Why Film ?

I am a digital shooter nowadays and I love the flexibility it gives you. Coming from film years ago I found digital to be a wonderful revolution. However, I've found over time I've become lazy in that it's all too easy to fire away in the assumption that "one of the shots must be ok". Great 'till I get home and have 2Gb of shots to trawl through to find the "good ones"!

A few months ago I went out with Jonnyreb for a day's film shooting again and I have to say, it was a great experience. All of a sudden I had 36 shots available in the camera for the day, and every one had to count :eek: What a totally different way of shooting. I found myself really paying attention to composition, exposure etc like I hadn't in years. It's a totally different mind set.

I won't be going back over to film any time soon, but just that one day's experience has reminded me to consider my photography much more carefully. I think the odd "film day" here and there does us the world of good (y)

Good thread btw Steve ;)
 
I like the equipment, I like the mechanics of film cameras, the clicks, clunks, bangs and whirrs, the resistance of all the knobs and levers.
I like faffing with lightmeters, setting shots up, bracketing, in short spending the maximum length of time possible fiddlin an twiddlin for just one shot, I think L/Format is even better for this.
I like waist level finders
I like the feeling of knowing I'm limited to only a few shots, so why worry, bugger it (reverse psychology), theres always tommorow.
I like developing, its hugely satisfying even if the photos are crap.
I like the look of film, imperfect but at the same time natural.
Most of all, I like film be cause it exists as a physical thing, its not just an image to look at, its a living breathing 3d object, with form and texture......and beauty....if your lucky.
Actually, even the ugly ones are beautifull in one way or another.
 
Pick up and have a fiddle with the OM-1 with a motor drive... then pick up the E500/510 etc.

The OM is such a fantastic feat of engineering, you have to love using it! I really like my E500 but it can't come close to the OM-1 for engineered class!
 
Theres still nowt as exciting as watching an image slowly appear in the developer.
And I know I'm weired, but I liked the smell of fixer on my hands.:shrug:

I think for me you feel like you've actually created something physical when you photograph,develop and make a print.

I love what digital brings, but I still cant lose the feeling that its cheating in some way.
 
Well, so far it seems that the main reason for using film is the feel and tactile side of it.
No one has said that one is better than the other because of whatever..
Interesting.
I had expected a raft of film users saying that film had more detail, tonality and warmth (like valves over solid state amps maybe).
 
steveinspain said:
Well, so far it seems that the main reason for using film is the feel and tactile side of it.
No one has said that one is better than the other because of whatever..
Interesting.
I had expected a raft of film users saying that film had more detail, tonality and warmth (like valves over solid state amps maybe).
Click to expand...

Steve, the film sub forum is only a couple of days old, there's time yet.

Although I still have my old EOS 10 35mm in minty condition, I never use it but it's nice to have and to hold and occasionally run the same film through to hear the rewind mechanism, especially at 5fps.
 
Steve whats your status at the moment as regards to a film camera ? have you got one yet ? m/f ?
 
donutagain.
Have I got one ??
No. I don't have one yet, but waiting for me in London are a Mamiya 6 and a Mamiya RZ67,
so both M/F...

I'll be back there tuesday..
 
I have a mamiya 645 so I can shoot and develop my own B&W. I've only just bought it and waiting for my new scanner to be delivered. I chose not to print from the negs because I'm not that skilled at printing and I think photoshop is a much safer way for me to manipulate the image. (It has an undo button and a revert one!)

I'm running a roll of colour film through it at the moment just to get the hang of manual controls again.

My Eos5D has all sorts of metering modes and focus mechanisms. The mamiya has two, fully manual and, with the metered prism, aperture priority. Focus is, of course, all manual.

So yes without all the technology I do have to think more. It makes taking the photo more of a study to me.
 
be careful steve , ive heard it said that once youve used medium format you wont go back to digital ! as to my why film , i just like using manual cameras , ilford hp5plus in them as its very forgiving exposure wise , decide which part of the scene to expose for and away i go . its not like i need to make a living from it , so it dosent matter what it comes out like really
 
Oh just the chap to ask then donutagain!

What do you develop your hp5 in? Temps and timings may save me making a lot of mistakes too. (I know I'm cheeky)

Ali
 
I've moved to digital from 35mm. The main thing I miss with film is fuji Velvia and night/low light shots. I just cannot get anywhere near as good results with digital. I think the reciprocity factor of long exposures made a huge difference for that type of long exposure shot. So much so, that I am considering buy a M/F mamiya 67. But as my income isn't generated from this type of photography, I wonder about the cost - benefits of such a purchase.
 
There is an absolute glut of conventional equipment, whether it is 35mm, medium or large format, available for relatively little money today. If you are discerning enough to care about the final result, then hey, just go for it (and take advantage of the low prices:)).
 
Ali , i normally use id 11 and follow the instructions ,.water temp 20 c three inversions at the end of each minute , i mix three to one , and i tent to let it overdevelope for a few seconds rather than pull it on time .then a stop bath for a min then three mins fixer , then wash for a minimum of fifteen mins ( but normally let ity run on for twenty/twenty five ) i try to be as near to 20 c with the developer as i can , i pour it in at 21 c. stop and fixer at room temperature . just try and be as consistant as possible each time you do it . ( and if there is anyone in north kent who wants to have a go themselves at developing their own roll of b+w let me know ) Andy
 
Thanks Andy!

I bought a water heater so I'm hoping I can get the developer to the right temperature. A bit of trial and error involved but I'll get there!

thanks for the advice, you have probably just saved me a fair amount of experimenting!

Ali
 
steveinspain said:
Well, so far it seems that the main reason for using film is the feel and tactile side of it.
No one has said that one is better than the other because of whatever..
Interesting.
I had expected a raft of film users saying that film had more detail, tonality and warmth (like valves over solid state amps maybe).
Click to expand...

Well, it does, but you'll only see it in good prints and scans......actually, the best method is with your own eyes.
Comparing film with digital is like comparing apples and oranges.
When comparing, film seems always to be forced to compete as a digital medium, so another step has to be added to its production - scanning, = film is then limited by the quality of the scan equipment.

natjag said:
I am considering buy a M/F mamiya 67....I wonder about the cost - benefits of such a purchase.
Click to expand...

ya can't put a price on happiness...:)
 
Joxby - It seems that I am getting a nikon coolscan 8000 which I hope is a good enough scanner - another parcel that i am hoping will have arrived for my return to London..
(My suitcase is going to be pretty photography-laden on my return home - scanner, 2 cameras, lenses, film backs, film, plus a 30d for a friend...)
 
well nobody can accuse you of going into it half hearted like:LOL:
Thats as good a scanner as your gonna get short of a drum scanner.
Your first roll of colour slide film on a light box will knock you flat.
I've been trying to reproduce what I can see in on slides, but I cant, and I've still not got this Minolta working, keep getting "error=5 could not confirm scanner connection"
scsi.....what a pile a crap that is.
and I got food poisoning, off work, but feel like s**t

oh, I made this - sensor sizes
all ya gotta do is convert 6x6 to a digital format.......:puke:

vnnzpx.gif
 
5 hours later.....

I still have no idea about anything...

The scanner lights up and goes through a test sequence
When I click on the minolta software pc shuts down, reboots and in device manager the scsi raid controller thingy piece of utter offal cannot start.
So uninstall it, re install it....rinse..repeat.
There are no xp drivers for the minolta, the software I downloaded to identify the scsi raid controller thingy piece of utter crap, cant identify it, so I dunno what drivers that might need.
I dont know if the scanner works
I dont know if the scsi port works, in short I know bugger all
Its either £70 for a scsi to usb converter, or this £400 waste of effort is going in the bin.

wheres the angry as a bag of wasps smiley
 
Jon - sorry you are struggling..
Might be worth asking these guys, if this link works..

http://www.hybridphoto.com/forums/home.php

They seem to be fairly clued up on scanners etc, so worth a try, but as most are based in the States, be prepared to wait for a reply..

Thanks for the 6x6 to PAS image - sort of scary just how much bigger it is..
 
Still have my film Canons but they rarely get use these days. I kind of miss shooting film but for speed, digi is just better for me.

I'm a bit gutted about my rapid change to digi though, as it prompted me to sell my Bronicas and I'm kind of missing them now I'm back into doing landscape stuff. :(

When i win the lottery I WILL buy myself a Cambo 5x4" and get back into shooting film. Anyone got the winning numbers for Saturday? :)
 
AliB said:
I have a mamiya 645 so I can shoot and develop my own B&W. I've only just bought it and waiting for my new scanner to be delivered. I chose not to print from the negs because I'm not that skilled at printing and I think photoshop is a much safer way for me to manipulate the image. (It has an undo button and a revert one!)

I'm running a roll of colour film through it at the moment just to get the hang of manual controls again.

My Eos5D has all sorts of metering modes and focus mechanisms. The mamiya has two, fully manual and, with the metered prism, aperture priority. Focus is, of course, all manual.

So yes without all the technology I do have to think more. It makes taking the photo more of a study to me.
Click to expand...
Hi Ali, have you got any sample shots from your 645? I was looking at one on ebay as a step up from my old yashica mf. Would you reccomend it? Any ideas what the difference is between te 645 pro and 645 super
 
joxby said:
5 hours later.....

I still have no idea about anything...

The scanner lights up and goes through a test sequence
When I click on the minolta software pc shuts down, reboots and in device manager the scsi raid controller thingy piece of utter offal cannot start.
So uninstall it, re install it....rinse..repeat.
There are no xp drivers for the minolta, the software I downloaded to identify the scsi raid controller thingy piece of utter crap, cant identify it, so I dunno what drivers that might need.
I dont know if the scanner works
I dont know if the scsi port works, in short I know bugger all
Its either £70 for a scsi to usb converter, or this £400 waste of effort is going in the bin.

wheres the angry as a bag of wasps smiley
Click to expand...


Don't know if you are still struggling, but I've just read your post.

You may have the wrong SCSI card. You've got a raid controller, rather than a straight forward SCSI card that may be the problem.

Also without XP drivers you may not get the Minolta scanner to be seen by your software.
 
Chappers said:
Don't know if you are still struggling, but I've just read your post.

You may have the wrong SCSI card. You've got a raid controller, rather than a straight forward SCSI card that may be the problem.

Also without XP drivers you may not get the Minolta scanner to be seen by your software.
Click to expand...

Yep, still struggling, your right about the card..
this is where I'm at, its splattered across 2 threads now, here and Steves "what do you know about scanning".

just got to get this cross gender hd50 to db25 adaptable flange spring socket sprocket bush screw clip adapter... thing, ordered one from the states, so it should be due sometime in autumn....09:puke:
 
I bought this

Its the HD50 thats messing discriptions up, everyone seems to have a different name for it, unless theres a picture of it scsi 1/2 could be anything, centronic sockets keep cropping up regularly aswell, the db25 seems absolutely standard though.
I ordered one from RS components on Saturday, went to pick it up and they didn't have it:bang:, but I'm glad cos when I got home, the ref number on their site shows a photo of a 50 pin centronics socket:shrug:which is wrong.

tell ya what, this scanner had better be the dogs cajones or :bat:
serves me right for being cheap:LOL:
 
I think you'll be OK with the adapter. From memory, and we are talking a long time ago now, the 25 pin SCSI socket looked like the one in the picture.

Hopefully all will be well
 
Why do I shoot film?
Years ago film was all that was out there and I loved it, the fact that I had know what I was doing or trying to do and had to wait to see my results never entered my mind, that’s just how things were. Then came digital. I was a little slow taking the first step to digital but then I jumped in with both feet , I saw digital as the greatest thing sense they started putting pockets on shirts. Lately I have come to realize that I am shooting more but enjoying it less. I am going back to what I love.

Thanks
Ed
 
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