Film is dead! Long live.... film?!?

michael66

Darkroom over digital: Film photography still popular at some local schools

http://betaboston.com/news/2014/06/17/darkroom-over-digital-film-photography-still-popular-at-some-local-schools/

Maybe. Maybe I should go and rebuild my old darkroom.

Seriously, though, do any of you miss the film days?

Fun new Apple app... http://petapixel.com/2014/06/12/fun-1-hour-photo-app-makes-wait-iphone-snaps-develop/

framer

I got a darkroom and I use to use it twice a year to just keep the skill set. I now see that its been four years since the last time I used it. The good film scanner, D3s, Epson 4900 printer and Photoshop CSx killed the need to get WET.

framer

PB_PM

Film is dead, in all but two groups. Old people who didn't and wont switch to digital and hipsters who think what's old is the definition of cool.

Photobug

Film is dead, in all but two groups. Old people who didn't and wont switch to digital and hipsters who think what's old is the definition of cool.

Amen. Got a 66 year old friend that is shooting a 15 year old point and shoot camera and she will not give it up. My son has offered to buy her one (his mother-in-law) and she says don't waste the money I won't use it.

kyoshinikon

Well Im one of the few that don't fit into either category... I love the process. The anxiety of waiting for the exposures is only part of why I love the process... I still shoot film and I have no reason to stop. Anyways Brooks tried going all digital and id didn't go so well so guess what... Back to film. Film is dead as a professional & consumer product. It will live on as a niche product whether it is oldies, hipsters, or serious photographers who love the process.

michael66

Film is dead, in all but two groups. Old people who didn't and wont switch to digital and hipsters who think what's old is the definition of cool.

I don't know about the hipster part. I just simply love the old stuff. I was kidding about setting up the darkroom again ( sort of ), but there was a certain warmth and connectedness you got from film that you do not get with digital. If I hadn't gone through the wet 30 years ago, I might just give it a whirl.

When I was a kid, I would salvage old electronics because I couldn't afford to buy. Now I can. But there is something about reading schematics and figuring out how to build a voltage regulator from scratch that buying one doesn't satisfy. I built one to control a model railroad and even used an old radio dial to rotate the pot. It was fun and a learning experience. Would I build all of my controllers from scratch? Hell,no! But I can fix the ones I buy. Unless the manufacturer uses some obscure part that prevents that. Oops, that's another story/rant.

kyoshinikon

Film is dead, in all but two groups. Old people who didn't and wont switch to digital and hipsters who think what's old is the definition of cool.

I don't know about the hipster part. I just simply love the old stuff. I was kidding about setting up the darkroom again ( sort of ), but there was a certain warmth and connectedness you got from film that you do not get with digital. If I hadn't gone through the wet 30 years ago, I might just give it a whirl.

When I was a kid, I would salvage old electronics because I couldn't afford to buy. Now I can. But there is something about reading schematics and figuring out how to build a voltage regulator from scratch that buying one doesn't satisfy. I built one to control a model railroad and even used an old radio dial to rotate the pot. It was fun and a learning experience. Would I build all of my controllers from scratch? Hell,no! But I can fix the ones I buy. Unless the manufacturer uses some obscure part that prevents that. Oops, that's another story/rant.

On the subject of model trains have you seen the latest stuff. Model railroading is always an early adapter of new tech and look at what is on the market now. These complex toys with 50 different functions compared to the old transformer to wire setup of bygone days...

michael66

On the subject of model trains have you seen the latest stuff. Model railroading is always an early adapter of new tech and look at what is on the market now. These complex toys with 50 different functions compared to the old transformer to wire setup of bygone days...

No kidding. I have Maerklin and it is expensive. How is a kid supposed to get started in this hobby? The control station is over $600! And it does not like damp basements. And every locomotive needs a decoder. Good thing I know how to not burn myself with a soldering iron. My stuff from the 50's runs as it did in the 50's. The stuff from 10-15 years ago, is already showing signs of needing a serious over-haul.

kyoshinikon

lol... There are a few good manufacturers still but they are far and few. It is like comparing a Nikon F2 to a D4 sometimes. Take an Original Lionel 700e and compare it to a Legacy PRR 4-8-2 Steam Engine The first is a complete beauty and runs great but all it does is forward, reverse and an illuminated lamp...

Unlike Digital cameras tho, DCC, DCS, or any digital railroad system is harder to set up than the analog counterpart. Many still use their analog setups even tho the market for transformers has slimmed up.

In the same vein I still use a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 speed graphic along with my N80 on a regular basis (even tho all of my professional shoots are digital). Additionally I really want to get ahold of a 75mm or 45mm Nikkor for 4x5. Super wide large format seems like so much fun.

Vipmediastar_JZ

I used that 1-hr app and i like it.
I have shot film when i was a teenager and about 2-3 years ago when I felt disconnected with photography.
I had an Olympus OM 4 with a 50 1.4. It did the trick of finding focus in my work and getting confidence. All my life i had the film developed at walgreens.
The challenge of getting the photo right and then waiting days to see the photo was a good expereince.
Im not an oldie or a hipster and i still have unused expired film that I will probably use a holga with but will probably buy one when my Daughter is 3 just for fun.

kenadams

People still listen to music on vinyl. If the world is only black and white to you, you're just too narrow-minded to see the in between shades and colors. There's a time and place for everything. My M3 works without battery. Try that with a D800.

sevencrossing

As PitckBlack shows, film cameras do have their use

http://forum.nikonrumors.com/discussion/2980/fixing-bad-bokeh-photoshop-cc-2014#Item_5

Fritz

The other day, whats-her-name the woman I used to be married to sent me a bunch prints I must have shot back in the early 70's with my F3HP. In that group was a shot of the B-29 "Fifi" doing a low altitude fly by at an air show. The aircraft was tracking right to left and the left wing was slightly low so I had a good view of the top surface of the airframe and the angle I had did not show any ground but framed the aircraft against a mottled grey sky as if it was at altitude. There were beams of sunlight breaking through and suffusing parts of the aircraft with a stunning golden iridescence- it was and still is a good image. I worked really hard back in those days to produce that kind of quality and I think I still feel more satisfaction from that image than I do today banging away at 10fps in auto focus. BUT I AM A DINOSAUR!

TaoTeJared

I admit I like the actual process of shooting film, but I never understood the "waiting" part - I hated that. No, really, I could never stand waiting for prints - ever. Even now, when I get some developed, it takes 4-10 days for print film and I end up picking it up because they call me 30 days later - because I just don't care anymore.

At the same time, I don't expect much of anything from my film shots as when I send it out, someone always F*$!@# - up processing it and pushes and pulls it so much it looks like garbage. No one can seem to understand sometimes people expose for highlights and don't care if the shadows are black. They put notes on it and everything. I can't even remember how many times they used the wrong times, etc. for the film I used. The good developers (people who understood it) are mostly gone. Add to that, my scanner is a dud since win 7 no longer supports it, and at about $18 to buy and develop a roll with high resolution scans, it really is not worth it. I have 12 rolls left, and that seriously might be the last rolls I actually keep in the freezer.

I still do use a Polaroid Pro Pack Camera and that is fun with children. They have the same look on their face as I did almost 30 years ago.

sevencrossing

but I never understood the "waiting" part - I hated that. No, really, I could never stand waiting for prints - ever. .

But why did you have to wait ? from the age of 10 I have always done my own printing

DaveOl

I don't shoot film as much anymore because 3 of the 4 stores that used to process it have stopped. Now I can either go to Walgreen's for one hour or Walmart to have them ship it off and get it back in a little over a week. It's gotten much more expensive also. Walgreen's told me that they would just do the developing for a 36 exposure roll for $ 8, so I may start doing that. I've got an Epson V 600 scanner and my printer does photo paper.
I have two film cameras just sitting around waiting to be used, a Nikon FM2n and an F 6. I hate to let them just lie around without being used. The F 6 is just so good at focusing and locking on and getting the exposure right. You have to manually do both on the FM2n, but I still love it.

Vipmediastar_JZ

Unless its critical I dont mind shooting now and editing later even months later. Waiting for film wasn't a problem. The longer I wait to edit the photos I tend to have a better feel for them and I don't fall in love with every photo.

TaoTeJared

but I never understood the "waiting" part - I hated that. No, really, I could never stand waiting for prints - ever. .

But why did you have to wait ? from the age of 10 I have always done my own printing

That was never an option for me, nor was there any facilities open to the public to use.

scoobysmak

I like shooting film because it slows me down and makes me think. It also reminds me of my college days when I took a few photography classes. I would probably use more film if I could set up place to develop it in my house (at this moment other things take priority over that though). I wouldn't mind doing the labor but know it would take a while before I got the process down pat. Then I would get a high quality film scanner to finish the process but again some of the better scanners don't work with newer versions or windows.

Overall it just seems like a bunch of road blocks to pull my F5 and FM3a out of the closet.

RAW

Not at all dead. Still have a Durst 1200 enlarger and a Stainless temperature sink that floats 5 16x20 trays.

But a real indicator was meeting a really well-to-do individual at Adobe HQ in San Francisco who can — pretty much — have any camera he want's and is an important figure in photo publishing. He actively photographs with Nikon and Leica film cameras then scans them with a Coolscan.

There are some looks that just work better with film.

If you don't work with film, just do your thing and leave the discussion of its relevance to those who do. When they stop producing content, you won't have to make nonsensical "proclamations."

It's a big world out there.

RAW

SquamishPhoto

Wax nostalgic all you want, a closet full of chemistry is still a horrible thing. And today, not at all necessary. Its a big world out there, might be time to stop treating it like a huge garbage dump.

sevencrossing

. He actively photographs with Nikon and Leica film cameras then scans them with a Coolscan.

If shooting B&W, I can see the point of using a film rangefinder Leica They are very nice cameras, have lots of street cred and are not too expensive

but other wise, I don't think there is "a look" on film, that I cannot get on in LR

Vipmediastar_JZ

Have any of you guys tried VSCO film?
The latest NIK upgrade comes with ANALOG efex pro.
I downloaded but I havent played with it.
The other packages with NIK have some film presets as well.

I also have some film presets that I have been collecting.
When a certain look doesn't convince me I usually end up choosing a film preset.

Ironheart

@TTJ said: my scanner is a dud since win 7 no longer supports it

You should check this software out:
http://www.silverfast.com/show/scanners-nikon/en.html
Built-in driver support all the way back to XP and up to Win8. Supports Mac 10.5 forward as well.

TaoTeJared

@TTJ said: my scanner is a dud since win 7 no longer supports it

You should check this software out:
http://www.silverfast.com/show/scanners-nikon/en.html
Built-in driver support all the way back to XP and up to Win8. Supports Mac 10.5 forward as well.

It had software for one of my 3 scanners! Bad thing is for $300 I can buy a really nice new scanner that will work. ;(
It must be my week for this stuff - had a beverage mini fridge go out in my basement (3yrs old) and it will cost more to fix it than to buy a new one.