"Glad to see someone is still shooting film"

filmfan said:
I once ran out of black and white film when on vacation, so I went into a store that had a sign saying they sold Kodak film. I asked which black and white films they carried and they told me to go ask at the local antique store down the road...
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haha amazing!
 
Tom A said:
A lot of wedding shooters are going back to film. Simply a matter of economy. If you shoot multi 1000's of shots ("just in case") - you then have to spend hours, if not days, editing on screen. Shoot film - drop it at the lab, hand the client proofs - have the lab do the final choices and deliver. Maybe 1/2 days work. The digital guy is still stuffing huge files through Photo Shop.
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exactly what I heard in local lab about one of wedding pros. Core of wedding is shot on film, newweds get proofs (about 30 good ones) and leave for moneymoon, while digital pictures are selected to make DVD which later will be multiplied and sent to guests to make one attempt to go though pictures and then put disc away.
After newweds come back, they order some enlargements, mostly from proofs they got right before departure.
 
Tom A said:
A lot of wedding shooters are going back to film. Simply a matter of economy. If you shoot multi 1000's of shots ("just in case") - you then have to spend hours, if not days, editing on screen. Shoot film - drop it at the lab, hand the client proofs - have the lab do the final choices and deliver. Maybe 1/2 days work. The digital guy is still stuffing huge files through Photo Shop. The film shooter is already out lining up the next assignment!!! Ok. this is simplified - but from what I hear among shooting friends, it is more and more prevalent!
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There are multiple reasons for choosing film over digital, but not having the common sense to utilize the batch processing features available in LR, Aperture, or Bridge(PS) are simply not among them.
But of course if some one did shot a thousand plus frames at a single Wedding they probable didn't take the time to get correct exposures so they probable do need to spend hours or days in PS fixing their mistakes.
 
The question I get asked most often is: 'Can you still get film for that'. Errr, yes? I have to admit that I needed a few rolls of 120 quickly yesterday and had a hard time finding a source. Oh, there are plenty, but the flavours I like were all out of stock, what does that say? 🙄

Most people seem to have some respect for my arcane equipment and some have stated they like the look of film better. But it won't stop them from using their camera phones though.

The worst reaction was from someone's insufferable girlfriend. She treated me like I was clearly stupid to lug a Leica M2 around (not that she had any idea what it was). I think she genuinely believed that I wasn't aware that digital camera's existed.

But there are also good stories. A local guy was at a loss where to have his 120 C41 processed. This greatly surpised me, because the Dutch HEMA department store, know for decades for their photo service, still offers this, and cheap too. He really could hardly believe they still did it!
 
So many people simply "go with the flow" and just
do what they think everyone else is doing.

"Oh, we're supposed to use digital cameras now? Ok,
I'll buy a digital and stop using film."

And, that's the end of that.

The funny thing is I think many, many snap-shooters
would be better served by simply using a P&S film
camera, dropping off the film and picking up their
prints and/or scans an hour later as was common
practice only a few years ago.

I really don't think the majority ever even thought
they didn't have to switch to digital. "Whatever the
corporations say must be what I should do" is the
motto I guess.

But, it still surprises me how film-clueless the
population has become so quickly. I sell at camera
shows regularly and get a lot of questions from
novices. "Is this a film camera?" they ask, picking
up an Ikonta. It's hard not to laugh sometimes.

And, then there are those who are even digital newbies
who ask, "How much does film cost to develop and do I
need to use special film in a digital SLR"?

I've learned never to sip a beverage while someone is
asking me a question at a camera show.

I do see a resurgence in film interest though. I can see
it at my local camera shows at least. A year or two ago
things looked bleak but our local shows have been quite busy
lately with lots of newbies wanting to try film which
is good. Many of them like the toy camera approach but
at least it's film and they still are learning the craft.
And, I do sell a fair amount of student type cameras too:
K1000's, AE-1s and such, especially in the Fall when
school seasons start.

And then there are a few young people who are actually
quite knowledgeable and on the hunt for sophisticated
stuff like 4x5s or medium format. One young local show
shopper actually cuts her own 110 film, reloads the
cassettes and shoots Pentax 110 SLRs!
 
The results many people get today with even digital point and shoots probably appears better to them then the results they were getting from film SLRs. With c41, minilab processing and automatic adjustments often results in awful looking prints, especially if you are trying to do something creative.

I think that if people actually saw a well exposed, well scanned film image vs the output of their digital p&s, they would be surprised at the quality of film. But then they would still use a digital p&s because it is convenient.
 
"I once led an archeological dig in Ethiopia and amongst the remnants of early man and arrowhead tools found beneath an ancient swampland there were a couple of rolls of kodachrome.."

-fdigital-




My father was in Ethiopia shooting Kodachrome in 1946 to 1948 and the slides still look great. the amazing thing about this was the fact that he couldn't just look on the back of the camera to see how he was doing but had to wait two years untill he got back to the states to see any of the processed film and see if he was even getting a image

RIP Kodachrome RIP Dorsa Mishler

I hope he left the film for you to find
 
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I can still walk into just about any store in town & buy a roll of film, but it's those darn batteries I have a hard time finding. I just got a Canon T70 in the mail, sure glad they designed it to use AA batteries instead of some weird voltage or button design!
It was also nice to be able to go to flickr & find a group dedicated to those using the Canon T70, join, & see new uploads from members. It's amazing that you can go to about any film camera group on Flickr dedicated to a certain model & find new uploads of photos by members. That's dedication!
 
I was on this quest of finding my M, and totally knew Ms were available in Uruguay, BUT not in the stores. Somehow one man happened to get the most film cameras and is asking fortunes. Anyway, when on this quest, I asked this 70 something aged man photo store owner about a 35mm film camera (not mentioning the brand to not rise the price) I was presented with other brands, and finally asked for the M, he said... nahhh last one was sold to a Japanese tourist, and instantly said, surprised, that "still there is people with good taste these days"

I dont know if I do have good taste or not, but it was interesting and yet melancholic to find this place.
Happily there is an Ilford distributor in Uruguay where I can get chemicals, paper and decent film!

Ended importing an M4 (from here) and a Nokton 1.1 (maybe bad taste?? 🙂 ) which happens, STILL to be awaiting customs clearance
 
I was at a photographic store here in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago and I asked one of the salesmen about how black and white film sales were. He said that they have had to start stocking more black & white film because the sales had increased a quite a bit in the last year. It was really great to hear.
 
Tom A said:
I have had people asking me if my Bessa III is digital! As if I would walk around with a camera with a 60x70 mm sized sensor! They do get a bit miffed when they cant see the picture instantly though!
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I get that question all the time. But it's actually not that silly a question. People who aren't into photography don't really know or care about different formats be it film or digital. The Bessa III is smaller than most serious DSLRs so it's not exactly obvious why the ''sensor'' should be bigger.

If there's one single thing I hate most about using digital cameras it's the ''let me see'' effect. I don't mind showing the pictures but it makes me furious when people can't even hold still for a second because after every shot they walk over to me to look at the screen.
 
Tom A said:
I have had people asking me if my Bessa III is digital! As if I would walk around with a camera with a 60x70 mm sized sensor! They do get a bit miffed when they cant see the picture instantly though!
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Last year my wife and I took a day trip. I was packing a Hasselblad and a Graflex Super Graphic 4x5. Never carry either of those if you are going to scenic sites popular with tourists, and just want to be left alone. The most confusing though was the pair of kids that wanted to see the printout from the shot I'd just taken with the Super Graphic. Later I realized they must have seen me checking the exposure earlier with my Fuji Instafilm back.

That day is part of why I was worried about a Leica attracting too much attention before I bought it, but so far only one person has commented on it. An old guy in a park who noticed me changing the film.
 
not_in_good_order said:
The results many people get today with even digital point and shoots probably appears better to them then the results they were getting from film SLRs. With c41, minilab processing and automatic adjustments often results in awful looking prints, especially if you are trying to do something creative.

I think that if people actually saw a well exposed, well scanned film image vs the output of their digital p&s, they would be surprised at the quality of film. But then they would still use a digital p&s because it is convenient.
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I gave up on letting any of the local labs do my B&W processing. They can't do a decent job on 35mm or 120, but do great with 4x5. I suspect it is because they have to do the 4x5 by hand.

I've been using Costco to do my 35mm C-41, and have been pretty happy with the results, but I'm not so happy the past 3-4 months. Your comments make me think that I should try dropping some off at the "pro lab" I use for 120, though their prices are almost prohibitively expensive for 35mm.
 
barnwulf said:
I was at a photographic store here in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago and I asked one of the salesmen about how black and white film sales were. He said that they have had to start stocking more black & white film because the sales had increased a quite a bit in the last year. It was really great to hear.
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The store I buy my chemicals from was basically wiped out a couple months ago when I was in there (I seem to be in there at least a couple times a month anymore). In fact I was worried they were going to stop carrying the stuff, but the next time I was in they were stocked back up. The nice thing about the store is the still have a walk in refrigerated room that you have to go into in order to get your film, and they stock 35mm to at least 4x5.
 
I've used all types of film in all formats... and have printed in wet darkrooms C-prints, cibachromes, cyanotypes, and B&W. Now I rarely use film. I just don't have the access to a wet darkroom that I'd want to use. When I do use film, it ends up in the computer anyway for printing / editing.

I'm happy digital came about and don't think film is any cooler / better...just different. I can print in my home quicker and the results are very good with digital... that is what matters to me.

To me, film vs. digital is like tape vs. digital in recording. Both are great, but one is just more convenient for most people.
 
About the time I "stepped down" to 35mm from MF for weddings, digital hit, but the early stuff was not so hot, so I had the film printed and scanned, --- the two sets of prints were delivered in albums with a CD (remember those) for casual viewing and email.

Am starting to toss as much as I can to make room and pick up-- have wedding negatives going back 35 years-- all MF.

Lost the 4x5's from the first one. ;-)

Regards, John
 
I was developing some film when my friends dropped by. They were sitting on my deck having lunch when I started drying my film by waving it up and down in the air between my spread-out hands like I normally do. "What is THAT?" they said. "Film" I said. "Huh?" So I said "You make images from a negative that comes on an emulsion of chemicals stuck to this strip of plastic." Then they finally got it, but then they asked me if I was gonna drive off on my horse and buggy after I was done. They also said it was awful and generated pollution, but they softened on than when I told them that I take my spent fixer to the local haz-waste tsd for proper disposal.
 
feenej said:
... They also said it was awful and generated pollution, but they softened on than when I told them that I take my spent fixer to the local haz-waste tsd for proper disposal.
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Take 'em on a field trip to an electronic manufacturing plant. Preferably one where they inject the lead, arsenic and cadmium waste into dry wells, so it will disappear until someone downstream drinks some tap water.

Oh, no, I am not making this up!
 
Yeah I was just thinking about all the pollution that the manufacture of all those new cameras generate. Natually I did not think of that at the time.
 
"Originally Posted by barnwulf
I was at a photographic store here in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago and I asked one of the salesmen about how black and white film sales were. He said that they have had to start stocking more black & white film because the sales had increased a quite a bit in the last year. It was really great to hear."

Someone needs to tell Kodak. Their film sales have continued to drop over the last year. I keep hearing camera stores are stocking, and people are buying, more film now. Yet, film sales aren't increasing. Doesn't make sense.
 
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