The death of analogue photography.

MrDrizz

MrDrizz

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Now I can't remember where I might have read this but basically the article talked about the death of analogue photography not being from film no longer being produced but the cameras themselves. With no new film cameras (well maybe large format) being made and parts becoming harder and harder to source it's this that will kill it.

It might take a good few years but at some point it's bound to happen?
 
With a global market, it's possible for companies to find enough business to continue operations, even when there are relatively few customers in each country. As Adam pointed out: there's a thriving market for vinyl records (though God alone knows why and she hasn't told me! :naughty: )
 
Whether complex cameras will continue to be made in miniature formats (I'm going with the definition of miniature format that was current when I started - basically any negative less than 6x9cm) I don't know. But large format cameras are still a thriving production area, and can even be home made.

The Daguerrotype was obsolete by around 1860. But there are still people using the process. Just as dry plates are still being sold commercially.

If analogue photography dies, it will be because no one wants to use it, not because of a lack of 35mm and roll film cameras. Both these small sizes are less amenable to DIY film or plate manufacture.

There has also been a resurgence of old processes - there are a couple of threads running now that don't even need cameras at all!
 
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There is a small but dedicated group that are designing & making their own cameras - often using 3D printing for parts.
I'f the human race continues without a great disaster for 1000 years it will still be possible for analogue photography to be done. It may become increasingly rare as mass produced cameras wear out but I don't see it dying out completely.
 
I'd guess if there is a market for it, someone will produce cameras.
 
Some mechanical Cameras will still be repairable, and function into the distant future. However later model electronic based ones are already problematic, When they fail, the specialised electronic parts are no longer available.
It is possible to cannibalise most bladed shutters. however some cloth focal plane shutters are more difficult, as both the materials and the necessary skills have become hard to find anymore...
 
Anyone who has seen the TV programme 'Repair Shop' will know never to underestimate the resourcefulness of people in sheds, and that pretty much anything mechanical can be repaired and brought back to functionality if you find the right person with the right equipment to do it.

As Terry says, complex electronic parts (particularly ICs and chips) are more problematic, and even quite basic things like selenium meters can often be beyond economical repair on old mechanical cameras due to the materials no longer being freely available. Yes, I think quite a few electronic 35mm SLRs and latter-day medium format SLRs will be unrepairable eventually, but plenty of other mechanical cameras will probably outlast even their youngest owners if they're looked after properly and given a CLA from time to time.

Then there's the box brownie type camera, which even a basically experienced DIY enthusiast should be able to strip down and repair... and pinhole cameras that have very little to go wrong other than a simple winding mechanism, small hole and something to cover it! So I feel predictions of the death of film photography are somewhat premature.
 
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MrDrizz said:
Now I can't remember where I might have read this but basically the article talked about the death of analogue photography not being from film no longer being produced but the cameras themselves. With no new film cameras (well maybe large format) being made and parts becoming harder and harder to source it's this that will kill it.

It might take a good few years but at some point it's bound to happen?
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Mechanical film cameras will remain repairable for longer than digital ones so they'll probably be around for quite a while.
 
There’s a pretty good chance they’ll outlast me so im not too worried
 
My own major concern with digital cameras is that the cameras themselves will remain fully functional long after the proprietary batteries they use have ceased to exist. As others have said, purely mechanical cameras have a better chance of being both repairable and useable than those that rely on electronics for their functioning.

Even when the batteries are "standard items" now, there is no guarantee that they will remain so beyond the next EU edict :). PX13 or PX625 anyone?
 
RaglanSurf said:
There’s a pretty good chance they’ll outlast me so im not too worried
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I might have expected that self centered attitude from the younger generation :)

I expect that they'll outlast everyone on TP though. And, based on the past, barring the end of the world, for a very long time after that.
 
StephenM said:
My own major concern with digital cameras is that the cameras themselves will remain fully functional long after the proprietary batteries they use have ceased to exist. As others have said, purely mechanical cameras have a better chance of being both repairable and useable than those that rely on electronics for their functioning.

Even when the batteries are "standard items" now, there is no guarantee that they will remain so beyond the next EU edict :). PX13 or PX625 anyone?
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One good reason to buy a battery grip or power winder grip if your camera takes one, as these often run on standard AA size batteries (including rechargeables) which I think will be around for many years to come. It can make them a bit bulky and heavy though.

 
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I've got a Nikon F3 which can run off AAs in the motor drive. I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer to use my lighter 5x4 over that combination though.

I'm sure I'm in a minority, but I find the modern grips on cameras obtrusive, and much prefer the older shape on my OMs or F2s.
 
Not too concerned about the camera side of things as mentioned earlier in the thread. Even later 90s designs are becoming more repairable with 3D printing, the electronics are harder but I think that the continuting failure of expensive compacts like Contaxes will make more people find ways to reverse engineer and repair the electronic side of things. They won't be short of work if they get up and running.

Colour film is the one I'm concerned about in the long term, Kodak in particular. Their price increases are understandable (iirc it was to invest in new equipment to avoid the backlogs in previous years), and hopefully the majority of film shooters understand that. Fuji are huge and diversified enough. The black and white manufacturers seem to be doing fine.
 
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StephenM said:
I've got a Nikon F3 which can run off AAs in the motor drive. I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer to use my lighter 5x4 over that combination though.

I'm sure I'm in a minority, but I find the modern grips on cameras obtrusive, and much prefer the older shape on my OMs or F2s.
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I'm with you on that, I very rarely use the grips on mine, but it's handy to have them for the alternative power source if it ever becomes necessary. I'd rather have a bulky camera I can use than something that's become an ornament.
 
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MrDrizz said:
With no new film cameras (well maybe large format) being made and parts becoming harder and harder to source it's this that will kill it.

It might take a good few years but at some point it's bound to happen?
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2nd hand supplies are plentiful if you are willing to make slight compromises.

However, by all means you should be all focusing on the large format, or at least MF as it is the only medium that can produce high quality output in line with current standards, and is more forgiving to manipulations, besides giving just what you want - endless tinkering and pain using it.
 
Great replies, will the spare parts just not be obtainable even for the mechanical cameras? I'm thinking for the shutter system.

Glad I have my Flexaret TLR that's fully mechanical. Just need a 35mm SLR to match.
 
I believe both the Nikon F6 and the Leica MP and MA are still being manufactured as new 35mm cameras.

Also the Lomo LC-A and LC-Wide (not quite up to the same mechanical standard mind you!) and a variety of plastic fantastics.

I think the DSLR will die before film cameras. Mirrorless will be the only way forward soon.
 
My oldest camera is well over 100 years old and works perfectly. My newest fully mechanical camera is just over 30 years old - should have 70 years plus left. Not only will that see me out, it will see the next generation out as well and most of the generation after that.

In addition, I am most of the way through making a pin-hole camera - that will never wear out.
 
there are many lovely bellows cameras out there. however bellows inevitably fail.
Bellows are not that difficult to make or have made but often cost more than the camera is worth to make and fit.
There is almost nothing that a skilled watch maker could not make and repair for a bladed shutter camera, except the blades and springs themselves.
 
Harlequin565 said:
I believe both the Nikon F6 and the Leica MP and MA are still being manufactured as new 35mm cameras.

Also the Lomo LC-A and LC-Wide (not quite up to the same mechanical standard mind you!) and a variety of plastic fantastics.

I think the DSLR will die before film cameras. Mirrorless will be the only way forward soon.
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While Nikon still list the F6, I doubt you will find anyone, worldwide, who has a new one in stock.
 
StephenM said:
I might have expected that self centered attitude from the younger generation :)
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Thats a very nice thing to say, thank you Stephen. It’s been many moons since anyone placed me in the “younger generation “ age bracket.
 
My Leica M2 was made in the same year as I was born and I'm pretty sure it will outlast me.

There will no doubt be less choice of film and cameras in the future but there will be some. I just hope it doesn't go so niche as to be unaffordable for most people..
 
Old cameras may eventually become un-serviceable due to a lack of available parts but I cannot see that happening for a while. It's more likely more film stocks will cease to be made or become too expensive for some people to justify buying. I've watched quite a few younger photographers on YouTube and seen for myself college-aged people around London shooting SLRs. It may be a fad, or they may genuinely love shooting film. As long as there are people interested in film photography it will continue.
 
Well one way of looking at it is (assuming you didn't pay top money new) e.g. my Canon T90 cost me £60 and bought it 6 years ago, so if the electronics last another 4 years that would mean I've had the use out of it costing £6 per year. Even tight wad me thinks that's cheap for a great camera.
erm my Canon T70 is doing well for 9 years costing £7 etc etc
If they stop making film I suppose I could always use digi :eek: using all my film camera lenses.
 
Could the environmental impact of the developing and film production chemicals be the ultimate demise?
 
Egg whites for albumen prints and vitamin C for developing anyone? Although possibly the highly dangerous compound sodium chloride will have been banned making albumen a non starter.
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
2nd hand supplies are plentiful if you are willing to make slight compromises.

However, by all means you should be all focusing on the large format, or at least MF as it is the only medium that can produce high quality output in line with current standards, and is more forgiving to manipulations, besides giving just what you want - endless tinkering and pain using it.
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Kinda missing the point of why the majority of people shoot film.
 
Ste_S said:
Kinda missing the point of why the majority of people shoot film.
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I would presume you would either want to do something very special with it during the development phase, or show off in the field with with the cloth all over your head.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
I would presume you would either want to do something very special with it during the development phase, or show off in the field with with the cloth all over your head.
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Look, if you haven't got anything nice to say then perhaps it would be better if you said nothing at all. After all it's better to say nothing and let people think you're thick than start typing and prove it :D;)
 
Ste_S said:
Kinda missing the point of why the majority of people shoot film.
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And that's it really. When film was 'all there was' I shot MF because 35mm couldn't provide the required image quality. Now it's about a different quality in the image and the process of making it, so that side of things doesn't matter.
 
I'll rise to this as a one off.

I do not use film for any of the following reasons:

Endless tinkering. I don't vary my procedure at all. No tinkering.
Pain. I'd prefer it if there was a simpler way. There doesn't seem to be.
Something special during development. I always stick to the manufacturer's instructions (or the Massive Dev Chart).
Showing off with a dark cloth. I don't have any alternative than using one.

Why then do I use film? I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader, as the text books (used to) say. For me, it's a very valid reason.
 
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MrDrizz said:
Now I can't remember where I might have read this but basically the article talked about the death of analogue photography not being from film no longer being produced but the cameras themselves. With no new film cameras (well maybe large format) being made and parts becoming harder and harder to source it's this that will kill it.
Click to expand...

I don't think there's a problem. The economics of supply and demand dictate that when the supply of used film cameras tails off, the value of existing working cameras will rise. This will make it economically viable to manufacture both new film cameras and parts to repair old ones. Unfortunately, websites and bloggers like to invent problems to attract clicks.
 
Andysnap said:
Look, if you haven't got anything nice to say then perhaps it would be better if you said nothing at all. After all it's better to say nothing and let people think you're thick than start typing and prove it :D;)
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Quote of the month, right there.

It's like the F&C section needs a popup message when opening the subforum for the first time that reads:

"People in here shoot on film. This does not mean they do not shoot, or have not shot, with digital cameras. If your sole task is to enter this forum, spout your opinion on how much you think digital is better and then sod off, then please simply don't do the first two parts of this sentence. People rather well understand the various merits of both formats and choose to shoot on film, to various degrees, regardless, and with many and various reasons for doing so. If you're not happy to accept that others perhaps do not conform to your opinion, then kindly sod off."
 
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