how do people react when you tell them you shoot film?

IloveTLRs · May 26, 2015

TenSpeed said:
when i hand my camera to someone to take a picture of my GF and I and they take like 10 shots

*cringe*

I cringe when tourists hand me their cameras. Once was a couple who asked me to take their picture. He should have said "pictures" because he kept gesturing me to take more (inside a narrow gorge with no background.) Another was a couple with a dslr, who only used the screen on the back - so I looked like an idiot raising it to my eye, and a bigger idiot holding it out at arms length.

I keep my camera in my pocket (for safety) but even so the Swiss aren't exactly social animals, so none of them would come running up and start a conversation. When I lived in Japan though, people used to talk to me all the time - at least once a week. Japan is a film-shooters paradise, though.

mweintraub · May 26, 2015

BradleyK said:
lol Even more confusing to some is the F6 with its rear LCD display: Until I point out the film cartridge - visible through a window in the back left of the camera - many seem to think the camera is a d*****l.

I recently got one and found myself not trying to look at the screen, but looking at the film window to remember how many exposures are on this roll, I probably looked like a *igital shoot then.

removed account4 · May 26, 2015

another 4 people today when i was out and about with a 3D trichrome camera i've rigged ..
one group ( 2 ) asked what it was i had, they thought i was a water chemist getting samples ..
i said " its a film camera" they were stoked and said it sounded like a lot of fun
the 2nd group ( 2 people ) chatted with me and let me make a portrait ...
no one suggested anything digital and were happy to see someone with a camera doing their thing.

Alan Klein · May 26, 2015

IloveTLRs said:
I cringe when tourists hand me their cameras. Once was a couple who asked me to take their picture. He should have said "pictures" because he kept gesturing me to take more (inside a narrow gorge with no background.) Another was a couple with a dslr, who only used the screen on the back - so I looked like an idiot raising it to my eye, and a bigger idiot holding it out at arms length.

I keep my camera in my pocket (for safety) but even so the Swiss aren't exactly social animals, so none of them would come running up and start a conversation. When I lived in Japan though, people used to talk to me all the time - at least once a week. Japan is a film-shooters paradise, though.

Why is Japan a film shooters paradise?

mooseontheloose · May 26, 2015

Alan Klein said:
Why is Japan a film shooters paradise?

Well, film is still readily available in many places. Slide and black and white you need to go to the big stores like Yodobashi or Bic Camera, but even the local supermarkets still sell colour neg film. I rarely see older people with film cameras (they've all gone digital) but they are usually quite stoked to see a film camera in use, and will often either talk about you and your camera near you (if they are too shy to approach you directly), or they'll talk to you, regardless of whether they know English or you know Japanese. However, a lot of photography terms in Japanese use the English form (or variant of it) so it's pretty easy to talk about.

I do notice a lot of younger Japanese people shooting film cameras, and often when they see me they'll come talk to me.

Japan is a place where you can see photographers walking around with tripods and photo backpacks, where most people are happy to pose for photos, and where walking around with a camera doesn't scream "tourist", so it's pretty photographer-friendly, regardless of the medium you shoot. I never get asked why I don't shoot digital, but that could be a language problem. Maybe IloveTLRs can comment about his experiences here.

Ken Nadvornick · May 26, 2015

mooseontheloose said:
...where most people are happy to pose for photos, and where walking around with a camera doesn't scream "tourist", so it's pretty photographer-friendly...

When I read your description what came to mind was the image of Vivian Maier standing inside the buses while photographing passengers.

A Rollieflex TLR isn't exactly a stealth camera, yet in so many of those pictures not a single person seems to be paying any attention to her at all. They are absorbed while reading their newspapers, or looking out the windows, or just daydreaming. But the act of someone obviously making pictures of them in their immediate presence and physically constrained environment wasn't even worthy of a second, let alone a threatened, look.

Sad how things have changed. Maybe in Japan they haven't so much? I need to visit there some day...

Ken

TenSpeed · May 26, 2015

IloveTLRs said:
I cringe when tourists hand me their cameras. Once was a couple who asked me to take their picture. He should have said "pictures" because he kept gesturing me to take more (inside a narrow gorge with no background.) Another was a couple with a dslr, who only used the screen on the back - so I looked like an idiot raising it to my eye, and a bigger idiot holding it out at arms length.

I keep my camera in my pocket (for safety) but even so the Swiss aren't exactly social animals, so none of them would come running up and start a conversation. When I lived in Japan though, people used to talk to me all the time - at least once a week. Japan is a film-shooters paradise, though.

My Gf and I want to go to Japan really bad, I am always telling her i will need to bring so much money just to spend on camera gear and film.

TenSpeed · May 26, 2015

Prest_400 said:
The opposite happens with me. On digital and cellphones bursts are free and usually welcome in case of small issues (blinking eyes, and such) but people just take a single frame or two!
With film no worries as I have no Motor Drive cameras. I'd like a P&S though.

My OM-1 has gotten nice comments nowadays.
GW690 hasn't gotten around much publicly.

yeah first we gave them my GF's Canon Ae1 program and he had trouble with focusing and advancing the film, then i gave him my EOS 1V and he just went all burst fire on us

gr82bart · May 26, 2015

People think my Hassey is a digital toy all the time. They have a shocked look when I tell people it's film. My Nikon F4's all have fancy backs with LCD displays. They wonder why they can't chimp. Pretty funny how long it takes them to figure out its not digital.

Jon Buffington · May 26, 2015

When carrying my yashica electro 35 gsn, "Is that a leica?" or "cool camera." When I carry my leica, nothing Film SLR's, "Hey man, I got some old camera's at home if you want to buy them."

Roger Cole · May 26, 2015

Marvin said:
If you want to be stealthy just use a Nikon F5 and look down at the back ocassionaly as if you were checking the pics. Most people will just think you are using a DSLR. Had this happen to me one time and after using the F5 and they were surprised that it wasn't digital.

Tha would be a reason for some of us not to use an F5, at least around others.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and 100% recycled electrons - because I care.

Sirius Glass · May 26, 2015

Roger Cole said:
Tha would be a reason for some of us not to use an F5, at least around others.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and 100% recycled electrons - because I care.

Why I choose the Nikon F100.

Sent by computer because my cell phone is just a phone.

Two23 · May 26, 2015

I often hear, "Do they still make film?" My dead pan response is, "No, but I use the camera anyway."

Kent in SD

Theo Sulphate · May 26, 2015

Some young guys were staring at my F4s, not quite sure what kind of camera it was - only that it looked professional and had lots of external controls. I think that confused them, because they probably thought it was a new camera, rather than something older than they were.

Aside from the new Df, the F4 and FM3a were the last Nikons to have external discrete controls for all functions. Starting with the F5, they began burying functions that are viewed on an LCD and selected by a few dials. Canon started that more than a decade earlier, with the T50/70/90, and Minolta following a few years later.

Those were the days when I started to lose interest in photography and equipment, because I didn't like autofocus cameras, nor cameras without traditional controls. I kept that attitude until about 2013, when I bought my first Rebel G, which actually was fun, and my first F4s.

Still, the distinct look of film cameras is what alerts others to what you have.

Ken Nadvornick · May 26, 2015

Two23 said:
I often hear, "Do they still make film?" My dead pan response is, "No, but I use the camera anyway."

I just quietly respond "No". Then I assume a mischievous grin to signal they might want to think a bit deeper before they reply further. Then I wait silently to see how long it takes to finally become clear...

Ken

Xmas · May 27, 2015

pbromaghin said:
My experience is just like Richard Sintchak's. Also, the bigger and weirder-looking the camera, the cooler you are perceived to be. A 35mm SLR places you deep into the dinosaur age, a MF folder stands out to a very select few people, a Mamiya TLR brings questions and amazement, but if you show up with a Cambo Legend 4x5, people are afraid to come near you.

The canon DSLR people have trouble with the name plate on my CanonP.

'It is from 1960' reassures them it is not the latest fad.

If I'm cruel I let them look through the finder.

cuthbert · May 27, 2015

Theo Sulphate said:
Some young guys were staring at my F4s, not quite sure what kind of camera it was - only that it looked professional and had lots of external controls. I think that confused them, because they probably thought it was a new camera, rather than something older than they were.

Aside from the new Df, the F4 and FM3a were the last Nikons to have external discrete controls for all functions. Starting with the F5, they began burying functions that are viewed on an LCD and selected by a few dials. Canon started that more than a decade earlier, with the T50/70/90, and Minolta following a few years later.

Those were the days when I started to lose interest in photography and equipment, because I didn't like autofocus cameras, nor cameras without traditional controls. I kept that attitude until about 2013, when I bought my first Rebel G, which actually was fun, and my first F4s.

Still, the distinct look of film cameras is what alerts others to what you have.

I'm a fan of what we can call the "universal Japanese SLR of the 70s" in terms of controls and I recently acquired a T90...I find a camera hard to use at its full potential due to all the buttons and functions implemented, on the other it's very discreet because it looks like a modern DSLR.

On the other side people in the streets like my F2s and they often notice them because they are "different", some people think the photomic head is a sophisticated IR sensor or something like that.

Xmas said:
The canon DSLR people have trouble with the name plate on my CanonP.

'It is from 1960' reassures them it is not the latest fad.

If I'm cruel I let them look through the finder.

Now they are making many digital cameras that look retro', like the Fujifilm simil Leica and the Sony alpha simil SLR from the 80s, so it's easy for youngsters to get confused.

Xmas · May 27, 2015

cuthbert said:
Now they are making many digital cameras that look retro', like the Fujifilm simil Leica and the Sony alpha simil SLR from the 80s, so it's easy for youngsters to get confused.

Yes but the x100 does not have CANON written on it.
Nor is the finder as bright...

cuthbert · May 27, 2015

Xmas said:
Yes but the x100 does not have CANON written on it.
Nor is the finder as bright...

I don't think that many customers of these cameras REALLY look into the finder...this is true also for DSLRs.

Renato Tonelli · May 27, 2015

Pioneer said:
The most consistent question I get is: "They still make film?"; followed by: "Where do you get it developed?"

With a tone of surprise if not downright derision.

And: "Who sells it?" or "Where do you buy it?"

Cropline · May 27, 2015

ToddB said:
....... The DSLR people with their anchors (love that!) just look at me as like a penis comparison.. mine is bigger than your so there for I'm better. I think they're very jealous that they don't have the skill set......

ToddB

If I truly sensed that attitude, I would clearly explain how I wasn't the one needing equipment affirmation.

pbromaghin · May 27, 2015

The only bad interaction I've recently had was while setting up the 4x5 to shoot a B-17 visiting a local airport. Some bozo (with a noticeably down-market dslr, sniff, sniff) started telling me he used to shoot a Speed Graphic but got rid of it because it was too expensive to shoot and too slow - he couldn't take enough pictures quickly enough. Somehow he was actually offended that I don't find Large Format too expensive and don't feel the need to take a lot of shots. Later after the plane taxied in and did a nice pirouette for the crowd, he came by and said, "I got 10 shots, how many did you get?" Apparently it's a competition for quantity.

Sirius Glass · May 27, 2015

When using a Hasselblad, Pacemaker Speed Graphic or Graflex Model D I respond "The subject [or this city, sight] requires a bigger camera."

mweintraub · May 27, 2015

pbromaghin said:
The only bad interaction I've recently had was while setting up the 4x5 to shoot a B-17 visiting a local airport. Some bozo (with a noticeably down-market dslr, sniff, sniff) started telling me he used to shoot a Speed Graphic but got rid of it because it was too expensive to shoot and too slow - he couldn't take enough pictures quickly enough. Somehow he was actually offended that I don't find Large Format too expensive and don't feel the need to take a lot of shots. Later after the plane taxied in and did a nice pirouette for the crowd, he came by and said, "I got 10 shots, how many did you get?" Apparently it's a competition for quantity.

I would have shaken his hand and said "congratulations" and then turned back around.

pbromaghin · May 27, 2015

mweintraub said:
I would have shaken his hand and said "congratulations" and then turned back around.

I bit my tongue to not say, "Were any of them any good?" and instead just said very pleasantly, "None yet."

how do people react when you tell them you shoot film?

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