Am I crazy? Slides for a family trip...

I just came back from a little trip in Stockholm, where i used a Canonet because I wanted a light gear. I was with the family, and I only shot Velvia. They can't wait to see the results on the wall ;)

So yes, do it, anyway its a family trip, so photography should not be your main concern. Just make a selection before the projection, and if they don't like it, you can always scan the slides and show them on the pc.
 
As you know, I have to give another shout out for Kodak slide film, E100G or E100VS are both stunning films and I prefer them over Fuji slide film. On top of that they're quite easy to scan.
I'd go for it :)
 
Yes, you are totally crazy.

I am, too. For more than 40 years I never shot anything else than slides on all my trips, and I will continue to do so.
 
I can find my files quicker than slides.

I can find my files quicker than slides.

Roger Hicks said:
Yeah, you're crazy. And? That's no reason not to shoot slides. I don't now how many thousand I have filed upstairs. Easier to find than digi images, too.

Cheers,

R.
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I respectfully disagree with this. I can find exact images much quicker that I've shot on digital than ones I've shot with slides.

YMMV
 
Thanks everyone for all the good feedback!

So, after sealing the deal at home with promises of freshly-popped corn and a one-tray limit, I'll be shooting the trip on chromes and projecting.

Since it's available to me, I'll be shooting Provia 100F. I'm trying to track down some 400X...I've been curious about that emulsion. It's impossible to find locally, and expensive!

I'll also be toting a Canon G10, for indoors flash stuff that my wife will stash in her purse.

Good to know there are other crazy people out there!
 
Don Parsons said:
I respectfully disagree with this. I can find exact images much quicker that I've shot on digital than ones I've shot with slides.

YMMV
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Dear Don,

MMDIV (My mileage does indeed vary, not 2504). But then, my slides are in hanging files, sorted by country.

Cheers,

R.
 
David_Manning said:
Since it's available to me, I'll be shooting Provia 100F. I'm trying to track down some 400X...I've been curious about that emulsion. It's impossible to find locally, and expensive!
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100F is great. 400X is awesome. I would order the 400X from Freestyle or B&H. The price of all film (but especially 400x) here in Canada is insane.

I shot a year's worth of trips (about four) on mostly 100F. Wouldn't do it again for a few reasons:

1. I find slides hard to scan and that makes it difficult to share with family and friends who can't come over for the slideshow. I don't trust labs to scan anymore.

2. A bit more costly than colour neg.

3. Not as forgiving and flexible as colour neg.

Now, if we're talking MF it's hard to resist those big positives. I just don't think I'll shoot 35mm positive anymore.
 
+1 for Astia 100 and Provia 400x. And don't pussyfoot around; shoot a bunch of slide. I hate getting back from an event with one roll of slide - it makes everything else look bad. :)

Save a ton by using Fuji prepaid mailers for development.

Beware mixed lighting color temps at night with slide film; do some research to make sure you like the look you'll get in that situation.

Later on, just pay for the scans of the best of the best. Or get a Nikon Coolscan 5000 and shoot slide whenever you want to - no problems scanning slide well on that beast.
 
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Now I'm totally frustrated!

I just returned from my little trip.

During our two-days, we went to a mostly-indoor museum, swam in an indoor pool, went to a nice restaurant and ate indoors...you get the picture. It was really HOT in Pittsburgh.

So guess what? The best way to capture those shots??? My new iPhone 4. The flash mostly sucked, but it took good indoor pictures (during the day) with proper white-balance. The only time the WB was off was at night with flash pictures (that little LED flash is last-ditch!).

Another thing...the iPhone camera (5 megapixel, best camera phone shots I've seen) was instantly accessible and had less shutter lag than my older Canon G7!

My frustration lies in the fact that even though I desperately wanted to shoot my M6 in a casual, no-pressure environment, it was consistenly outdone by a camera phone! And to make matters worse, I eventually just stopped reaching for the Leica unless it was full-sun outdoors.

(I won't even mention the terrific way it my stupid iPhone 4 captured 720p video on the trip)

I think the realization FOR ME is that, except for an outdoor adventure in full sunlight, my D700 will be my go-to camera. I know, I know--totally different technology and machines. But the fact that angers me (which I can't dispute) is that the D700 (okay, ANY current dSLR) excels in low light, mixed-light, color, and still delivers fully-controllable DoF with less cost and travel consideration. It's EXTREMELY fast in operation, and I can even go b&w white after-the-fact (heresy!)

(cont'd)...
 
...So now, for me, the philosophical comparisons begin (or continues)...

Do I continue to spend time and money chasing M6 nirvana by investing in a Coolscan, buying slide mailers, spending $15/roll on film and developing, and photographing inside the technical envelope (daylight, outdoors), not to mention the scanning times involved, and printing costs (if prints are desired), or do I throw in the towel, run up the white flag, and shoot with abandon with a D700 (and a bunch of memory cards that will fit in a small pocket), never worrying about missed opportunities, slow focus, color casts, bad local scanning and printing, high storage temperatures, running out of film, and paying a Leica tax for new lenses?

It's the basic question--the very essence--we've been struggling with since digital hit the scene.

Nikon convert I admire--F100 shooter Steve McCurry (now using D700 and Hasselblad digital MF)

Leica converts I admire--Salgado and NGS Leica shooter Fritz Hoffman (now using Canon 5dMkII)

I'd love to hear opinions from others who have struggled or continue to struggle with stupid technical issues in their quest to just, simply, "bring back the pictures!"
 
David_Manning said:
...photographing inside the technical envelope (daylight, outdoors)...
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I don't know your age David, nor your cultural background but you must realise that folks have been taking all sorts of beautiful photographs which fall outside of your perceived "envelope" for quite some time before the invention of digital imaging.


But after all, don't worry. If you're happy with a phone then use it.



James.
 
Men tend to wrangle about the technical issue of image making.

I'd ask myself if I am after the content of the image, or I am chasing the "experience" of using certain gear. And I'd ask myself if the chosen gear will allow me to get to my goal unhindered.

And once I decided, I'd just go with one type of gear. Mixing two types of gears (digital and film) just doesn't work for me...as I tried to use both digital and film during high pressure situation, and it just created more hassle for me since first of all the way I meter is different if I shoot film vs digital.

Nowadays, if it's a high pressure paying job...then my choice is digital. If it's just my vacation, I'd go either all digital or all film depending if I'm flying or driving.

But that's just me.

If I have my own Fuji Frontier machine, obviously that will affect my decision :)
 
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David_Manning said:
But the fact that angers me (which I can't dispute) is that the D700 (okay, ANY current dSLR) excels in low light, mixed-light, color, and still delivers fully-controllable DoF with less cost and travel consideration. It's EXTREMELY fast in operation, and I can even go b&w white after-the-fact (heresy!)

(cont'd)...
Click to expand...


I agree... the D700, while heavy, is a hell of a camera. I'm glad I sold my M8 to get one.
 
I may have been misunderstood in my comments. I'm not saying that I'm happy with shooting with a camera phone. I just think that digital does color (especially color) so much better, by and large. And so conveniently.

I love my M6, but I think that often I try to find things I can shoot with it, as opposed to using it to shoot things. It will probably become my b&w hobby shooter, while digital does the heavy lifting.

I like existing-light shooting, and (in my particular case) the D700 makes it effortless. Now I can think about framing and content. Yes, countless images were made with film technology, but the publishable images made by a large majority of those shooters used all the technical expertise available...tungsten-film, a pocketfull of filters, on- and off-camera strobes, etc. Many of those technical hurdles have been bridged by simple onboard technology.

Now, we're all smart-enough to know none of that wizardry will make a good picture. But some of us can appreciate that technical assistance. I am one of them! When I was in the science museum with my little daughters, I didn't want to think about "I wish I had a fluorescent-correction filter with me," or plop a strobe on top and blast. I just wanted to capture an unobstrusive moment. I DIDN'T have my D700, but the camera I had could do it...it happened to be my iPhone. So what. But the point is the digital technology made it effortless, in a way that makes me feel a bit ashamed, embarrassed, and glad/lucky I had it with me.

Thanks for sticking with me during my ranting. I love my M6, but it's a niche shooter whose niche just got a lot smaller for me.
 
The only remedy now is then medium format cameras, a TLR or a folder. Only with medium format will you still see clear advantages in image quality against digital cameras. TLR or folder so that it's not very bulky, easy to use, usable under low light, and with a cool factor. Bessa II or Super Ikonta C.

Yefei
 
FWIW I shoot slide film for travel whenever possible. I will be using up
most of my remaining Kodachrome on family trips this summer and fall.

Chris
 
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