Going all-in with film...

jpa66 said:
I'm in just about the same boat as the OP. I've been on the verge of getting rid of my Nikon D70. I bought it shortly after it came out, and have gotten a decent amount of use from it, but I haven't picked it up in well over a year. I'll probably give it to my father-in-law the next time I visit him. I'd give it to my own father, but he doesn't shoot much, and he'll never have a digital - not even a P&S!

I'm still keeping my little Canon digital, though, for many of the same reasons as already posted.
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Can't fault your dad there. 🙂

But I am like most here at RFF. I prefer film, but do have a digital P&S which I use for snapshots or short trips when I don't want to carry much.
 
10 cameras and all film ...mostly 35mm rangefinders and Nikon SLRs plus 6x7 medium format. Nothing with auto focus. The more time I spend at photography the even less interesed I become in digital and the more I tend towards larger film formats. Getting really interested in a nice Ebony SV45U plus a few lenses 😀
 
I think I was using film as a learning process. Serious photography fascination started about 6 year ago with a small digital and soon later a crop-DSLR. Sold DSLR to upgrade and while doing research bought a Fed 5, then Kiev, then Zorki, then.... major GAS and some fine cameras. Went 100% film because I loved the results. But to be honest I'm also "cheating" with film a bit. I'm not that good with postprocessing and film gave me wonderful (to me) result out of the camera. I never had anything against digital, I was just better with film. So after 5 years of learning and practicing I realised that film vs digital don't matter to me much because I'm slowly learning what character I want from my photos and how to achieve it. Using D700 and old lenses gives me pleasant results.
Few months ago I was 100% film, today I'm 90% film. I think I don't mind slowly shifting the balance towards digital, but I might have to take back my words 🙂 At this moment, the biggest benefit of film cameras TO ME (!) is that they are interesting to people and make it easier for me to approach them. At the same time people in Beirut, for example, were much happier to pose for D700 than a rangefinder (oooh, serious camera! You take good picture!).
All the same thanks to practicing with "weird" film cameras the way I approach peiople now is in my mind, not in my camera any more. Of course size/weight matter and that's why I'm very curious what will happen with EVIL (don't want digi-Leica, I think I'm up for some AF on such camera).
To be honest I'm surprised I'm writing this 🙂 I'm known as a film freak among my friends. Oh boy would they be surprised to read this 🙂 Of course the change will not happen overnight, maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but I'm starting to think about it while just a while ago it was a taboo for me.

Whatever happens, the analogue camera I will stick to the longest will be my Hasselblad. That camera does magic.
 
I've never owned a dslr - too much for my feeble brain to digest.
However, if and when the cost of a MF digital back becomes affordable, I may get adventurous someday.
Right now m4/3 is probably as far as I'm willing to go.
 
After 30 years of film and darkroom work, I still do most of my personal work with film. I have an E-P1 and I do a lot of digital photography at work. But I am looking to get a new sink for the home darkroom soon.
 
I have digital and film gear, but the reality is that I only shoot film. For me there is an excitement to trying different films, and the lack off immediacy is oddly attractive. I've only been shooting for a year or so, so maybe that'll wear off, but at the moment, it's only getting stronger, and my interest in digital only getting weaker.
 
thegman said:
I have digital and film gear, but the reality is that I only shoot film. For me there is an excitement to trying different films, and the lack off immediacy is oddly attractive. I've only been shooting for a year or so, so maybe that'll wear off, but at the moment, it's only getting stronger, and my interest in digital only getting weaker.
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That's exactly how I feel. I almost equate it to gambling: you might win 1 out X amount of tries, but it's that 1 win that keeps the gambler coming back for more. It's a bigger rush to get that win with film. The "odds" are worse with film, but the payout seems bigger. 🙂
 
Maybe you're right, I think also the fact I'm a software developer by trade makes me shy away from using yet another computer to take photos. Also using a manual camera with film makes me feel more involved with the process.
 
Do you guys like developing? I hate developing!! I just want to see the results. So I just bite my lip and shake the tank like a trooper. But I hate it.
 
Phantomas said:
Do you guys like developing? I hate developing!! I just want to see the results. So I just bite my lip and shake the tank like a trooper. But I hate it.
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I save up. I got a 50+ roll backlog. And a big Paterson tank to develop 5 rolls at a time when I feel like it. Some evenings, I do two tanks😎


@oftheherd: thanks for looking into that for me! I had a GG back but it had no ground glass. Grinded my own (hour-and-a-half work and sore upper arms😀) and that's okay now. But I need a back to take those metal sheet film holders (and the holders as well!) Anybody care to help me out?
 
Phantomas said:
Do you guys like developing? I hate developing!! I just want to see the results. So I just bite my lip and shake the tank like a trooper. But I hate it.
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I guess I'm indifferent to it. For me, it's a lot like cooking, which I do daily. Sometimes cooking is rewarding, sometimes cooking is repetitive drudge work. The payoff is in the results.

In both disciplines, consistency counts.
 
buzzardkid said:
I save up. I got a 50+ roll backlog. And a big Paterson tank to develop 5 rolls at a time when I feel like it. Some evenings, I do two tanks😎


@oftheherd: thanks for looking into that for me! I had a GG back but it had no ground glass. Grinded my own (hour-and-a-half work and sore upper arms😀) and that's okay now. But I need a back to take those metal sheet film holders (and the holders as well!) Anybody care to help me out?
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I think you know what you are doing, but your wording makes it seem you don't. You don't need a special back to put cut film holders in. You need cut film holders to put in the single cut film sheets. Then the holders slide onto the back in place of the GG back after you have focused with it. That is assuming you don't use the mirror finder or the press finder. Anyway, the cut film holder goes in place of the GG back.

Good job on making your own GG. I started to do that. I have done it for an 8x10. However, there is a guy on ebay who will sell you a 4x5 kit to make your own for about $15.00 plus S&H. You then only need to cut it down to 9x12 size. I intend to buy one from him. I may use the glass I have to make a glass plate and spread some emulsion on it. No good reason, just something to do and bragg about. 😱

EDIT: Keep looking for the cut film holders on ebay or maybe your local Craig's list. There were some on ebay, but maybe the lurkers saw our posts about them and scarfed them up.
 
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I'm thinking about selling some of my old Pentaxen (but not my LX, not ever!) and buying me a Pentax K-x for christmas.[1]

It would be my first digital camera.

But maybe I'll wait for a digital Bessa (with a wide angle-ish viewfinder).

[1] User reports very welcome, btw.
 
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Film, Film, Film....I've been using film since 1975...never went digital so no need to come back...
I'll stay with film as long as I can get it...
I'll never say never to digital since there may come a day when that's all there is...
And when that day comes it will be full format and Nikon...
Formats include...35mm, 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7 & 4x5...
 
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I am coming to the world of film a little late. Well, I'm in my early 30s, so obviously I grew up around film cameras as a kid, but it was only after picking up a used Olympus E-420 dslr about 6 months ago that I found myself being seduced by film, oddly enough. It just so happened that I couldn't afford any digital lenses for my new dslr, so I instead picked up a few inexpensive OM lenses, bought an adapter, and instantly fell in love with both the results and the feel of manual focus. Something about pressing the shutter button down halfway and letting the camera automatically focus felt empty to me. Nothing against digital, but it wasn't any fun. It was almost too easy to get good results. Not to mention the whole post-processing end of it started to feel like cheating. I didn't want to remove the color and use a red filter plug-in to make moody b&w photos. I wanted to shoot b&w film, slap on a red filter, adjust for the filter factor, and get my hands dirty.

I soon picked up a dirt cheap Canonet QL17, which is a terrific little RF, then figured that, well, I already have the OM lenses, why not get an OM body? I did my research, got a nice OM-2n in great condition for a song, and have been having a blast with it. Finally, after lusting over Leicas, I just recently pulled the trigger on a CL with a Summicron-C 40, which I am loving. What a great camera. Knowing full well its now-working meter will soon die, I've used the opportunity to start teaching myself to shoot sunny 16.

I still enjoy my DSLR--sometimes it comes in handy, it's fast, and it's simple--but shooting digital leaves me wanting more. Shooting film, at least for me so far, has been much more satisfying and more, I dunno, real or something like that. Just my personal opinion, that's all.

Waiting for me when I get home should be a package full of developing equipment from freestyle photo, as tonight I will make my first attempt at developing my own black-and-white 35mm film. Very excited; hope I don't mess it up too much. Wish me luck!
 
I'm not sure about this "digital" thing either. I think it'll just be a flash in the pan.

Roll your own B+W is all I need, though I do have a film scanner to share the images there is nothing like a real wet print. It somehow just looks more real...
 
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