post-digital anyone?

[ch1]

All,

Like many poster - I straddle several photo "worlds"

I came to photography via film SLR (mid '70's with a Nikkormat FT-2) and continue to travel that path (albeit now with a F5 and F100 plus the oldies).

But a few years ago I first dabbled in digital via a P&S Canon G2 and was quite smitten by the ease of use and small size. Of course, problem is output - with film I have always favored trannies - so now what do I do with all these P&S digishots? [Oh, BTW, my better half still just prefers to use the old Olympus Infinity P&S!]

Continuing on to recent times, last Winter I went for a new Nikon D70 (and because we have more than one residence also a used D100 for our vacation home).

But I couldn't give up film - so I also got a couple of F-100's and the F5 - have to have all bases covered!

Are you beginning to detect GAS here?

Now, of course, I also felt that the old manual Nikon SLR needed some "friends" such as a F3 and FT-3 and an EL (well after all - the lenses are interchangeable - aren't they!?!?)

I think we are definetely detecting GAS here.

So to complete the picture - now - partially as a result of the corrupting influence of this website (and GAS curiousity as a general disease), I developed a "need" to learn about RF technique so have purchased a user Nikon S2 w/a couple of lenses on eBay. Which of course means I am now looking at CQ's remaining Bessa R2S kits for a backup camera. You know, one for color and one for B&W....

Talk about GAS!!!!

And now I get to the original post (err..) Post-Digital.

We're all likely travelling on a ship of happy fools!

Yes, I believe that there will be a "reaction" to digital by present day photo "afficianados". I mean, after all, if you read PopPhoto, to stay current, you have to throw away your DSLR each month (lenses included unless they're Sigma's). How long can that thrive? [Oh and BTW: did you notice how all of their pics of the month for September 2005 were shot on film?]

We all have to keep in mind that DSLRs (and the higher-end digital P&S's) have revived the entire camera industry. These days, suburban and exurban soccer moms just HAVE TO HAVE a DSLR in order to "save face"! DSLRs and higher-end digital P&S cameras are status symbols for the current generation of 20 to 40 somethings - just as film SLRs were to their parents and grandparents thirty years ago!

This "acquisition craze" will pale soon, and many of these DSLRs etc. will wind up on closet shelves. But the harder reality is, just like so many other technological endeavors, the "kids" today are only going to learn and know digital format photography.

Within a couple of years it will be hard to even find a course anywhere on film shooting (much less developing) technique.

Now for a 54+ y.o. "geezer" like me - that's no problem.

But give it a couple of decades and who (except a tiny group of "wierdo luddites") will even know about film anymore?

Love this website,
George
copake_ham

 

[RML]

Well, while we're setting the record straight, the RD-1 is nowhere NEAR inexpensive. They said - hey rangefinders go for a lot of money, I think we can increase our profit margins selling to this niche of wackos. IMO they took all the wrong lessons from it. It will die soon enough, because big iron PC product makers don't understand the tens of thousand units market.

Yes, it is expensive but so is the new special edition of the Leica MP.

Yes, they probably did slap on quite a good profit margin but they get away with it, and a company is there to make a profit; not to give money away.

Yes, the R-D1 serves a niche but that could very well be its reason for survival. Niche markets are usually too small for the BIG boys to play in.

Yes, the BIG ones probably don't understand a 10.000 unit market but Cosina does. And Epson has been delegating lots of the work on the R-D1 to Cosina.

So, no, I don't think the digital RF will die soon. It will, however, never be a market saturated with products from all the BIG names. It will definitely remain a niche market where perhaps 2 or 3 manufacturers will play. Epson/Cosina, Leica and Zeiss, most likely.

 

[DaveSee]

If an amateur tells me he saves 400 rolls of film now and thus the system pays itself i say o.k., tell THAT your barber, he cannot run away and must stay polite. 😀
Leaving aside that for an amateur it is no argument to use a system just because it pays itself.Does the rest not count at all ?

While the original post had me thinking, this above reminded me of still another reason why I could be "post-digital." "Does the rest not count at all?" Nice. Nice because the rest of it--making a picture--does count: I became so concerned with post-processing digital images that I found I missed the picture, literally.

Had done a fair amount of printmaking(lithography, intaglio, etching and b/w photo) and all the while shooting film... then I fell into digital, but into SGIs, 3D and video(still recovering from Avid Matador tools... painting with (digital) light so subtle it makes Adobe PS seem like house paint)... "...the rest" was obscured behind a color callibrated CRT!

My pro/earning a living by photography friends went digital (MF mostly) because their clients *expected* digital files, and, importantly, digital detail... a lot of the image quality in 4x5 was simply not needed. They could also reduce the per image cost and thus offer a lower bid and get more business.

I have a few negs and slides to scan, from over 20 years of shooting, but the call to get out of the house and shoot has delayed this work... both eyes open, and looking out far further than half a meter to a CRT, that's the "rest" that really counts, again.

I must say, however, that composing with the LCD of my CoolPix 950 has a pleasant MF feel about it... but the lens ain't all that 😉

Forums like this are the most I get from digital in photography.
EDIT: I forgot to say, thank you!

rgds,
Dave