flame suit on... but -->

[kevin m]

I have a Coolscan 5000 on my desk, but I won't use it to scan every frame I shoot. I have my C-41 developed and low-res scans burned to CD. I come home and look them over, then anything I want to print bigger than 4x6 I scan using the Nikon.

It speeds things up quite a bit and makes me hate scanning less. 😀

 

[Steve Bellayr]

I never understood the rush to post the photos on the net. No matter how fast you get them back you still need time to review each photo. If you do not take the time to really see each image before posting it you will do a dis-service to yourself. Their are too many poor images posted that should have been deleted.

For myself time has never been an issue. I can pick up my photos from a shop or shoot them with a digital and not look at them for weeks.

Unless the photo is to be sent out for commercial use or some importan inquiry...relax.

& think very seriously about ever selling an M6. The next time you want one it may be more costly.

 

[mackigator]

I recently bought a K10D hoping to lower my film costs for certain types of shots/subjects. I'm glad I made the purchase but it hasn't replaced my rangefinder habit - not even close. Most of the time it has made me long for my rangefinder, a Hexar RF, as I've gone SLR-only on a few recent excursions to speed my learning of the K10D.

Somewhere I read that SLR's excel at making compositions while a rangefinder excels at freezing time - a bit strange, I know, as mechanically all cameras do both - but I have found that to be true.

Finally I think there may be something to the thought that, because film has a very clear per exposure cost, film produces a subtle but constant pressure to get it right. This is hard for me to articulate. You'd think the feedback loop from a digital would help me learn new things faster (at times it does) but, overall, it's been the forced deliberateness of film that has made the biggest difference in what I consider to be the quality of my photos. They often make me happy now (now that I'm in rangefinder-film camera-land).

I have a Coolscan 5000 on my desk and it also makes me happy. I lie about the time it takes.

 

[kevin m]

and i don't fus around in photoshop, if the picture is bad it's bad.

Then you're missing out on half the fun.

I had a conventional darkroom in my basement with a V35 enlarger. 6 months after I bought Photoshop CS I sold the enlarger and the darkroom will soon be a half bath.

PS makes 'darkroom' work fun for me in a way that the darkroom never did. I keep some fixer in an aerosol bottle and spritz it around the room whenever I get nostalgic. 😀

 

[iridium7777]

do you scan 35mm or do you shoot some other format?

i've tried an epson 4400 something, 219$ at best buy, fully cranked it made 17mb tiffs but i don't think the resolution was that good. everything looked "mooty" and dark, i don't think the little guy had a strong enough lamp.

i wish i could have one of those nikon scanners for 1500-2000$, but that's about as real as me getting an m8 instead.

Let me just say that you can get good scans and excellent print output doing it yourself for alot less money than the prices at the pro labs lead you to believe. I use an Epson 4990 flat bed scanner and an Epson R1800 printer. They may not give you the highest possible quality

 

[kevin m]

The 5D isn't big or heavy, either. I borrowed my buddy's and used it with my 28/1.8 and was shocked at how light it was, and how good the files looked. Not a replacement for film (or a rangefinder) but pretty damned impressive nonetheless.

I'd buy an M8 if they were a decent value, or an R-D1 if they had a decent service network, but neither is true. A used 5D at $1,500 is a screaming value. If you want to get closer to the M8 look, you can have its AA filter removed, too. 🙂

 

[Tuolumne]

I use the 4990 scanner for both 35mm and 120. In this case I was speaking specifically about 35mm. Although I also have a dedicated Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400, which is very highly regarded, I frequently feel that I get scans I like better on the 4990. Since the 4990 has been superceded, I'm sure it can be had for a bargain these days. I think I got mine from B&H after they were discontinued for around $320. They may also have refurbs still at a bargain price on the Epson web site. I got my R1800 as a refurb on the Epson web site and have been completely delighted with its photo prints.

/T

 

[myoptic3]

I would think this isn't an either-or thing. Use the digital for all the reasons you correctly stated. If you shot only B&W, which it doesn't sound like you do, then I would shoot only film. If you shoot film, I would certainly invest in a good film scanner, and you would get a lot better scans than the photo shop cheap scans. Don't forget one of the main advantages of shooting film.... you can shoot slides, old stock film, specialty films, classic B&W films, different formats, etc. You aren't limited to a basic DSLR sensor look. As digital continues to improve, the cost factor of film becomes a big liability. Convenience is there as well. But for what your reasons seem to be, I would agree that a DSLR would be a good way to go. I personally would go w/ a Nikon as I have a lot of Nikon glass and prefer their cameras, but at this level of DSLR's they all make really good images. Just don't put all of your eggs in one basket. It's fun to shoot film and compare it to the digital pics, but again, if you are relying on 1 hour photo scans then you are going to get crappy results from possibly great shots.

 

[foto_fool]

For some people it seems film/digital must forever be an either/or question. I just don't understand this. Photography stays what it is regardless of the tools used. As mentioned above, neither one is cheap and the workflow for both overlaps enough these days that really nobody should have to choose one over the other.

 

[Ducky]

I vary on my opinion daily. I keep a Kiev 4am and a Canon sx100is at the ready. They take turns singing, smiling and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I use them both, poor things.

If I ever make up my mind I'll let you know.

If I never make up my mind it won't matter since the sun rises anyway.

 

[Vincenzo Maielli]

I was born analogic and i'll die analogic. Film for ever!
Ciao.
Vincenzo

 

[Roger Vadim]

Go for it! The 5d is a fantastic tool, another end of photographic evolution than say the m6, but a very potent machine for people with vision. All of my (ambitous) pro frieds use it (smaller than the other canon models, full frame, good (prime) lenses). Put some Zeiss glass in front of it and you're set.

Go for the modern route. Some passionate Leica shooter will take care of your M6.
Enjoy photography, with the tool you like best.
+Michael

 

[Prosaic]

my idea is that 5d is full frame, i'd get one prime, the 50mm, and that would be enough

... LOL !

 

[wgerrard]

Iridium, how important are prints for you? If you do few, if any, prints, then your equation is different.

If your primary distribution method is posting on the web at 800x600, then your equation is very different. Can you tell the difference between an 800x600 image from a 5D and one from its $200 little cousin? Is that difference worth paying for?

 

[iridium7777]

that is my problem. i don't do any prints from my film, one because i don't develop myself and two i don't know a good way to have someone do it.

i want to have prints, especially of the film stuff that i've taken.

i will check out the link to duggal.

could you guys suggest some more places to whom i can send deloped film and have them print me some large prints?

Iridium, how important are prints for you? If you do few, if any, prints, then your equation is different.

If your primary distribution method is posting on the web at 800x600, then your equation is very different. Can you tell the difference between an 800x600 image from a 5D and one from its $200 little cousin? Is that difference worth paying for?

 

[Peter55]

Plustek OpticFilm 7200 dedicated film scanner

Plustek OpticFilm 7200 dedicated film scanner

I got my Plustek OpticFilm 7200 dedicated 35 film scanner new last year for $189. It shiped with SilverFast Ver. 6.xx.

All I can say is it works very well. I use an Leica M5 and 50mm f/1.4 Summilux and the results are what I want. So I still use it.

Just to let you know. I also have four Canon DSLR's including the original Digital Rebel the 300D, the 350XT , the 20D and the 1Ds Mark II, a Nikon 1DH and a Pentax K100D. I also have a Nikon FM2 and an FG, a couple of Canon Elan 7N film cameras and a very nice EOS 1-V. Lastly a Ricoh KR-5.
I have many lenses for each system, a very considerable investment.

I want you to know that I use all of this and would never part with any of it.
For me film has a place. To be honest film cameras still provides some of my best images. Especially my Leica. But digtal does the same.

I print at home and I have two 13" x 19" printers and just purchased a new printer that can do 24" x 36" prints. It's expensive but I like the ability to do it myself.

Besides getting a Film Scanner, may I suggest that you go over to KEH.com and pick up a nice Canon Digital Rebel 300D and a nice 35mm f/2 Canon lens. You should be able to get both for @ $350. You should start slowly and then as your needs evolve you can add more equipment. For prints up to 13" x 19" this combo is perfectly acceptable, especially for street shooting. The Digital Rebel has a very good look to the images it produces. Also it is not too small and has a very good feel and the 35mm f/2 on the 300D will be equal to a 50mm lens field of view. The 35 f/2 is small and light and sharp.
If for some reason the 300D's with only 6mp bothers you, then please look into the 350XT with 8mp.

As far as getting good quality large prints from 35mm film I think you should do an internet search. There are enough people doing this including Ritz Camera, so you will have choices.

 

[CliffBatson]

Why not both?

Why not both?

I have been shooting primarily digital for the last 5 years. I have two Canon 20D's and a Canon 5D that I consider my main body. My 5D is an awesome camera. When I pull up the images from that camera in Photoshop, I'm sometimes blown away by the sharpness and resolution. And Photoshop allows me to tweak an image beyond what I could ever have done back in my darkroom days.

However...

I have recently started carrying a film camera with me and I'm loving it. Back in college, I had an M3 and an M4-2 and three Leitz lenses. I sold them to get Nikon SLR gear. (At the time it made sense to me as a 21 year-old.)

Now, as much as I love digital and the incredible control I have, I can't help but feel that it's soul-less. Digital is a tool that I use to make money. But, there's something about shooting film - even on my Canon EOS 1n - that somehow feels better. Maybe it's just nostalgia... a link to my past... to a time when watching an image appear on the paper in a tray of developer seemed like magic.

If shooting the M6 doesn't "speak" to you, maybe you should shoot digital for a while. But, if your experience is like mine, there will come a day when you'll be sorry you sold your Leica!

Cliff

 

[BennyBoy]

I shoot a 5D, 1DMKII, Rollei 6008i, M6, and OM10, each has its strengths, and I shoot them with that in mind. I vastly prefer the look of film to digital files, but again each has its strengths.

My advice is to shoot what you need to get the job done, everything else is secondary.

 

[Krosya]

thanks for all the replies and no bashing. as much as i like rd1 for a variety of reasons and about the same price, i'd rather put all my $eggs into the canon 5d basket.

my idea is that 5d is full frame, i'd get one prime, the 50mm, and that would be enough -- a great rig for walking around and anything else that you ever wanted to do with a rf and a 50mm. if someone wanted to book me or something, i can always rent a zoom lens for 3 days or eventually buy one.

.

I think everybody already covered all aspects of this - pros and cons.
All I really wanted to add (and if someone already said this - sorry, I must have missed it) - based on a part of what you say - you want your camera to be a "walk around one". Well, even if you get a 5D and a Canon 50/1.4 - you will not get 2 things: same portability as RF camera, which means after initial excitement of a new toy wears out, your 5D will be staying at home on the shelf as it is larger and heavier than M6; and while good, Canon 50/1.4 is no match to some of the Summicron, Planar or Hexanon 50mm lenses. I know - I used them all.
So, if you can live with that - get a 5D.
And as far as things that RF can't do - like macro and Telephoto - well your digital camera you have now should be good enough for 99% of the uses.
SO, bottom line - I'd keep things the way they are and just use both - just for different things.

 

[Film Junkie]

so now i'm thinking about selling my d50 kit, my rf stuff and picking up a used canon 5d + their 50 1.4 lens.

anyone consider something like this and follow through with it? anyone done this?

Just doing the reverse at the moment. I've used Hasselblad MF / Linhof LF for many years and in '06 bought a 5D and some glass to do some digital. [I didnt sell the MF/LF gear though]

The 5D is now sold for a film eating Leica 😀 I just got tired very quickly of the look of digital files.