enjoyment. They aren't working photographers.

 

--Ron



#11
Nikon Shooter

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These are the F2AS, F4 in any version and the Nikkormat FT3.


The day I converted my operations from F to D, I held in
my hands both my F4E and the D3S… heartbreaking.

 

Like holding a faithful trusted lover and a new passion.



#12
Merco_61

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I still use my F4E sporadically. I only kept one of the three i had as I needed the money for the Kodak DCS 760. Back in 2001 they were still worth selling.



#13
Nikon Shooter

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For my work then, the D3S was the minimum I would move

to. I still have my three F4E… not worth selling anymore but 

this is with all my film stuff… can't/don't want to get rid of'm.



#14
Manwithacam

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Film is alive and well. Kodak have brought out a new slide film, Ektachrome. New films come out quite regularly from different brands.

I own more than 150 film cameras 20 of those are Nikon. I've paid less for cameras than I have for film. I shoot more film than I do digital. I think makes you think more about each shot because of the cost per shot.

I have the F801 and F801s which I believe is the equivalent of the n8008. I use the F80 more than that or the F90x. More than these I would use my FM2n or FE.

I also have a Nikkormat FTn but use my EL more because of the readily available PX28 battery. What battery does the FT2 use?

Sent from my PRA-LX1 using Tapatalk

#15
Merco_61

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The Nikkormat FT2 and FT3 both use LR-44 or SR-44, unlike the FTn which uses a PX625 mercury cell.



#16
PonySoldier

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I still prefer film to digital and got rid of the "digital arsenal" about a year ago because I missed the darkroom too much! May have been due to my age (76) and the fact that digital just never seemed real. Got rid of the 8x10 due to size/weight but I still shoot 4x5, 6x6 and - most often the Nikon FE - always black and white and processed/printed in my darkroom. It is more difficult to find online film processors to interact with but there are still enough folks around to discuss chemistry and developing/processing with and there are certainly enough cameras and lenses available at good prices. Glad I finally found this site.

JE



#17
Astro Baby

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I don't see why?

 

It is like Macs machines: they get obsolete before they failed
in any way. DSLRs have way less moving parts to go wrong

but the supporting technologies are moving on fast

 

 

I have owned 5 digitals and none of them lasted more than a few years.  The longest runner was an Olympus E10 bought about 2000 which was still running up to a few months ago when I sold it but even that was having issues - the big one being you would find it hard to find CF cards that it will work with and even less likely to find SmartMedia cards.  The original old style SM cards tended to fail even back when they were new so in not much time the camera may be working but how will it write its images without a memory card. You can't ram a modern CF in it because it wont work - the camera was designed to use quite small CF cards which were all there was at the time - it can't address a card thats x10 bigger thats available these days.

 

As an aside the memorry cards I had for the E10 were worth more than the camera so it wasn't all bad selling it.

 

Most of my digitals have failed due to shoddy construction, plastic parts falling off and in three cases the electronics just gave up.  For a digital there is soooo much to go wrong.  The sensors decay over time and the LCDs do too.  In fact some late film cameras that had LCDs are already failing and theres no replacements possible.  You can machine up a metal component or 3D print a plastic one for an old film camera - you'd find it hard to make an LCD screen or a new IC when it fails.

 

On top of all of that electronic components deform and decay if not in regular use.  Store that DSLR in a cupboard for 30 years and I bet it wont be running when you take it out.  A mechanical film camera will be fine.  Some of its grease may harden but a bit of exercise will soon have it going again. Electrolytic capacitors are the worst offenders for buggering up  - they gradually decay and eventually (if your lucky) fail.  If your unlucky they leak and the corrosive fluid inside just dines out on everything else .  One of my Nikon expensive compacts did just that.  Electrolytics are cheaper than tantalum capacitors and thats why they get used.  Plus it probably suits the manufacturers to have the camera fail quite quickly - gets you spending on a replacement. :)

 

The manufacturing philosophy for near on everything has fundamentally changed - back the 1960s and 1970 cameras (along with most other things) were an expensive luxury item.  So if you were going to part with your cash you wanted some assurance it would last.  Manufacturers honoured that unspoken compact and the classic film cameras were built to run for a lifetime of normal use.  People were tighter with their purse strings then and wanted reliability because they didn't have money to chuck about buying a new one every few years.  For many people it would literally be a lifetime purchase.  Today ....who cares about lifetimes, who cares about sustainability - I just want the latest and I want it NOW !!  The average Joe will just keep on spending.  Even if the camera actually lasted it will be obsolete in no time - 5 megapixel, 10, 20, faster write speeds, better program modes, what about accessories -0 it does you no good to have a working camera if you can't get any support - the lenses are all electronic now as well so another way to get the camera in a junk box, what about media.  You might think SD is cool and trendy - people used to think that about 3.5" disks :) (they did too).

 

Film never had that- yes there was incremental development in film but it wasn't pressing.  It was measured and slow.  If you bought a Pentax Spotmatic in 1969 the advances of the Canon AE-1 with auto exposure 10 years later didn't lessen your cameras ability to get a good photo or make you feel you had to have it. Plenty of people made their choice, Minolta SR7 for instance and just stuck with it for the rest of their life.

 

Most of my film cameras were made around 1970 so they have survived 40 years and still run perfectly in the most part.  One of them is 61 years old.  never had a service and still runs perfectly.  It took every family photograph I have in the hands of my Dad.  I can't see most digitals based on my experience making a quarter of that and when they expire you have just some old plastic in your hands. Not something that a camera tech could likely repair, refurbish - just more stuff for landfill.

 

Whats going on in the digital world today seems to be a re-run of the 1980s.  As the market started to decline (and Canon have forecast Armageddon levels of decline in sales) the manufacturers back then started a frantic constant upgrading - auto exposure, program mode, auto focus, motor drive etc  to stop the slide and finally kicked all the quality out and started making cameras of spit, glue, plastic and dubious quality.  The rot started with the AE-1 and it never really went back.  Nikon held out for a few years but in the end they too went plastic and all the quality was slowly wiped out.  DSLR was undoubtedly a blessing for the manufacturers (though on hindsight they all seem to have been a bit slow off the mark) as it allowed them a rapid change of pace, a whole new frontier and a whole new group of consumers.  But just as with film the market has reached saturation.  Where to go now ???

 

My forecast would be someone is going to ace it with a digital that looks and feels just like a metal film camera and has some kind of longevity built into it.  In my dreams I'd like to think one of the big boys will go retro and re-release an all mechanical film body.  After all people predicted the end of vinyl - what actually happened was the market shrank but it left behind some excellent niche players who all moved up market. You no longer see the 'entry level' disc spinners but you sure as hell see some beautiful record decks made to a quality that you never saw when the market was booming and Sony, Akai, Pioneer et al were bashing out flashy looking but poorly performing decks.

 

For me the goal is hybrid - film cameras but a negative scanner  - I just love the feel of a film camera - makes me feel like a girl again :)







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