Why do all we film guys keep holding on?

Keith said:
When you put it like that it doesn't sound so bad Chris.

So you're not in line for the Monochrom then? 😀
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The cost of film really isn't high when you think of how much film it costs to buy a good digital camera. Even a relatively cheap one like the Canon 5DmkII costs, at current film prices, 6 years of BW film use (assuming $5 a roll for film). I have a 5DmkII and use it for my color work. I needed it for some of the commercially oriented work I do and it has paid for itself since color transparency film is $10 a roll plus another $10 for developing. A BW digital like the M Mono is just overpriced for what it is. At current film prices, the MM would take an astonishing 16 YEARS of film use to break even!!!!
 
I have gone back to film a little bit (about 2% of shooting) because there are some amazing bargains on some amazing film cameras these days. A Nikon FTN can be had for $200 or less. I bought a superb Leica R8 for $525. And even better deals on medium format stuff. So I learned how to develop C41 and haven't looked back.
 
Maybe if I hold my mouth right and bite my tongue....

Maybe if I hold my mouth right and bite my tongue....

Yesterday, I finally stopped at a property about 5 miles away. There's an old homestead there in a stand of birch trees. I stopped and asked the property owner if I could take some pictures of the old place (built in the late 1800's... near to falling down). He said yes, so I took my S3 Pro Fuji out and shot 44 images.

I came home, downloaded them onto my computer (or is it up...). See the confusion starts arready???

I played some post processing and made a Pano... got some results. Hmmmm?

I know the site will just not please me until I see it on a 4X5 sheet of film. Did I precipitate that in my actions?

I know I stopped at the house on the way out and asked if I could come back with a better camera... my Super Graphic?.... I told him I will give him a large matted print. He said, "You know, there have been well over twenty people asking me to photograph that old house since I bought the property in 2005. You are the first who ever offered to give me a print."

But he did say, "Sure, come on back any time."

In my heart and my mind's eye, I know the image will not truly please me until I see it on a BIG transparency, and maybe one on a BIG B/W negative.

My answer to your pondering is..... You know the answer to your question when you see the final shot!!!
 
Several different reasons:

1- I like RFs. Having one M9 is too expensive. Two (like when I grab two Ms to have another lens ready) totally out of reach.

2- I shoot 10-15 rolls, process them myself, scan full rolls on my CS 5000. The hassle is not that big.

3- I like working with a method that allows me to feed an M6 as well as an M2 or even an 80 years old III from time to time, and to get good pictures. I love these old cameras. This is the one reason I feel a bit idiotic about. the image should be the only thing important. Still...
 
Those of you with data on CD/DVD... Do yourself a favor....

Those of you with data on CD/DVD... Do yourself a favor....

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Lawrence A. said:
And many archivists are having digital files film scanned because properly processed film is said to last longer than a CD or hard drive.
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Go To Yahoo or Google... both would be interesting

Search two words... or variations thereof:

CD Rot
DVD Rot

You'll be surprised and possibly mortified. It's just coming up recently and the alarm is getting greater as time passes.
 
I think I answered this question ( for the most part ) in a thread a while back. Basically, I'm set in my ways and like what I like. I'm very comfortable with film, and it makes me feel good to know that the same stuff I used way back when I was a little kid, I can still use today.

And I just like the stuff - I love seeing a negative, printing a photo, and the entire process.
 
Well, I like Old cameras and I like RFs. Most cameras I have have nothing similar in digital world to offer same feel when I use them. Take Old folders, for example - it's a pure pleasure to me to use one. To appreciate that camera made in 1920-30s still works great and delivers results I like. This is not to say I dislike digital - I use my RD1S with great pleasure too. So, for me - there is room for both worlds and each has it's own advantages. So, the reason I still use film - it's because I like the experience of an old manual camera. It just feels good.
 
Wow! Three pages after only four hours.
I'm in the 'love mechanical cameras' camp, nice to fondle as well as take pictures. An emotional response I know, but so what, I don't feel the need for logic in my camera selection.

The other reason is money. Since this is a hobby it is all outgo and no income.
I already have more hardware that I need so the only expense is film and chemicals. I shoot far fewer rolls than a person earning their living with their film cameras.

But, I think even if I had lots of disposable income I *might* consider an OMD, mainly because I can put any old lens on it and it's compact, something I value. But really, if someone gave me 5 grand and said I had to spend it on cameras I'd look for a couple of mint Olympus Pen FV bodies. For lenses I'd look for the Pen 25mm f2.8 the 38mm f2.8 pancake and a 70mm f2.

That's all folks.
 
A digital camera is like a computer, it is worth as much as the use you put into it. If I did photography for a living and shot 50 rolls of slides per job then digital would be the way to go. But I am a hobbyist who shoots 200 rolls and a few dozen sheet films a year at the most. The equipment I have will last another lifetime and all I need is film and more time to shoot more of it.
 
I'm not a professional, so I just use the equipment I enjoy using. And for me, that usually means my absurdly simple film cameras. I only have a couple of things to adjust ever, and I have dials for them!

That said, I have recently picked a NEX-7 and a Ricoh GRD. I find those to be pretty nice to use too, and I've gotta say, some of the convenience features like the electronic level overlay are really growing on me.
 
I think we, the new generation of film shooters, either shoot it because of the process or the look we get with it. Just think about cross-process or plastic lenses. The darkroom. The time we have to wait for our images in a time everything goes so fast. It's something tactile. It's beautiful.
And chemicals do strange things to the brain... 😉
 
kshapero said:
With all these really cool announcements of awesome digital cameras meant to appeal to the RF guy, why do so many of us shoot primarily film?:bang:
Are we just old farts? Or young ones? Are we on to something? Or are we just living in the past?😎
I, for one, like the unpredictableness of silver particles. I like the surprise. But will our stuff just end as an episode on Pawn Stars?😱
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some people simply prefer film and everything that goes along with it
as a choice of art style.

not everyone likes digital, or its look,
or its potential short term life span via various computer problems.

Stephen
 
Photography is more than just tripping a shutter button...for me it includes developing film and spending time in a darkroom...
I also love the feel of mechanical cameras...you know, the old style metal ones...even ones, dare I say, without batteries...
As an added bonus I love the look from the older lenses on these ancient machines I use...

I don't own a digital camera as yet other than my cell phone camera...I have taken over a thousand pictures with it so I'm not anti-digital just more pro-film...

As far as my gear ending up on Pawn Stars...most pawn shops aren't buying the film cameras I use...
 
first camera I used was a rangefinder.

I am too used to rangefinder focusing and it is incorporated with the way i hold a camera I focus with..

IF there were full frame digital rangefinder's that accepted M mount and Screw Mount lenses, most of us here would have both film and digital..

Digital M's are for the rich and time will only tell if they work 50 years hahaha
 
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