appeal of film over digital?

[Mos6502]

I think people are losing sight of the original point of this conversation. It was never about which is better (in the sense of resolution or other numbers).

"...what are the attributes about a film image that others like as compared to digital."

Film and digital are different processes with different inherent qualities. That one can be made to imitate the other is missing the point. What do you like about film, in comparison to digital.

 

[trix4ever]

I think people are losing sight of the original point of this conversation. It was never about which is better (in the sense of resolution or other numbers).

"...what are the attributes about a film image that others like as compared to digital."

Film and digital are different processes with different inherent qualities. That one can be made to imitate the other is missing the point. What do you like about film, in comparison to digital.

Fair point.
Ok, what I particularly like is the highlight rolloff of black and white negative film, one of the few things hard to match with digital.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I really like film cameras and the lore of the history of them but it's all digital for me. I have a few and I've been playing with them but when this stock of film runs out that will likely be it for me and film. I like the results with digital better as well as the ease and versatility of it.

 

[das]

I think of it like this.

We had a long era of analog technology, like maybe 100 years or so - typewriters, record players, film cameras, reel to reels, 4/8/16 track recording machines, etc.

We have had over two decades of disposable digital technology - MP3 players, cell phones, digital cameras of all shapes and sizes, desktop and laptop computers, etc. And unless that digital tech was made in the last five years (on a rolling basis), anything older is usually either in a landfill, recycle bin, obsolete, or unrepairable if broken. And that is by design from the boardroom. Sure, some people hold onto old digital tech, but they are in the extreme minority.

In 20 years, there will still be a demand for working or fixable analog technology. There will be zero demand for any digital camera made in 2024, no matter how much it costs today or how many megapixels achieved.

Whether any of that matters is up to the individual. There is no right answer.

I just dropped off a 1972 manual typewriter made in West Germany or the Netherlands or wherever to get fixed by one of the few people around my area who knows how to service them. The typewriter brings me more joy with a few strokes than decades of everyday use of Microsoft Word.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I have a 20 year old digital camera that still works, shoots quality images and I use it often but not all the time. It's an Epson R-D1X, I have an R-D1 as well which now sits on the shelf. I have to admit that the appeal of these two is their analog style of operation and the feeling of old time photography I get from them without the film headaches.

 

[pggunn]

The R-D1 is one of the cameras I regret selling. It was very satisfying to shoot, like a film camera, and the images had a film-like quality as well. The noise looked more like film grain than most digital cameras to me. I wish Epson had continued making cameras. Their initial efforts were well done.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I'd like to see a manual shutter cocking lever for the M12.

 

[Out to Lunch]

I use all three existing models —great 6-megapixel cameras.

 

[Godfrey]

I have a 20 year old digital camera that still works, shoots quality images and I use it often but not all the time. It's an Epson R-D1X, I have an R-D1 as well which now sits on the shelf. I have to admit that the appeal of these two is their analog style of operation and the feeling of old time photography I get from them without the film headaches.

My evergreen Olympus E-1 turned 21 years old this year. I hadn't used it for a while, so I pulled it out, put a charged battery into it, and did some testing. Still works perfectly. 🙂

Kept from corrosion by leaky batteries or moisture, and not abused, there's no reason a digital camera can't be shooting until the shutter or other mechanical components literally wear out from use. I've never seen that happen ... most are discarded long long before they're at that end of life either because the owner wants a newer camera with more/better features/performance, or are just entranced by upgrading to the latest and greatest.

The old E-1 is just a 5Mpixel camera but it has outstanding lenses and imaging quality. I can still use it happily today. I've made outstanding prints with it up to 20x24 inch in size (with a bit of uprezzing to net a decent printing pixel density, of course).

G

 

[Erik van Straten]

A digital file can be copied infinitely often. An analoge image cannot be copied. It is unique, precious, like a drawing or a painting.

 

[dourbalistar]

A digital file can be copied infinitely often. An analoge image cannot be copied. It is unique, precious, like a drawing or a painting.

Um, what about making multiple prints from the same negative?

 

[yossi]

A digital file can be copied infinitely often. An analoge image cannot be copied. It is unique, precious, like a drawing or a painting.

This is true in a way. I would say BOTH digital image and film image could be manipulated, just that digital ones are more so.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Um, what about making multiple prints from the same negative?

You always need the original negative to make a new print. When you loose the negative, you cannot make a new print with the same quality as the original print.

 

[santino]

My evergreen Olympus E-1 turned 21 years old this year. I hadn't used it for a while, so I pulled it out, put a charged battery into it, and did some testing. Still works perfectly. 🙂

Kept from corrosion by leaky batteries or moisture, and not abused, there's no reason a digital camera can't be shooting until the shutter or other mechanical components literally wear out from use. I've never seen that happen ... most are discarded long long before they're at that end of life either because the owner wants a newer camera with more/better features/performance, or are just entranced by upgrading to the latest and greatest.

The old E-1 is just a 5Mpixel camera but it has outstanding lenses and imaging quality. I can still use it happily today. I've made outstanding prints with it up to 20x24 inch in size (with a bit of uprezzing to net a decent printing pixel density, of course).

G

You are right but there might be one problem regarding non mechanical cameras: There are reports that the industry started to use lead free solder sometime back in the 90s and because of that soldered connections may become loose.

 

[Erik van Straten]

I really like film cameras and the lore of the history of them but it's all digital for me. I have a few and I've been playing with them but when this stock of film runs out that will likely be it for me and film. I like the results with digital better as well as the ease and versatility of it.

How do you do the archiving? How do you find a digital photo you took sixteen years ago?

 

[sojournerphoto]

How do you do the archiving? How do you find a digital photo you took sixteen years ago?

Archiving digital isn’t hard at all. Lots of options - date of exposure is always preserved, keywords, the ability to store multiple exact copies allows back up etc, takes up much less space.

Worst case is sorting through pictures in date order.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Worst case is sorting through pictures in date order.

Yes, because you never know exactly when you took a picture. Film is much easier because the negatives are always in the right order. Simply number the films.

The main advantage of shooting on film is the quality of its prints, especially if you make the prints yourself. The prints of digital photos are always terribly bad. How did that happen?

 

[dourbalistar]

You always need the original negative to make a new print. When you loose the negative, you cannot make a new print with the same quality as the original print.

Nevermind, this is futility.

 

[santino]

Despite my preference for film I‘ve got to say that my Eos D60 from 2002 still works like new! The AF is slow but the mechanics and the body are top notch.

 

[wlewisiii]

How do you do the archiving? How do you find a digital photo you took sixteen years ago?

Easily. It's in the directory with that camera's name, that date, that file name. I find it easier than any of my negatives.