Going Back To Film From M8

monochromejrnl said:
Dave - thanks for sharing your experience with the M8. Do you plan to sell it and replace it with the 5D MkII for our paid work? the current generation of FX dSLR's image quality is what has prevented me from getting a M8... waiting for the dSLRs to drop in price before I take the plunge. For now my D200 is available when I want a digitial camera.
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Ken,

The plan is to sell it - I just have to gather everything up together and figure out what the value is - UV/IR filters, extra battery and all that ya know..

Cheers,
Dave
 
Dave,

I have my two film M-bodies around, but I never come around to using them. A MP and a ZI. I have a huge Nikon 8000 ED - with a steep learning curve, at which I really haven't started yet. I was supposed to do that when I retire. But that is not going to be. I want to spend my last years doing something less frustrating than scanning film. Film is out! It's even expensive.

Certainly, digital has it's frustrations too. And some of the exiting feeling of expectation has left my photo hobby. The Leica M8 had it's very special frustrations, but I like using it and find 'most' of the pictures I take with it very pleasing. I plan to up grade it in April, just before the warranty runs out, and wait for the 'M9'. Which will be around in two years or so, I think.
 
well... to me there is not so much difference between a Hexar RF (or Leica M7) and a M8 (or Epson R-D1). Therefore I am using both, the way I like it. No problem with using Analogue and Digital side by side. ;)

Cheers, dacaccia
 
I see a place for both digital and film in both personal and commercial projects. I wouldn't have said that a year ago but things change and i see a creative potential. I see my M8.2 fitting right in with my film M's. If i could afford it i'd buy another. But then i'd like an M2 as well.
 
welcome back Dave! hope your trip was in its entirety as nice as your video on the beach he he!!!

Interesting this thread; I sold my RD1 and have not stopped missing it. to eash their own I guess: I enjoy the moments from picking the samera, composing the shot, taking the shot, rewind and think. that, the RD1 gave to its entirety, with no difference whatsoever to the film equivelant. I do undeerstand, however, how the M8 is different here than any other M though.

Whatever you do, keep well and stay in touch my friend;...I was looking to say something profound here, but I can't come up with anything even close to Gabriel's post, so I'll re-insert it here: "...Sometimes you don't know what you had until after you lost it. Oftentimes, you think you know what you want when you don't have it..."

so true my friend, so true :)
george
 
I think it was about 1987 when on a trip to Florida I purchased a Kodak 260 and was totally amazed at the pictures it took, when I showed them to a Girl at Disneyland at the Kodak booth she was utterly amazed and I predicted then that the demise of film was coming. So all of you going back to film better consider this, I doubt film will be around very much longer, not when high end cameras are giving better images than any film could ever match and will just get better, and the prices will too, then you will have no recourse but to play catch up. I believe this will take place in the next 5 to 10 years. Mark my words!
 
raid said:
Keith,

It is people who converted back to film who flock to this thread. We need to consider another thread that says " I have left film for digital photography" to see how many people post there.
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Very true Raid ... all the pundits who have converted from film to digital must read these types of threads and shake their heads and to contribute an opinion here is possibly pointless for them. So here we are preaching to the converted once again.

That said I think the interest in film on this forum is very healthy but I ask my self a couple of questions. Rangefinders are the main reason this place exists and we are obviouly the largest gathered group of users of this style of camera on the planet ... quite likely in the universe. :p To go digital and be true to your rangefinder roots you have two choices, an outdated but charming design from Epson with poor backup and a limited future ... or an overpriced not so reliable rather disappointing effort from Leica.

No one who makes the transition from film rangefinder to digital rangefinder seems to be getting their socks blown off and Dave's reaction and experiences are being echoed throughout this thread.
 
I gave up on digital early last year. Recently for the culture festival at school I was asked to shoot for two days, using a Kiss-X. All I can say is that it made me appreciate film even more.

I don't see myself going back to digital anytime soon.
 
semrich said:
Dave, thanks for starting this thread and to all those who have added their thoughts and experiences, many of which resonate with what I've done up to this point.

My first choice getting seriously into photography was to go with range finders and digital. Best decision I could have made as is discussed on this forum often.

I learned a lot from the feed back provided by digital, and by then was mostly shooting monochrome. When considering a backup camera it made sense for me with my complement of lenses to get a film camera and shoot B&W.

Along came the MP and day by day the M8 saw more and more of the shelf. It just "feels" better shooting a film camera and I'm getting better shots. Now I have your M2 and when using a 50mm lens it almost always finds itself on the M2, I've learned first hand what others mean in their praise of it.

I'll have an M3 in my hands in a couple of more weeks, poor M8.

I now develop my own film and scan it and am not bothered by that process in fact I rather enjoy it. I imagine it like what a stamp collector must feel when spending time with his collection.

When I want to shoot color I have been using digital, however now that I've seen the results from Keith's developing his own color film I'm going to give that a go.

I haven't said anything bad about digital and don't intend to, I did learn a lot with it. It is just that my experience is richer with film and film cameras.
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Interesting comment ... I think learning to develop my own colour film has definitely made a big difference to my usage of my M8. I've always loved the way the M8 renders colour because let's face it, it does it well! However, it doesn't matter how good the colour is the rendition is still obviously digital and doesn't really match my other [black and white] output.

I think so far I've developed eight or nine rolls of colour film with my $13.00 C41 tetenal kit and half of those have been 120 ... I've learned that I don't think much of Reala but really like the look of Portra VC 160 and developing colour has now become as seamless and simple as developing black and white.

Meanwhile the M8 sits quietly in the cupboard licking it's wounds and wondering what it did wrong! :p
 
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I meant to add this is a great thread ... it hasn't turned into one of those painful film v digital rants. Just a lot of honest feelings and opinions! :)
 
Glad to see we have our film adherents here. I still do not own a digital after almost 50 years in the hobby.
 
dcsang said:
I believe my affair with the M8 is over.

I think I want the "slow, long, love making" of film and not the "wham bam thank you ma'am" of digital when it comes to rangefinder photography.
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Lets shoot film as long as we can. I dont know if we will have an option in maybe - 2020....
 
I went back to film a while back for what I thought was going to be a short time. Then came the new Tmax 400 and I may never leave. It's what I always liked about digital: It can be shot at nearly any ISO between 100 and 800, but without the lousy tonality and too smooth texture.

LOVE IT!
 
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