Film has made a comeback

A comeback? All I want is a soft landing. 🙂

Really...I predicted that film consumption would fall back to its pre-1989s levels, which wouldn't be fun, but at least not over the cliff. Color gets the biggest hit, of course, but it hangs on. Not at all worried about b/w, which, having been a minority in the film market for decades, didn't have so far to fall.

Be happy, and buy another brick.
 
I'll throw in a pro and a con.

On 1. hobbyists, I think this is an extremely small market. When I'm at a tourist spot I see almost -no- film cameras, 99% digital. I still see disposable cameras once in a while, which is surprising since they are the worst quality with all the hassles of film. In San Francisco on the street I'll occasionally see younger people with antique cameras, but they aren't tourists.

On 3. I know somebody who works in the art department of one of the larger style-related magazines in the New York publishing industry. I was fairly shocked when he said most of their photography is still medium format film (transparencies). The content is mostly still life with no models and they aren't going for an artsy film look, this is straight lifestyle work. He said they have an in-house studio and occasionally when time is -really- tight they will shoot DSLR. But in general MF looks better and they have the day turnaround time for developing. He said the digital backs for MF are still too expensive for many long time pros to switch (and only recently have digital backs have looked as good as MF). And between planning, experience and using digital cameras for preview, they don't worry about getting the shot.
 
KoNickon said:
Had you not used film at all before? That's something hard for me to comprehend! But I guess with people below a certain age, that might not be so unusual. Welcome.
Click to expand...



Maybe he was doing that "Analog" photography...

There are a lot of terms that the kids these days don't understand or know where they came from...

"Roll up your window"

"Turn it clockwise"

"Full-Service" gas stations...

"E-ticket" ride

anyone else have something to add???😉
 
Nh3 said:
... for example using Trix makes even the most boring of stuff interesting because the look of the film adds a certain atmosphere and mood to the picture, with digital its purely "what-it-is" and therefore, a lot of people soon feel bored of digital and frustrated on how ordinary their images look.
Click to expand...

Wasn't it you some month ago, toting your digitally simulated "pushed tri-x like grain" that "made much better" some of that "purely what-it-is" defocused digital image? right here on the forum??
What happened with that discovery?
 
Ray Nalley said:
Medium format was killed off by digital several years ago. Most film sold now, by a wide margin, according to Kodak, is sheet film.
Click to expand...

??Maybe my english is bad and in fact, "killed OFF" means something else than "killed"? Because it is surely alive around here, and compared to 35mm i think it relatively got MORE use in the last years.
 
Killed off means made defunct, no longer available, a thing of the past. That's not an accurate way to describe the state of MF photography. Even in my city, a God-forsaken trading post in the middle of nowhere, I can buy a wide enough variety of 120 film. And isn't Fuji bringing out a new MF folder? They seem to signal that MF has a future.
 
Unfortunately, I fear that medium format is suffering the most. It was the choice film for pros, many who have switched to digital (not "medium format" digital) accepting the drawbacks of less resolution in exhange for the greater flexibility in post processing of digital. 35mm film still rules in latin america and other third world countries, where the vast majority of people can't afford digital cameras or computers, but you will not find much mf film there.
 
Ray Nalley said:
All that medium format stuff you see on eBay at garage sale prices isn't there because Medium Format is doing well.
Click to expand...

Great isn't it! I've picked up some really good kit second hand - although I don't go near The 'Bay.

Digital is not going to go away (nor should it) and the mass market will never return to film. The only question is are there enough 'enthusiasts' to keep film going. I think that there might be, although I accept that the choice of film available will reduce and the cost will almost certainly increase - and given that I don't live near a major retailer I will probably have to buy mail order.

I hope that it will at least see out the time I have left on this planet 🙂
 
For a bog-standard consumer, film is so low hassle. Shoot film, take it to shop, collect prints (and free film).

Digital users shoot tons because they can, and then ask "how can I get prints?". Often the shots aren't ever printed, and may even be erased to make room for more.

My father in law got given a digital SLR for his birthday, but has gone back to his film SLR. Fundamentally if you want prints, film is easier, albeit a little more expensive.

Amidst all this, I'm an anomaly. I shoot film, scan it, and discard the negatives. I don't print at home, but periodically send several hundred jpgs to Photobox to print.

For many of us (me included) FlickR answers the question "what do I do with my photos?"
 
3 girls got excited when I showed they my tiny

3 girls got excited when I showed they my tiny

Pentax Auto 110 camera. I took the camera in to Ritz with me to drop off a roll of film for processing. Here were these counter girls all jumping around and giggling when I took the film out of my Pentax. Then I showed them how the lenses interchanged and was met with a fresh round of ooohs and aaahs. Surrounded by all this digital hardware, they were excited to see something different in film.

So, it turns out that film may also be a "chick magnet" and I can sell the BMW.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom