Is 35mm dead.

ah5168

ah5168

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Is 35mm dead. Since buying my medium format gear about a year ago, I haven’t touched my 35mm gear. I think my digital camera now produces a better image quality than 35mm and is much quicker and cheeper to use. Whenever I feel the subject should be photographed on film I now automatically go for the MF gear for the greater quality and improved tonal graduation.

The cost of MF film and processing is the same as 35mm on a roll basis and I get far more keepers on a roll of 120 than I do 35mm.

Should I dump my 35mm stuff?
 
Depends on your point of view

I would say 'No'

For me digital still can't match transparency film wheather it be 35mm or 120.
I still use 35mm alot and find it at times more convient to use than either digi or MF.

But if your not using your 35mm gear and feel that you may not use it agin then why not sell it and put the money towards more digi or MF gear?
 
Yes of course , dump them in my backyard. Now that 35 mm is seriously dead, you cant have much use for it...:LOL::LOL:
 
ah5168 said:
Should I dump my 35mm stuff?
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Hi Andrew,

Much as I would love you to sell more of your gear to me, I was out with the F2 today, I suggest you put it out of sight for a while and wait for the that day when you have a real desire to dig out your 35mm gear.

Trust me, that day will come :D
 
ah5168 said:
Is 35mm dead.
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Well 3 of mine are at the moment, but I've hopes of getting the Canonet's shutter un-stuck sometime when I'm feeling brave enough to dismantle it.

The EOS-5's probably had it - got some sort of electrical never-get-over's, and the Yashica compact is completely stuffed - there's a large bit inside the zoom lens that's just not attached to anything anymore.

Other than that, my EOS-3 is fine, the Yashica 108 likewise, and the other couple of old Kodak's don't get enough use to wear out anytime soon.

:LOL:
 
Knikki said:
Depends on your point of view

I still use 35mm alot and find it at times more convient to use than either digi or MF.
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not having a go at you here, just seriously interested... how/when exactly can 35mm be more convenient than digital?

Maybe it's how I work nowadays but no way would I say it could ever be more convenient - more appropriate, better quality perhaps

as I say - just interested
 
Well you only have to ask Ilford. They are selling more film and chemicals/paper now than they were a few years ago. So as far as black & white is concerned, there is still plenty of life left in 35mm film as is 120 film.

Ultimately it's down to personal choice. I'll always prefer film, others will prefer digital.
 
I agree that 120 film has a future but I am not so sure about 35mm. For me 120 is just as easy to use and the results are worth the extra effort over digital.
 
35mm isn't dead, you can't get long lenses for M/F for a start, its smaller, has wider applications, and its more convenient than M/F too.
More convenient than digital...??
If I'm shooting 35mm film, I just take what I need, I don't have a ginormous digi bag with 11 tons of crap I feel "might" need.
I could do the same with digital I suppose, but I don't, so it must be more convenient...:LOL:
To be fair, I don't shoot much digital any more so it hardly matters.
The thing with digital and film is, it doesn't matter how convenient digital is, it doesn't spit out film with pics on it, which is a major drawback for somebody who wants to shoot film....:D
 
No. I published a photograph taken on film last week. I'm working on an upcoming book title which is going to be shot in both film and digital. I'm covering a 4 day event in August and the organizers want film. Weddings are still on film. Many portrait clients want film. Then again many want digital.

Its very much alive, just not many people use it.
 
This is a good time and place to gaze at my crystal ball.:LOL:

I think that in a few more years; folks will pay a premium to get their photographs taken in film; there will be more marriage/event photographers using film to differentiate themselves; and digital will be so easy and commonplace, it will primarily become the preserve of the non-discerning amateurs
 
My love for film has recently been rekindled and i feel i'm taking more care again. Both my exposure and composition are back on track due to more thought going into getting it right on film.
The ability to use both my old and new lenses on various bodies,film and digital, for me means 35mm is far from dead.
Don't get me wrong, the majority of the time i do shoot digital but going back to film from time to time is good for the soul.

Roy
 
While I love using medium format, 35mm wins for sheer practicality. I took a 35mm rangefinder (Yashica) into a gig where I saw others' cameras turned away at the door. Could I have walked into a gig with my Mamiya RB67 round my neck? No way.

See the pictures here :)
 
keirik said:
not having a go at you here, just seriously interested... how/when exactly can 35mm be more convenient than digital?
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A fair question.

Sometimes I just like the simplicity of a camera that is totally manual with no auto anything in it, but yet is still small enough to be used without being noticed.

Other times I can't be bothered to charge the battery on the digi so with a manual only camera (and a Weston meter, no batteries either) I can pick up and shoot.

Also the fact that I only have 36 frames makes me think a little more than just shooting because I can shoot 200 frames on a compact flash card.

"Convenient" may have been the wrong word to use but sometimes that is just how I feel :)
 
keirik said:
not having a go at you here, just seriously interested... how/when exactly can 35mm be more convenient than digital?
Click to expand...

It is a fair question. For me personally it offers another medium in which I can work. It might be my lack of post production skills but a lot of my digital work looks the same. Gently processed to represent the subject. Its my 'digital' style. Many of my projects require a different look and with film I have the choice of brands, categories and developing processes to work with in order to achieve a certain look. For me it offers an all in one solution. Developing time is roughly the same (excluding scanning as I send them off, can't afford a hunky dory scanner at the moment). I also enjoy going through slides with clients. Projected onto a nice big white screen has a great impact. Of course this can be done with digital but it doesn't have the same feel. Although I use film for slower paced projects it would represent a struggle in today's digitally driven media requirements. Therefore when covering events where immediate delivery is required, the digital systems come out. This is my way of working and it would most definitely will not suit everyone.

Anyway, the wife loves it when I use film it makes her tingle. Especially when I break out the old school manual focus bricks.
 
I see very much what you mean, I'm very much the other way. Much of my film stuff looks similar as I don't really know enough to play with different films and process and experiment, while I know enough pp to play and get the look I want :D

need more film practice :D
 
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