Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
I often google things related to technicalities in film and RF photography. Of course RFF comes in glance and glory as the first line in search returns. 
I'm often looking at these 2006-2010 posts... many avatars I know. I miss some of them... And I'm happy what some are still active here. Not just happy, but it is helping and helps big time sometimes.
While keep on reading those old RFF posts I realized what some still active fellow RFF members were shooting film with Bessa or else back in 2006-2010 and now they are using digital mirroless. And some are still using film just like back then.
And then where are few newbies or not so like me...
My film photography on film was always low in activity, so-so in results and it was never been advanced. I never developed, never printed. S16 or Auto. We always had one film camera for entire family. We quit on film only photography in 2007. And in 2008 we switched from film Rebel to digital Rebel. Switching to advanced digital allowed me to learn about exposure and learn many other aspects of photography.... I used film Rebel only in the green box mode.
One day I decided to digitize our films with mostly family pictures on them. Not expensive (limited and primitive) scanners just became available... It was one particular picture, portrait taken by my wife with trusty film Rebel. I looked at it and realized what despite technically better look on digital I prefer film look. Prior to this I succeeded in emulating of "cinelook" digitally and already downloaded 1GB archive with film grain, emulsion scratches and else to learn how to fake film look in PS. I looked at this grainy film portrait and asked myself: why I'm not just start to use film again?...
I pulled out our film Rebel from night table cabinet, slapped Canon L lens on it and... batteries were dead. Those terribly expensive batteries! And if you not switching off this Rebel camera then it eats batteries in no time...
And then the cost of the film and have it developed. For family pictures it was necessary, but for goofing around it is costly. Wait! My parents FED-2 which nobody at home was using but me until 1991 or so was still in Moscow.
Mother-in-law brought it to Canada. Batteries problem was solved. This is how film photography started for real to me.
Thanks for digital photography, I knew then it happen. March 2012.
The rest of coming back to film was nothing special. FED-2 has to be fixed and I needed to learn about BW film, how to use it in bulks to save money and learning about developing because it was costs saving. By almost same time I received entire darkroom set from fellow customer. Including chemicals. It helped to make it not expensive at all...
I stopped buying and trying digital cameras and lenses right away. Well... only to start buying, servicing, fixing and trying film gear. But it was much more affordable... until I saved enough for my first film M in couple of years later
Any stories of coming back to film to share?
I'm often looking at these 2006-2010 posts... many avatars I know. I miss some of them... And I'm happy what some are still active here. Not just happy, but it is helping and helps big time sometimes.
While keep on reading those old RFF posts I realized what some still active fellow RFF members were shooting film with Bessa or else back in 2006-2010 and now they are using digital mirroless. And some are still using film just like back then.
And then where are few newbies or not so like me...
My film photography on film was always low in activity, so-so in results and it was never been advanced. I never developed, never printed. S16 or Auto. We always had one film camera for entire family. We quit on film only photography in 2007. And in 2008 we switched from film Rebel to digital Rebel. Switching to advanced digital allowed me to learn about exposure and learn many other aspects of photography.... I used film Rebel only in the green box mode.
One day I decided to digitize our films with mostly family pictures on them. Not expensive (limited and primitive) scanners just became available... It was one particular picture, portrait taken by my wife with trusty film Rebel. I looked at it and realized what despite technically better look on digital I prefer film look. Prior to this I succeeded in emulating of "cinelook" digitally and already downloaded 1GB archive with film grain, emulsion scratches and else to learn how to fake film look in PS. I looked at this grainy film portrait and asked myself: why I'm not just start to use film again?...
I pulled out our film Rebel from night table cabinet, slapped Canon L lens on it and... batteries were dead. Those terribly expensive batteries! And if you not switching off this Rebel camera then it eats batteries in no time...
And then the cost of the film and have it developed. For family pictures it was necessary, but for goofing around it is costly. Wait! My parents FED-2 which nobody at home was using but me until 1991 or so was still in Moscow.
Mother-in-law brought it to Canada. Batteries problem was solved. This is how film photography started for real to me
.Thanks for digital photography, I knew then it happen. March 2012.
The rest of coming back to film was nothing special. FED-2 has to be fixed and I needed to learn about BW film, how to use it in bulks to save money and learning about developing because it was costs saving. By almost same time I received entire darkroom set from fellow customer. Including chemicals. It helped to make it not expensive at all...
I stopped buying and trying digital cameras and lenses right away. Well... only to start buying, servicing, fixing and trying film gear.
But it was much more affordable... until I saved enough for my first film M in couple of years later Any stories of coming back to film to share?
Range-rover
Veteran
After using digital for so long and giving up on 35mm film, I had the feeling of
missing something, so I friend of mine was selling his Hasselblad camera for real
cheap so I went for it. So now I'm pretty deep into my one Hassey and three
rolleiflex's. I just love the square!
missing something, so I friend of mine was selling his Hasselblad camera for real
cheap so I went for it. So now I'm pretty deep into my one Hassey and three
rolleiflex's. I just love the square!
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
Thank you for sharing!
If you like it square, then only Hassey and Flex will bring it with quality and pleasure, IMO.
If you like it square, then only Hassey and Flex will bring it with quality and pleasure, IMO.
raid
Dad Photographer
I never left film. After buying the M8 and M9, I decided to anchor myself to film buy getting the amazing SWC. The old model does not accept a digital back, plus the cost of such a back is so high that it is absurd.
karateisland
Established
I know I'm new here, but---
I shot film for a few years about a decade ago, when I was in college and had some excellent processing/printing facilities at my disposal. After leaving college, I fell into digital photography, working my way from an iPhone, to a Sony RX100 that I bought for a trip to Hong Kong, to a Fuji X100, to a Fuji X70, to a Fuji X100F, to, now, a Minolta CLE!
It was a long path, but what convinced me to come back to film was my experience with using the X100F as a manual camera. It enabled me to hone my photography skills at zero opportunity cost beyond the purchase of a camera. Once I felt better about my photography, I felt I could justify the cost of film.
It also helped me to realize that it doesn't have to be one or the other--I have a digital camera that I love, and a film camera that I love.
I shot film for a few years about a decade ago, when I was in college and had some excellent processing/printing facilities at my disposal. After leaving college, I fell into digital photography, working my way from an iPhone, to a Sony RX100 that I bought for a trip to Hong Kong, to a Fuji X100, to a Fuji X70, to a Fuji X100F, to, now, a Minolta CLE!
It was a long path, but what convinced me to come back to film was my experience with using the X100F as a manual camera. It enabled me to hone my photography skills at zero opportunity cost beyond the purchase of a camera. Once I felt better about my photography, I felt I could justify the cost of film.
It also helped me to realize that it doesn't have to be one or the other--I have a digital camera that I love, and a film camera that I love.
Axel
singleshooter
Although I´ve never given up photography with film entirely I have to admit that it
doesn´t play any role in my active photography today.
Maybe I´m more a picturehead than a gearhead.
When I joined RFF in 2009 I was completely in rangefinders with my M6, CL and FED2.
There were 2 limiting factors that drove me more and more to digital cams.
The first was the really poor performance of our local developing industry.
Lost and scratched and dirty films and a great insensibility to fix that.
The second factor consists in my personal preferencies when taking photos.
I had trouble with filling films my whole life. Much films with 12 exposes were returned
to developing after 5-6 pictures or two or three.
Both disadvantages disappeared completely when digital came up.
Today I´m still fascinated from equipment like a FED, Leica or Rolleiflex or a Hassy.
But for me they are all part of the past when it comes to my active photography now.
My smallest camera is smaller than my old cutie Minox35 was. And more reliable.
And it takes panos, videos has a 25-500mm equiv. optics and is useable in dimmer light.
Unfortunately I had never improved my skills in self-developing and darkroom.
But even if I had I surely won´t miss one of my portraits in dim light somewhere at the
end of the world where I have cams now that offer me to do it.
doesn´t play any role in my active photography today.
Maybe I´m more a picturehead than a gearhead
.When I joined RFF in 2009 I was completely in rangefinders with my M6, CL and FED2.
There were 2 limiting factors that drove me more and more to digital cams.
The first was the really poor performance of our local developing industry.
Lost and scratched and dirty films and a great insensibility to fix that.
The second factor consists in my personal preferencies when taking photos.
I had trouble with filling films my whole life. Much films with 12 exposes were returned
to developing after 5-6 pictures or two or three.
Both disadvantages disappeared completely when digital came up.
Today I´m still fascinated from equipment like a FED, Leica or Rolleiflex or a Hassy.
But for me they are all part of the past when it comes to my active photography now.
My smallest camera is smaller than my old cutie Minox35 was. And more reliable.
And it takes panos, videos has a 25-500mm equiv. optics and is useable in dimmer light.
Unfortunately I had never improved my skills in self-developing and darkroom.
But even if I had I surely won´t miss one of my portraits in dim light somewhere at the
end of the world where I have cams now that offer me to do it.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
I never left film and do analog and digital.
For me it is about not having remorse. Decades from now I don't want to think or say I should of shot as much film as possible when it was feasable and less costly.
Thanks to Dan's 70mm thread I made a commitment to scaling back up. 70mm film allows me to roll back the clock and get my costs down to under $3.00 a roll for a 120 equiv. Also using 70 mm allows me to shoot 15 feet of film for over 60 6x7's without having to reload.
I can see the future that with the high megapixel digital cameras that will be coming out that digitizing negatives will be faster and easier than ever. With a 48-51 MP sensor file size will be north of 700MB. No need for stitching together a medium format negative.
I know one day I will be very proud and happy I have been shooting as much film as possible.
Cal
For me it is about not having remorse. Decades from now I don't want to think or say I should of shot as much film as possible when it was feasable and less costly.
Thanks to Dan's 70mm thread I made a commitment to scaling back up. 70mm film allows me to roll back the clock and get my costs down to under $3.00 a roll for a 120 equiv. Also using 70 mm allows me to shoot 15 feet of film for over 60 6x7's without having to reload.
I can see the future that with the high megapixel digital cameras that will be coming out that digitizing negatives will be faster and easier than ever. With a 48-51 MP sensor file size will be north of 700MB. No need for stitching together a medium format negative.
I know one day I will be very proud and happy I have been shooting as much film as possible.
Cal
f16sunshine
Moderator
I actually was "late" to digital.
Getting a Canon 40D and then RD1 in 2008.
When the RD1 arrived the Canon sat around until my GF at the time picked it up.
I bought a 5D and slowly added it in to hired work as it took over for color film but!... B+W film stayed.
I had always used film since 1980's. My Junior HighSchool had a darkroom and offered photography to 7th graders.... I got an early start in the darkroom. Bought my first new camera from paper route money in 1983 (13years old).
Now these poor kids have one HS with a Darkroom in the entire district to share. (I guess they should be so lucky)
I would like to use Color film more with the Fuji GF670 but so far have only bought a bit of film.
This spring I'll fire off some of this Ektar and 160s.
Seeing those big color squares again will be sweet!
It's been all B+W for quite some time.
Getting a Canon 40D and then RD1 in 2008.
When the RD1 arrived the Canon sat around until my GF at the time picked it up.
I bought a 5D and slowly added it in to hired work as it took over for color film but!... B+W film stayed.
I had always used film since 1980's. My Junior HighSchool had a darkroom and offered photography to 7th graders.... I got an early start in the darkroom. Bought my first new camera from paper route money in 1983 (13years old).
Now these poor kids have one HS with a Darkroom in the entire district to share. (I guess they should be so lucky)
I would like to use Color film more with the Fuji GF670 but so far have only bought a bit of film.
This spring I'll fire off some of this Ektar and 160s.
Seeing those big color squares again will be sweet!
It's been all B+W for quite some time.
JoeLopez
Well-known
Like most of us, I shot 35mm film for many years. My father had a Minolta XG-7 and I bought a new XG-1 in 1979 or so (yes, I actually saved up paper route money). My kit consisted of the XG-1 body and a 50mm f1.7 lens. I shot that until the mid 90s when I moved to a Minolta Freedom Zoom 150 35mm point and shoot. From there I went to a Canon digital point & shoot.
In 2015 I got the 35mm film bug again. I dusted off my XG-1 and ran two rolls of film through it. Worked out great! I read up on film shooting and realized the all mighty Minolta X-700 could be had in good used condition fairly cheap on ebay. I ended up buying two x-700 bodies, a Minolta Hi-Matic F (point and shoot 35mm film rangefinder of sorts). I now wanted a rangefinder, read up and found the Yashica Electro 35 series was pretty good and cheap. I bought a nice clean GSN on ebay for under $40. This camera works perfect and needed only a battery.
I then picked up a nice deal on a Nikon FE2 with a 50mm f1.8 for about $100 on a facebook camera group. Since then the FE2 has been my goto 35mm SLR and the GSN my second camera.
After shooting various rolls of color and B&W film through both, I realized I wanted a better 35mm film camera. Research led me to the F3. Tried and true, a professional camera with everything I wanted. The first Nikon with the famed red stripe as well. My shopping consisted of ebay and craigslist. I started looking around at Etsy as well, it was there I scored a nice, working F3/T body. Paired with my FE2, Nikon 50mm f1.8 & 28mm f2.8, I shot my first roll of film through the F3 in March 2017.
I've since sold off the Minolta Hi-Matic F and now-broken X700 bodies to partially fund the X100T and added a Voigtlander 40mm f2 to the kit. I still enjoy shooting film between bouts of digital. The XG-1 is now on display in my home office as there is a bit of sentimental value there
In 2015 I got the 35mm film bug again. I dusted off my XG-1 and ran two rolls of film through it. Worked out great! I read up on film shooting and realized the all mighty Minolta X-700 could be had in good used condition fairly cheap on ebay. I ended up buying two x-700 bodies, a Minolta Hi-Matic F (point and shoot 35mm film rangefinder of sorts). I now wanted a rangefinder, read up and found the Yashica Electro 35 series was pretty good and cheap. I bought a nice clean GSN on ebay for under $40. This camera works perfect and needed only a battery.
I then picked up a nice deal on a Nikon FE2 with a 50mm f1.8 for about $100 on a facebook camera group. Since then the FE2 has been my goto 35mm SLR and the GSN my second camera.
After shooting various rolls of color and B&W film through both, I realized I wanted a better 35mm film camera. Research led me to the F3. Tried and true, a professional camera with everything I wanted. The first Nikon with the famed red stripe as well. My shopping consisted of ebay and craigslist. I started looking around at Etsy as well, it was there I scored a nice, working F3/T body. Paired with my FE2, Nikon 50mm f1.8 & 28mm f2.8, I shot my first roll of film through the F3 in March 2017.
I've since sold off the Minolta Hi-Matic F and now-broken X700 bodies to partially fund the X100T and added a Voigtlander 40mm f2 to the kit. I still enjoy shooting film between bouts of digital. The XG-1 is now on display in my home office as there is a bit of sentimental value there
davidnewtonguitars
Family Snaps
I am a hobbyist and came back to film in 2015 with a re-conditioned Zorki-1, and love the entire process: choosing B&W film, shooting, developing, scanning & inkjet printing.
To lower my costs I have quit doing color.
I've bought a few cameras, and sold some. Currently my bag is a Leica M2 & a Zorki-1. I have a first 35mm lens on the way.
I still shoot a little Sony digital for my business website.
To lower my costs I have quit doing color.
I've bought a few cameras, and sold some. Currently my bag is a Leica M2 & a Zorki-1. I have a first 35mm lens on the way.
I still shoot a little Sony digital for my business website.
cz23
-
I'm eight months into a one-year return-to-film commitment after many years of digital only. It's not going well.
Although there's nothing quite like film Ms and the BW film aesthetic, the workflow doesn't fit my lifestyle. I'm seriously contemplating submission to the Dark Side.
John
Although there's nothing quite like film Ms and the BW film aesthetic, the workflow doesn't fit my lifestyle. I'm seriously contemplating submission to the Dark Side.
John
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
Thank you for all of the stories! I even learned something new today.
I returned to learn more and to have more fun with film, but I didn't switched. Film is nice and different option for me. My experimental and street photography comes better with film and family pictures on digital.
I returned to learn more and to have more fun with film, but I didn't switched. Film is nice and different option for me. My experimental and street photography comes better with film and family pictures on digital.
capitalK
Warrior Poet :P
The story of how I came back to film is also the story of how I came to love rangefinders.
In about 2007 I found a fixed-lens rangefinder at a local thrift store. I had been shooting digitally for seven years by then and had two Canon DSLRs with a ton of lenses.
I had only ever used SLRs because that was all I knew. My first camera was a Rollei SL35 my dad had passed down to me.
I bought the rangefinder on a whim and took some snapshots without much of an expectation. When I got my film back I was blown away at the prints and realized how much I enjoyed using that camera, how light and portable it was.
The camera was an Olympus 35 SP.
Unfortunately, it was stolen out of my car soon after. I haven't had one since.
I still have the Canon DSLRs, but I always have a rangefinder in the bag or leave the bigger cameras at home altogether.
I have owned an M3, M5, Canon QL-19, Canon VT, Best R2A and a Ricoh 500G, to name a few but I'm hoping another 35 SP will cross my path some day.
In about 2007 I found a fixed-lens rangefinder at a local thrift store. I had been shooting digitally for seven years by then and had two Canon DSLRs with a ton of lenses.
I had only ever used SLRs because that was all I knew. My first camera was a Rollei SL35 my dad had passed down to me.
I bought the rangefinder on a whim and took some snapshots without much of an expectation. When I got my film back I was blown away at the prints and realized how much I enjoyed using that camera, how light and portable it was.
The camera was an Olympus 35 SP.
Unfortunately, it was stolen out of my car soon after. I haven't had one since.
I still have the Canon DSLRs, but I always have a rangefinder in the bag or leave the bigger cameras at home altogether.
I have owned an M3, M5, Canon QL-19, Canon VT, Best R2A and a Ricoh 500G, to name a few but I'm hoping another 35 SP will cross my path some day.
x-ray
Veteran
I shot my first roll of Verichrome ( ortho ) in my mothers Ansco 620 box camera in 1953 and never stopped shooting film. I thought about it and even sold off my darkroom but couldn't love digital like I do film so I reacquired all the equipment and built a better darkroom. I also foolishly sold a lot of my cameras but have rebuilt my system.
I'm loving film more than ever now.
I'm loving film more than ever now.
skucera
Well-known
I went all-digital after my EOS 650 took a swan dive onto the front of its lens from my dining room table in 2002. I'd been dabbling in digital photography since I was allowed to borrow a Kodak DC-120 camera from work for the birth of my first daughter. My family was delighted to see pictures of her birth on a web site the same day. It was 1.2 megapixels, and an inconvenient brick shape, but I still have fond memories of that camera.
The digital camera I replaced that EOS 650 with was the Nikon CoolPix 950 Millenium. It was quite a step up in resolution... 2.0 megapixels! I loved that camera, but it was stolen out of a rental car in Los Angeles, and amazingly my homeowners insurance paid me $500 after the $500 deductible because the only one for sale on earth at that time was priced at $999 from a web site in Japan. C'est la vie.
From 2002 until two years ago I didn't use a film camera for any pictures. I have 14 GB of photos on hard drives from that period, and I still use my iPhone almost every day.
But...
Two years ago my wife's uncle gave me his father's Leica M3. That proved to be the "gateway drug" that reminded me of the fun I had with my old film cameras. I used that Leica and its four lenses a lot that summer, but I also dug out my little Pentax Auto 110 and my Olympus XA from college, plus my dad's beloved Konica AutoReflex T3n. Then I discovered an old camera at a thift store for only a few dollars, and I've been buying and shooting with a dizzying variety of film cameras for the last couple of years. It's been great fun.
Scott
The digital camera I replaced that EOS 650 with was the Nikon CoolPix 950 Millenium. It was quite a step up in resolution... 2.0 megapixels! I loved that camera, but it was stolen out of a rental car in Los Angeles, and amazingly my homeowners insurance paid me $500 after the $500 deductible because the only one for sale on earth at that time was priced at $999 from a web site in Japan. C'est la vie.
From 2002 until two years ago I didn't use a film camera for any pictures. I have 14 GB of photos on hard drives from that period, and I still use my iPhone almost every day.
But...
Two years ago my wife's uncle gave me his father's Leica M3. That proved to be the "gateway drug" that reminded me of the fun I had with my old film cameras. I used that Leica and its four lenses a lot that summer, but I also dug out my little Pentax Auto 110 and my Olympus XA from college, plus my dad's beloved Konica AutoReflex T3n. Then I discovered an old camera at a thift store for only a few dollars, and I've been buying and shooting with a dizzying variety of film cameras for the last couple of years. It's been great fun.
Scott
gavinlg
Veteran
I started all digital with my dads canon 30d when I was about 20 - which was 2007. Soon after, being a tech-head I am, I convinced him to go half with me on an upgrade to a 5d mk1. Lovely camera.
Cue forward a few months and I had discovered these mystical cameras that took film, and found RFF, and the thread that aviotus posted about his experienced in China with a Yashica electro GSN, which completely floored me. Here was the aesthetic I was searching for with my expensive (at the time 3k aud) digital camera, all from a $30 30 year old film camera! After a few ebay specials, I realized the lasting power of film, and 10 years later I still strongly prefer it when the situation allows.
Cue forward a few months and I had discovered these mystical cameras that took film, and found RFF, and the thread that aviotus posted about his experienced in China with a Yashica electro GSN, which completely floored me. Here was the aesthetic I was searching for with my expensive (at the time 3k aud) digital camera, all from a $30 30 year old film camera! After a few ebay specials, I realized the lasting power of film, and 10 years later I still strongly prefer it when the situation allows.
f16sunshine
Moderator
That thread and those images have had an effect on many of us I think.
The atmosphere he returned with using that camera and film .... still hard to get it with digital imaging.
Such a simple inexpensive old camera brought home the goods.
Here is a link to the thread for any reading who have not come across it yet. Well worth a look.
https://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34986
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
Kostya, I love your film story!
I guess I have more of a digital encroachment story. I invested heavily in film gear as a younger person (there are others here at RFF who are in the same boat). I just plugged away using film even as digital came on the scene. I was pretty happy with my film life. What's kind of funny is I have been very active in the digital remote sensing field all around this time -- developing satellite sensors and methods for using those digital data. But, for my personal photography I just used film -- B+W and slide film, almost never C-41. Then I was given a very rudimentary digital camera. Didn't have an LCD and I think it was about 2.4MP. That didn't help. I laughed and laughed so hard! Film was clearly superior, by far.
Fast forward to about 3 (or 4?) years ago. I had the opportunity to pick up an M8 in trade for some unused film gear I had (a Rollei 35 system). Well, the M8 was just like my M2, M3, and M6 and the images were much much better than I expected! About the same time, my wife got a Nikon D90 and her images were "mind blowing" compared to the stuff I expected from digital. Digital images were now quite acceptible and I sure liked the immediate gratification.
Since that time, I have been a firm two-camp photographer. About 2/3 of the images I make today are digital and the remaining 1/3 on film. That actually says a lot! I tend to use my digital gear just like my film gear (it comes naturally with the M cameras) and I certainly don't spray-n-pray like the typical digital user. I even limit my bracketing to just the few shots I would take with film -- when I even bother to bracket
Where to go from here? I doubt I will stop using film. I've settled on such a comfortable level of usage and its all about enjoyment. I really enjoy using some of my film cameras and because I have experience with film photography, I tend to be successful in capturing images I like (and others too).
I guess I have more of a digital encroachment story. I invested heavily in film gear as a younger person (there are others here at RFF who are in the same boat). I just plugged away using film even as digital came on the scene. I was pretty happy with my film life. What's kind of funny is I have been very active in the digital remote sensing field all around this time -- developing satellite sensors and methods for using those digital data. But, for my personal photography I just used film -- B+W and slide film, almost never C-41. Then I was given a very rudimentary digital camera. Didn't have an LCD and I think it was about 2.4MP. That didn't help. I laughed and laughed so hard! Film was clearly superior, by far.
Fast forward to about 3 (or 4?) years ago. I had the opportunity to pick up an M8 in trade for some unused film gear I had (a Rollei 35 system). Well, the M8 was just like my M2, M3, and M6 and the images were much much better than I expected! About the same time, my wife got a Nikon D90 and her images were "mind blowing" compared to the stuff I expected from digital. Digital images were now quite acceptible and I sure liked the immediate gratification.
Since that time, I have been a firm two-camp photographer. About 2/3 of the images I make today are digital and the remaining 1/3 on film. That actually says a lot! I tend to use my digital gear just like my film gear (it comes naturally with the M cameras) and I certainly don't spray-n-pray like the typical digital user. I even limit my bracketing to just the few shots I would take with film -- when I even bother to bracket
Where to go from here? I doubt I will stop using film. I've settled on such a comfortable level of usage and its all about enjoyment. I really enjoy using some of my film cameras and because I have experience with film photography, I tend to be successful in capturing images I like (and others too).
lynnb
Veteran
Nice idea for a thread Kostya - thanks.
I grew up with film - Verichrome Pan in the family Box Brownie 620, then 35mm colour reversal film in my father's Yashica Lynx. Reversal film was cheaper than colour prints, as the processing was included in the price and we had lots of slide nights. My first serious camera was an OM1 and I mostly shot Kodachrome 25 and Tri-X. By that time I had the use of a faculty darkroom every Friday night. I kept shooting film for decades.
When digital became good enough for everyday use I bought a Coolpix E4500. You could make a coffee while it focused but the results were very nice for A4 prints. Macro was a revelation. Then later a 5D beckoned and I stopped shooting film for quite a few years. I sold most of my film gear and got immersed in the digital darkroom.
Then my father-in-law passed on his F2 and Nikkormat with a bunch of Nikkors to me. It was like getting back with an old friend. To keep cost down I mostly shot bw film and developed it myself. I bought an Epson scanner to digitize the negs. I'm still trying to find a way to easily get an enlarger into and out of our tiny laundry so I can make wet prints again. Life is complicated the last few years but I'll get there.
I like what I can do with digital - like changing ISO from shot to shot, and playing in the digital darkroom - but I realised I much prefer the look of film. I started frequenting op shops and came across an OM1, so nice to feel one in the hands again.
I now much prefer the look of film. I hardly ever shoot digital now, apart from rare family pictures where I need high ISO and digital convenience. I have a 124G for portraits and some MF folders because I really, really like MF.
I'm having more fun since I went back to film than I've ever had with digital.
I grew up with film - Verichrome Pan in the family Box Brownie 620, then 35mm colour reversal film in my father's Yashica Lynx. Reversal film was cheaper than colour prints, as the processing was included in the price and we had lots of slide nights. My first serious camera was an OM1 and I mostly shot Kodachrome 25 and Tri-X. By that time I had the use of a faculty darkroom every Friday night. I kept shooting film for decades.
When digital became good enough for everyday use I bought a Coolpix E4500. You could make a coffee while it focused but the results were very nice for A4 prints. Macro was a revelation. Then later a 5D beckoned and I stopped shooting film for quite a few years. I sold most of my film gear and got immersed in the digital darkroom.
Then my father-in-law passed on his F2 and Nikkormat with a bunch of Nikkors to me. It was like getting back with an old friend. To keep cost down I mostly shot bw film and developed it myself. I bought an Epson scanner to digitize the negs. I'm still trying to find a way to easily get an enlarger into and out of our tiny laundry so I can make wet prints again. Life is complicated the last few years but I'll get there.
I like what I can do with digital - like changing ISO from shot to shot, and playing in the digital darkroom - but I realised I much prefer the look of film. I started frequenting op shops and came across an OM1, so nice to feel one in the hands again.
I now much prefer the look of film. I hardly ever shoot digital now, apart from rare family pictures where I need high ISO and digital convenience. I have a 124G for portraits and some MF folders because I really, really like MF.
I'm having more fun since I went back to film than I've ever had with digital.
css9450
Veteran
The antique camera gear I collected years ago (and some I collected recently) don't have slots for SD cards, so I have to use film in them. Actually, I shot color slides for almost 30 years until processing became increasingly slow, infrequent and haphazard. My DSLRs were a wonderful replacement for slides! I use them often to this day. But my beloved Nikon S2 sat on a shelf, and was soon joined by a half-dozen other similarly-vintage cameras, and eventually I had to bite the bullet and put film in them. First was Ilford XP2, which at least I could get processed locally, but it was expensive, and at ISO 400 it seemed like it was at the far end of what a lot of old cameras were designed to shoot (imagine shooting Sunny 16 when your maximum shutter speed is 1/500 and minimum aperture is f16). So I bit the bullet again and bought tanks and reels and chemicals so I can develop slower films myself.