I certainly don't wish film were dead, I am just a realist who sees the signs of it dying or at least being relegated to an archaic process that is expensive and in the near future practiced only by those who derive real pleasure from it, shoot film for the sake of shooting film (kind of like tintypes or collodion) or are just unwilling to adapt.
I certainly don't wish film were dead, I am just a realist who sees the signs of it dying or at least being relegated to an archaic process that is expensive and in the near future practiced only by those who derive real pleasure from it, shoot film for the sake of shooting film (kind of like tintypes or collodion) or are just unwilling to adapt.
Cholenpot - Old F Series Nikons? They sell almost instantly in this area; all of the them, every model if still functional. And prices for those are way up. Vintage Canon does nearly as well; but both in film version sell faster than used digital, which makes sense, since people shooting digital images tend to gravitate to the extremes - either just a cell phone or wanting something the latest and greatest. Different sets of people.
I shoot a Nikon, but more just for fun once in awhile. I really into sheet film, and also 120 roll film. Sorting through a number of my darkroom prints from 8x10 shots yesterday, deciding which ones to prioritize for drymouting, it's impossible not to appreciate just how vast a fall in quality inkjet printing represents. There are a few really good practitioners of it, but it is such a convoluted road devoid of really nuanced control, like toning in particular. I'm speaking at the moment about black and white imagery, but feel the same way about the color version.
Then there is also contact printing. Is everyone going to give up something like that just because a cell phone fits in a pocket better? I doubt it. If there's anything predictable about artists, it's that they tend to rebel from dominant trends, once those have become outright boring.
i support my local camera film suppliers to the tune of at least a brick a month. The unfortunate aspect of this film revival among young users is it seems to be driven by social media and could fade away as quickly as it surged. I shoot almost exclusively medium format film, and you can see that that is not where the uptick is. Witness the number of emulsions carried by Freestyle:I do not wish film to be dead. I actively support the use of film and I will continue to use film as long as it is available in spite of the gloom and doomers.
You are missing the wet printing stage, where all the magic happens for me. The only reason I shoot film is to be able to print in the darkroom. I have even had LVT negatives made from digital files so I could print them in the darkroom. But film is really a niche player in photography today, and although the industry may experience spikes and dips depending on fads and fashion--most of which is driven by digital social media, BTW--it will never return to the levels from 20 years ago. Even Kodak's recent expansion (really the re-opening of existing lines, not expansion) is just in 35mm color negative film, a niche within a niche.
I never left film photography and I just enjoy it. But I do not need no stinkin' digital camera to scan film for it.
It is funny how Photrio - the supposed bastion of film photography - has so many members who seem to wish film dead. And try to convince everyone of their case.
We had a scheduled power outage yesterday so it gave me a reason to play hooky. It was a lovely day and I spent a few hours on my bike shooting four rolls of film in two cameras just of stuff that caught my attention.
It seems I should spend less time shooting film, and more moaning about how film is doomed. Then reminisce about the good old days when people shot film.
I have a young friend with a good career, who can afford to travel quite a bit, who was recently complaining that what he'd like to have as a travel camera is something equivalent to a classic Polaroid - instant snapshots, yet tangible tactile ones. This fellow is extremely tech savvy, but also disgusted with cell phone images and all things likewise cyber-dependent (that's day job stuff - who wants to do the same thing on vacation?).
I have a young friend with a good career, who can afford to travel quite a bit, who was recently complaining that what he'd like to have as a travel camera is something equivalent to a classic Polaroid - instant snapshots, yet tangible tactile ones. This fellow is extremely tech savvy, but also disgusted with cell phone images and all things likewise cyber-dependent (that's day job stuff - who wants to do the same thing on vacation?).
...I do think though that it tends to confuse things when we equate the viability of film with the size of the market and infrastructure supplying and supporting it.
There is a critical relationship between the two, but the medium can be viable when the market and infrastructure is of a smaller size than it once was. New norms do, however, have to arise.
I have a young friend with a good career, who can afford to travel quite a bit, who was recently complaining that what he'd like to have as a travel camera is something equivalent to a classic Polaroid - instant snapshots, yet tangible tactile ones. This fellow is extremely tech savvy, but also disgusted with cell phone images and all things likewise cyber-dependent (that's day job stuff - who wants to do the same thing on vacation?).
Cholenpot - I'd love to have an early Pentax again, even a Spotmatic. But what are the odds of finding one that doesn't need all the light seals replaced? My first camera was an early H1 Honeywell Pentax, and it held up wonderfully even in severe mountain use. Those sell out too if in when they show up usable at all. K-1's were nowhere near the same build quality. But I bought my nephew a basic little Pentax MX for his extreme climbing expeditions in the Andes, high Arctic, and Karakoram Range, and it worked perfectly as long as he kept the battery warm enough.
I prefer fully mechanical cameras whenever possible. And I was coveting the same look in color film as my early Pentax lens provided, since later Nikon lenses can be somewhat over the top, contrast-wise. But then I lucked out and found a very pristine single-coated 50/2 Nikkon H
already A1'd at a reasonable price (internet sale - the local camera shop didn't have a single vintage Nikon lens left in stock at that time - in fact, when burglars broke in, they entirely cleaned out the vintage camera and lens cabinets, more so than even the DLSR department ! ) So even burglars want to be cool these days.
Thanks for the info. Yes, I know how to replace light seals myself. I've done that with older P67 bodies. But more 35mm gear is not a personal priority. I just don't shoot it enough, though certainly enjoy it when I do. Once in the darkroom, the bigger the format, the better.
Maybe things will change when I get distinctly elderly; but my "Texas Leica" Fuji 6X9's are pretty portable too, and handhold even better than my Nikon. Of course, if I outright stumbled upon a clean functional Spotmatic at bargain price, I'd pounce on it.
New norms like the prices many here complain bitterly about?
It is funny how Photrio - the supposed bastion of film photography - has so many members who seem to wish film dead. And try to convince everyone of their case.
It's because they don't like/ can't handle it having a life outside of an aesthetically/ societally straitjacketed hobby (c.f. the sniffy bitterness here and other places about artists of more contemporary mien who use photography in one way or another within their practice). And thus they really struggle with its shift from commodity medium to art medium.
I am sure that is true with respect to some older photographers, but I would avoid painting with a broad brush. And film today certainly isn't exclusively an art medium.
I am sure that is true with respect to some older photographers, but I would avoid painting with a broad brush. And film today certainly isn't exclusively an art medium.
Well, art sure isn't what is being made with it for the most part.
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