Would film be dead if not for the Lomo craze ?

BADGER.BRAD

BADGER.BRAD

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Hello all,

I recently ended up looking at 110 film on the Lomography site ( One of those how did I get to this moments) this got me thinking , How much film is still in production because of the Lomo craze ? I'm guessing 110 would be dead and it must of had an input to other film sizes ? Why do we not see much of the Lomo ( I have a few cameras from the real Lomo factory) style on here ?
 
I used to sell the LC-A from new back in the 80's for £50 so I have concerns about the way the people behind the recent marketing of it have gone about things. It can't be ignored however they have driven a number of people to try film in one way or another. On the other hand 35mm and 120 still ticked over and in the case of 35mm production was actually propped up for many years by speed cameras which used to use bulk film, Then of course there is the motion picture industry which still uses film stock at times and from those two a certain amount of film "leaked" out into the conventional still photography world, think Cine Still/Kodak 500T or Fuji print film. So i don't think film photography would have died off without the Lomo movement but it did promote film photography almost as much as they promoted themselves!
Also worth noting that odd film formats are supported by a grass roots comunity. I have a 126 adapter for 35mm film and a film splitter to cut 35mm down to 8mm (Minox) and 16mm (Minolta et al). Where there is a will there is a way. I'm looking at a Polaroid 402 I think is the model number and film is not available for that but I wonder if I cut printing paper to size and put it in the film holder...


PS also check out MS Hobbies for film photography products and services especially 110 and all sub miniature (but also 35mm etc). They will also have a small stand at The Photography Show and it's well worth going to have a chat with the owner who is a wealth of knowledge. Better than a Lomo embassy!

mshobbies.co.uk

ms hobbies ltd

We offer subminiature services for Minox, 110 and Disc cameras: film, processing, scanning, repair & servicing.
mshobbies.co.uk mshobbies.co.uk
 
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Isn't the crap camera challenge (FFFSFA thread) very much along the lines of LOMO style?

Having had my imagination piqued by the challenge, I ended up with more than a couple of "reusable" cameras and a few modified vintage cameras to play with.
I liked the effect (Holga style) that some cameras gave.... I'm thinking of creating my own "personal challenge" thread for images from meniscus lensed cameras.
 
I also have quite a collection of old Cameras some of which are from the original Lomo company (Leningrad Optical Mechanical Organization) dating from the 1960's and 70's own by me or my parents ( I'm looking for earlier ones). The trick is learning in what situations they work best. I think you will have great fun with the Lomo look ! My latest thing is trying 110 film from Lomography, I never tried 110 in it's period or up to now so am looking for a bit of fun finding subjects that came from that period to give that authentic vintage look. Remember to post up your results including failures !
 
Not at all.

Film sales have been going down for years for obvious reasons, but over the last few years there has been a lot more interest from newer digital photographers who want to get back to 'real' photography.

Have a read of this: https://fstoppers.com/editorial/film-making-comeback-because-are-lazy-photographers-557795

'As a final thought, film is just an artistic medium, just like oil and canvas, marble, digital, and so on. What you choose to do with that medium is what makes the final difference.'
 
Sky said:
Not at all.

Film sales have been going down for years for obvious reasons, but over the last few years there has been a lot more interest from newer digital photographers who want to get back to 'real' photography.

Have a read of this: https://fstoppers.com/editorial/film-making-comeback-because-are-lazy-photographers-557795

'As a final thought, film is just an artistic medium, just like oil and canvas, marble, digital, and so on. What you choose to do with that medium is what makes the final difference.'
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Interesting reading. I suppose in the final analysis, I am using film because I'm a lazy photographer. I've never managed to get a digitally sourced file to produce a print that I think is as good as I get from a scanned negative. Perhaps if I invested more effort, I might. Even then, I'd loose rather a lot of creative possibilities by not having the camera movements that a large format camera gives me. Unless I worked harder, earned enough money to afford the digital back and worked harder on post processing.

I'd be interested to know where the split on film sizes fits into the resurgence of film sales - is it increased 35mm, medium or larger format sales? As far as I know sales of new LF cameras are healthy, and I assume that this means LF users are growing. How much film ends up in Lomo cameras?

The final thought is spot on for me though. Film is just another medium, and for me the one I'm most comfortable using and the one with the most predictable results, leaving me in complete control.
 
Well if lomo helps great.....but for me the hardest thing to understand is all the different reasons why people use a 35mm (or less) film camera and to my shame at the bootie in the years when people were throwing film cameras away for peanuts, A guy came up to me a said " I've just bought this will it take 35mm film".......for some reason I exploded (as it was a plastic Brownie crap) and said "why did you buy that when you can get some great compact cameras (like Pentax, Canon etc) for 50p to £1"...oh well :(
 
TBH I'd say the current lomo stuff is more likely to put people off film as a medium for serious and intentional photography, because it looks like hipster gimmickry. Every time I've seen their stuff I've wondered who would buy that junk - yet it clearly has a market.

I've also had cameras from the original Leningrad company, but I was mostly glad to move forward.
 
This month's Photography Online episode has a partial explanation as the increasing popularity of cine film for 35mm cameras, since the movie industry is still the major user of 35mm film. Increased pricing on colour films by Fuji and Kodak will eventually price them out of the market, but I think there's a decent future for b&w film in all formats, especially for those who develop themselves.
 
Further to the above, I've just had an email from DS Colour Lab announcing the sale of 36 exposure Fuji C200 at £15 a roll! The days of Poundland "Agfa" are well and truly gone now. o_O
 
What country are you in Awfers ? It only seems a few years ago that I would buy 5 rolls of Kodak Colourplus or Fuji c200 for £15 from sellers on eBay as you say Peter it's £15 for one now at some places. With this cost of living crises it could kill it entirely.
 
Peter B said:
Further to the above, I've just had an email from DS Colour Lab announcing the sale of 36 exposure Fuji C200 at £15 a roll! The days of Poundland "Agfa" are well and truly gone now. o_O
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Well I'm glad I bought all the stocks of Agfa Vista (C200) near me at £1 ea......at one store I bought 40 + rolls and even fished out ones that had dropped to the side and was on my knees underneath the shelves as wello_O
 
FishyFish said:
Always the bargain hunter! :D

I wish I'd done the same...
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I had so much film and do you remember I was offering members here 7 rolls (in date) for £10 inc postage and only one member took it up, if I offered the same now................................................................
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
What country are you in Awfers ? It only seems a few years ago that I would buy 5 rolls of Kodak Colourplus or Fuji c200 for £15 from sellers on eBay as you say Peter it's £15 for one now at some places. With this cost of living crises it could kill it entirely.
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In 2009 I could buy:

From Fujifilm: 3 x Provia 100 or Velvia 36 plus Fuji processing vouchers for £19.99 (might've been a little before 2009 but that was still a long time ago)

From Karstadt in Luebeck, Germany: 5 x Elitechrome ExtraColour for €20, which included processing vouchers. Unfortunately Karstadt likes to think its the German John Lewis but given it has gone bankrupt so many time it's like House of Fraser/Debenhams - so the vouchers were quickly rendered un-honourable. I still have some of the films...
 
I think a lot of the people who got into Lomography 10 years ago will have started looking at the more robust film cameras. The price of s/h film cameras has certainly risen over the last few years (though I have seen at least one retailer claiming the demand and prices have dropped recently). Ten years ago I bought an Olympus mju II Zoom 80 for £4 at the local market: They now sell on ebay for anything between £50 and £400. The price (and availability) of colour film may cause many to give up, but I think there is still a healthy demand for B&W from the home developers - I buy about 10 films a month.
 
I bought a DSLR back in the day when it was the thing to do. I soon realised that my enjoyment of photography was all about the success or otherwise of my decisions. Exposure, focusing, timing the shot and of course developing the film and printing the negatives. Nothing beats the thrill of seeing a print 'come up' in the developer - it gets me every time. I am firmly back in the world of film (where I have been for more than 50 years) and enjoying it more than anything that digital ever gave me.
Lomography is a bit of a mystery to me. It seems to be the 'Modern Art' version of photography but I'm sure someone will soon explain it for me.
 
I'ts the same old story i.e. get rich why the going is good, when you think why should Kodak invest in mass production (like before) when they can sell colour film at silly prices with the work force they have now....I remember once reading that the cost of the cassette and labelling was more than the film inside.o_O..... It would be interesting to see the break down of costs e,g has silver, chemicals and wages increased by at leat 5 times and middleman's cut, sellers profit, transport etc etc
According to Photography online it's the cinema film industry keeping the use of film alive, what do they pay per foot, who knows....... yet if you buy this film in 5ft lengths to use in your camera it's a silly price and because the film has a remjet layer very few companies will dev it....h'mm nothing but obstacles and high prices all the way. :mad:
 
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