Leaving the digital age behind

[parks5920]

Help! I feel the need to leave the digital age behind and step into the realm of the RF. I want to dump my DSLR and get my hands on a real camera. I think I like the Bessa R2A, but don't know which way to go since all of my 'digital friends' think I've lost my mind, help!

 

[Flow]

Well technically you don't need to leave the "digital age" even if you want to go into rangefinders... there's always the Epson...

 

[parks5920]

I think I need to have film back in my life.

 

[RML]

Well technically you don't need to leave the "digital age" even if you want to go into rangefinders... there's always the Epson...

Quite right!
I got my Eos 300D days before X-mas and found it had both conveniences and inconveniences, the latter making it for me not a camera to shoot very often. But the conveniences have driven me to the Epson R-D1, whcih I'm right now ordering and hope to hold in my hands before the month has ended.

 

[RML]

I think I need to have film back in my life.

I think I need ... sounds like you're not yet fully convinced.
Rationalise this need for us (and thus for yourself) and see how much you really need film back in your life.

 

[parks5920]

I want to have film back in my life, I need it.

 

[parks5920]

Quite right!
I got my Eos 300D days before X-mas and found it had both conveniences and inconveniences, the latter making it for me not a camera to shoot very often. But the conveniences have driven me to the Epson R-D1, whcih I'm right now ordering and hope to hold in my hands before the month has ended.

R-D1...that's a beautiful thing, congrats.

 

[choozart]

Help! I feel the need to leave the digital age behind and step into the realm of the RF. I want to dump my DSLR and get my hands on a real camera. I think I like the Bessa R2A, but don't know which way to go since all of my 'digital friends' think I've lost my mind, help!

I can sympathize. Film is exciting. Although I shoot weddings with digital, for fun I'm always toting my Fuji Rangefinder around. I prefer MF and Provia, myself.


Patrick

 

[GeneW]

Help! I feel the need to leave the digital age behind and step into the realm of the RF. I want to dump my DSLR and get my hands on a real camera. I think I like the Bessa R2A, but don't know which way to go since all of my 'digital friends' think I've lost my mind, help!

I know the feeling. I sold my Canon DSLR and lenses and spent the proceeds on more RF gear + a Hasselblad. Film is good! 😀

I do keep a couple of P&S digitals around though. They're handy for many things.

The Bessa R2A, esp combined with the lovely CV Ultron 35/1.7 lens, makes a great RF setup!

Gene

 

[timeUnit]

You don’t need to leave digital. Keep it, it’s great for lots of things. Especially when you need to shoot lots without changing film, or when you need to see the results immediately. It's also a bit less grainy than film at higher ISO.

Film kicks ass in difficult light with extreme dyn range. A Bessa is a good tool, I have the R3A with 40/1.4 and 21/4. Focusing is not extremely easy, it’s something I have to learn. But it's a quite non-obtrusive camera, and man it's easy to use with long shutter speeds. I took a portrait of my dad just recently, indoors at dusk, with T-Max 100 and and the 40/1.4. Ended up at 1/4 sec. The shot is still totally OK. That would not work with my D70 or Olympus OM-1n. Too much vibrations from the mirror.

But still: the viewfinder on the OM-1n with a fast lens is very nice, possibly nicer than the Bessa R3A. Am I blasphemous now?

Summary: if you love the feel of film buy a film camera. An RF is a good choice, but it is a "nerd" camera, and it demands a lot of you. It's not as point and shoot as many SLRs.

On the other hand: with a Bessa you have a great way to get into the Leica M-system, with the most highly acclaimed lenses in the world. Andd if you can't get good results with that, it's not the equipment... (well, it rarely is...)

 

[former member]

I understand fully the need for film in my life. It makes a clean break with what I have done professionally for over 25years, work with computers. Nothing like getting away with a camera and lens that did not even have a computer used to design the optics.

I bought a Nikon D1, used for about 10% of its >$5000 new price 4 years ago. Got the firewire connection going, the IEEE1394 driver on the original disk was incompatible with the Nikonview 6.1 software available on the Nikon site. Found a new driver to download. Found the custom setting menu to keep the camera on for longer after "inactivity", had a lot of shots missed at the playground from the camera "booting up" when not used for a minute or so. But it does use my AI series lenses and is great for pictures like this:

http://www.dslrexchange.com/dslrxphotopost/showphoto.php/photo/796/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

Did that help drive you back to film?

 

[snaggs]

Help! I feel the need to leave the digital age behind and step into the realm of the RF. I want to dump my DSLR and get my hands on a real camera. I think I like the Bessa R2A, but don't know which way to go since all of my 'digital friends' think I've lost my mind, help!

DO IT. DO IT NOW. You will never regret, and you'll laugh at all your friends whilst your out taking photos whilst theyre stuck behind a computer monitor. I had a complete D70 kit, with 2 wireless flashes, 5 lenses etc.. and I just traded in all the lenses and 1 flash in for a M6+35mm.

Best thing I've done. Its soooo much faster without autofocus, and you always know what your focussing on!

Find a good lab who knows how to operate a Fuji Frontier, get them to do Base/16 scans + prints for you. You just drop your film off and get a set of prints + a CD with 9 megapixel scans on. Reala 100 scanned this way onto 8-bit jpegs blows away my friends 20D, and I dont have to do anything post processing.

Daniel.

 

[Thomaspin]

All you need.

 

[krnt]

Help! I feel the need to leave the digital age behind and step into the realm of the RF. I want to dump my DSLR and get my hands on a real camera. I think I like the Bessa R2A, but don't know which way to go since all of my 'digital friends' think I've lost my mind, help!

🙂 As an old analog camera user I felt the same way once upon a time. The digital was a new way to be reborn , to start a new era, but I was wrong.
Is it all about taking 5 pictures a second and look at the back of the camera? and if not good enough take 5 new ?? Thats not photography the way I like it. It should be something like think first then take the picture. You don`t have moore then one chance to take the picture of the day. Thomas from Sweden

 

[parks5920]

Thank you, one and all!

Thank you, one and all!

I appreciate all the advice, you have all been very gracious in your responses and helpful. I'll try and maintain the best of both worlds between digital and film, now all I need to do is find the right RF, time to start the hunt.
JP

 

[Kin Lau]

I don't know why the two have to be mutually exclusive. I have a Canon 300D and a little a70 digicam and see my list in my sig for my RF's, and my SLR kit is just as large. I'll probably pickup the 350D so that both the wife and myself can shoot together (mostly birds), but I've just picked up a 100ft roll of Tri-X to go with Diafine.

ps. I think I've just effectively killed off any chances of me winning the RFF contest :bang:

 

[parks5920]

Can't we just get along.

Can't we just get along.

I don't know why the two have to be mutually exclusive. I have a Canon 300D and a little a70 digicam and see my list in my sig for my RF's, and my SLR kit is just as large. I'll probably pickup the 350D so that both the wife and myself can shoot together (mostly birds), but I've just picked up a 100ft roll of Tri-X to go with Diafine.

ps. I think I've just effectively killed off any chances of me winning the RFF contest :bang:

They shouldn't be, that is, mutually exclusive. It just seems that, at least among the people that I know, they have either gone totally digital and think film is on it's last legs or that digital camera's are for lazy people not interested in taking the time to get a good photograph...I think I need new friends.

 

[Kin Lau]

...I think I need new friends.

Welcome to RFF 🙂

Next week, you'll be cursing us for GAS 😀

 

[parks5920]

I'm a newbie, so sorry, what does GAS stand for? I assume that it's not what comes out of our bodies or powers our cars etc. my apologies.

 

[Kin Lau]

Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

Have a read of the other "Are YOU an ADDICT!" or "Just waiting for the mail" threads for some of the symptoms.