Exclusively film?

neea · Apr 25, 2007

I find film more 'pure'.
I can't wait till I have my own darkroom and can start playing around.
I do want a digital though. I'm a fan of instant gratification but I would probably use the two of them together. Any pictures that I feel are worth spending money on I would use my film camera. For pictures of friends and the silly things my friends and family do (ie: snapshots) would be digital, only because it's easier and quicker to email them.

mortallis288 · Apr 25, 2007

i agree, i think film is more pure esp black and white film. i think black and white film is more artsy and can be more efficative then colored film

Uncle Levi · Apr 25, 2007

I shoot film for a couple reasons. I have a Canon AE-1 and a Canon EOS both film. One of the reasons is that my wife,Jo, had open heart surgery, spinal meningitis and a pace maker installed and the finances won't allow a new camera just now. Another reason is that I REALLY like these cameras and have had a lot of fun with them. This reason may seem weird, but I think it makes me more careful to try to compose a good shot when I know I won't be able to see how it turnes out until the prints come back. Does that make sense to anyone but me ? Anyway I'm having a lot of fun with what I have now. Levi

panocho · Apr 25, 2007

Mitica100 said:
From what I hear the digital storage needs to be renewed every 5-7 years. Hmm... Any truth to that?

would be nice to know something about this

terri · Apr 25, 2007

Welcome, Levi, and yes of course, that makes sense. You'll hear that "film makes me stop and think before I shoot" comment many times.

You have a couple of nice cameras; there is no reason to worry about getting more!

It sounds like your wife went through a bad period with her health; hope all is well now!

Uncle Levi · Apr 25, 2007

Thanks for the welcome and for wishing us well, Terri. Jo is doing GREAT! I'd hate to lose that girl after 36 years. I'm learning a lot from this forum and finding a lot of really cool people hang out here. Levi

Alpha · Apr 25, 2007

It should have been obvious that I meant all things being equal. Any camera shot with a crappy lens will produce a sub-par photo.

Sw1tchFX said:
Depends on the lens of the 4x5. My school's 4x5's are horrible. Unless I'm shooting ISO 400 film and using high contrast filters, the images aren't sharp. My D70 or my 35mm body can make crisper and more detailed 11x14's than any of my school's 4x5's because the lenses are just so much sharper.

I've done tests where i'd shoot a scene with a 4x5 and my 35mm body with similar framing and settings (by similar, I mean had all the same elements in the scene in the 35mm negative as I did in the 4x5 one, and shot with the same film and aperture settings), and although the 35mm print was more chunky from enlarging it so much, it had MUCH more detail in it, and in my opinion yielded better results because of the detail. The 4x5 print had much finer grain in it, but the entire print had a soft look to it.

Now i'm not saying 35mm is superior to 4x5, because each has a different purpose. I've seen 11x14 prints from sharp 4x5's that no 35mm body can ever touch. It's just all about how sharp the lenses are.

Mitica100 · Apr 26, 2007

terri said:
If you ever feel too lonely for fellow film geeks, all you need to do is spend a few minutes over at APUG. They're quite....rabid over there. I've seen arguments about washing film that go on for 7 pages! Those are some serious folks, and there is a lot of good info to be had, as well. Great site.

Yeah, I belong to that group. It's a very interesting site, discussing all aspects of film photography. I love reading posts in the LF, Camera Modifications and Antiques threads. Lots of great information.

gmarquez · Apr 26, 2007

panocho said:
"Originally Posted by Mitica100
From what I hear the digital storage needs to be renewed every 5-7 years."

would be nice to know something about this

When the technology of digital storage changes (8 inch floppy disc --> 5 1/4 inch floppy disc --> 3 1/2 inch floppy disc --> CD --> DVD --> HDDVD/BluRay for example), the older formats stop being supported. Therefore, you have to make sure that you transfer your digital photos to the newer formats on a regular basis (that's where the 5-7 years comes in). If you don't, you may find that your current computer (and your friends' computers, and everyone else's) can no longer access your digital photos.

For example, if you have data on 8 inch floppy disks, it would be pretty hard to find equipment that would let you get that data today. I have stuff on 5 1/4 inch floppies that I would like to get at, but I have no way of reading those disks.

My wife's current desktop (and all of our laptops) have no way of reading 3 1/2 in floppy disks, unless we buy some external hardware.