digital users...what would entice you back to film?

back alley

back alley

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as much as i have embraced digital...my mind wanders occasionally to thoughts of a black m4...a hefty m5 or that lovely finder in the bessa r4...

could i ever use film again?...a thought that pops in at times...

a well crafted film camera might do it...
a panoramic camera might do it...

not sure what else might do it...

what about you other digital users?
anything tempting you at the moment?
 
rangefinder and MF. Once I can buy an EXCELLENT digital rangefinder and a hassy for cheap I'm ditchin' film completely. Well, maybe except for occasional foolin around.
 
Shooting some.
Seeing film photos on RFF.
Shooting some more, meter-less with my M2.
Turning my small house into a large backup facility and server farm.
Still losing a year or more's photography regardless of my paranoid file management.
And shooting some more film.
 
I went totally to digital and over last 2 years or so have just about come back totally to film now. My M9 stays home most days and replaced by Rolleiflex 3.5F primarily for both colour and B&W. I agree with Mile above that if you like the film look you might as well shoot film. Funny how often I see a music video of the latest Diva, (Lana Del Ray is the current one) who shoots all her videos in old film style tones and it just makes me want to shoot film. Especially color film at the moment for me. Get yourself a Rolleiflex and it will be more than a temptation to shoot film it will be an addiction.
 
back alley said:
as much as i have embraced digital...my mind wanders occasionally to thoughts of a black m4...a hefty m5 or that lovely finder in the bessa r4...

could i ever use film again?...a thought that pops in at times...

a well crafted film camera might do it...
a panoramic camera might do it...

not sure what else might do it...

what about you other digital users?
anything tempting you at the moment?
Click to expand...

maybe medium format...the rollei 66 in the classifieds is so very tempting.

but i would pay for a lab to process and scan the film for me...
 
back alley said:
maybe medium format...the rollei 66 in the classifieds is so very tempting.

but i would pay for a lab to process and scan the film for me...
Click to expand...

You got it. Forget 35mm, if you really want to see what film can do, grab any medium-format camera. I just shot several rolls of 120 Tri-X of my friend's very pregnant wife. She was amazed on how "different" the pics looked compared to all of the digital shots she had. I used my Mamiya C220 and a 105mm lens.

Jim B.
 
I shot digital exclusively from about 2002 to 2006. Then I dropped my camera. It needed expensive repairs. While tossing around in my head whether to buy a new digital camera I picked up one of my old film cameras and shot a few rolls. I was so pleased with the results I never got that new digital. The old one, still broken, is in my bottom drawer.
 
Mackinaw said:
You got it. Forget 35mm, if you really want to see what film can do, grab any medium-format camera. I just shot several rolls of 120 Tri-X of my friend's very pregnant wife. She was amazed on how "different" the pics looked compared to all of the digital shots she had. I used my Mamiya C220 and a 105mm lens.

Jim B.
Click to expand...

i shot with 2 mamiya 6s with 75 and 150 lenses for a few years...could not be beat!
 
Instant film that having developed itself (perfectly) then scans itself and uploads the files to your computer ... having spotted out all the dust bunnies of course! 😀
 
I use both digital and film cameras:

Leica M4-2 and Leica M9
Nikon F and Olympus E-1
etc

What "entices" me to use the film cameras is to work with film's specific image capture and rendering qualities. Same thing that entices me to use the digital cameras ... they are simply two different recording mediums and both produce superb, beautiful results when exploited.

I use the digital cameras a lot more than the film cameras now because I find working with the digital images to be more flexible, less expensive, less time consuming, and produces better results (on a technical level) most of the time.

Done well, both mediums are equally expressive and worth using. They are simply different.
 
Actually, the reason I still shoot film (and I wasn't around for the old glory days of it all, having not been born until 1983) is that it's NOT digital. For all the reasons digital has become ubiquitous, and the de facto format for photography, I dislike it.

Film takes more work, and separates the men from the boys, so to speak. You have to know a bit more, and have a bit more dedication than the average camera-phone diehard.

In the end, I guess I just like sticking it to the man...in my own way.
 
I've never gone fully digital, and still shoot both film and digital, but the main problem with film, at least today, is the time. Although I love the final result made with film, I have to think how much time I spent for developing, drying, scanning, editing even to the online posting part. Another round of that for printing. I have no plan of quitting film, but often time consuming nature of film photography does get in the way when I'm swamped with work...
 
Very very cheap yet incredibly wonderful digital scans (35mm) being done by a local lab.

I am happy with digital quality, speed and ease, but would love to use my film cameras again.

I know that film is in the past for me.
 
I can't see myself ever being totally one or the other. Over the last couple of days I have started my seven rolls in seven days mission but have also had my OMD along using that occasionally as well.

I really don't see the need to be committed to one medium only when there are two available that both have such definitive strengths.
 
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