Is there really a strong interest in film photography?

[Pieter12]

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.

 

[Sirius Glass]

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 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.

 

[Huss]

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.

Am I the only one that hears the sad notes of a cello playing in the background while reading that?

 

[DREW WILEY]

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.

 

[Huss]

Hey, for all those film is doomed people… just got an email from reformedfilmlab that they are freshly stocked with lots of color film! But act quickly as it goes in a hurry (and it does)

 

[Cholentpot]

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.

Here they sell.

Look past here. I see K1000, AE1P, OM-1 etc selling for crazy prices while an F2 sits or a chrome F just gathers dust.

We love these cameras, they're the best ever made but the people who are pumping the prices don't like them. They're too heavy and plain. Nothing shiny or flashy about them. The F and F2 don't always have a working meter which is a pass for a more casual user. Same reasoning for the Spotmatic line, it doesn't have that street cred that some sectors are looking for. I love my Spotmatic, but again, it's an extra step to use over something like a K1000. You need to stop down meter.

There's really no logic. Some cameras are hip and some are square. I'm sure that'll flip at some point.

 

[MattKing]

I've shot two rolls over the last two days.
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.

 

[Pieter12]

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.

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:

 

[Cholentpot]

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 love printing but it's not always viable. Good thing that easy scanning is around.

I never left film photography and I just enjoy it. But I do not need no stinkin' digital camera to scan film for it.

Always nice to have options for those of us who can't or wont print. I currently don't have a printing space like I had in the past. I scan everything and when I do get my printing space set up I'll already know what frames are worth spending effort on.

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.

The old days when 99% of sales were driven by disposable cameras and the ilk. Those days will never ever come back. I can take pictures of my half eaten breakfast and not think twice. I can do that every day for a year and think nothing of it. That's where the sales went. I love it. I love the ability to capture anything and everything but at the same time have film for things other than sending instant snapshots to Grandma 500 miles away. I'm living at a time of the best of both worlds. And if film collapses utterly? When my freezer runs out I'll make a display of my cameras and change over to capturing stuff digitally. A photo is a photo although I prefer making it on film.

 

[DREW WILEY]

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.

 

[Huss]

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 missed the period of the peel apart films.

 

[BradS]

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?).

Instax????

Even the local WalMart has a big case full of this stuff.

 

[Sal Santamaura]

...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.

New norms like the prices many here complain bitterly about?

 

[DREW WILEY]

Oh. That's interesting. But I think he wants a classic looking older Polaroid camera too (gotta be cool). If he accompanies me on a run over Sonora Pass while it's still open, I doubt we'd stop at a Walmart. The local ones might or might not be similar; I can't stand even walking in them. He's kinda busy right now (he was in charge of the winter reformulation gas switch at the Chevron Refinery, which actually transpired three weeks ago, but can't be legally sold at the pumps yet. I'm hoping for at least a mild fuel price drop before even a modest road trip, but would really like to take some shots in the hills while they're still gold and bronzed rather than greened up again by the rains.

I'm still very much in love with the foothills and our Calif. kind of fall hues with all their subtlety, greiges, and blue oak tones, and dry grass golds, buckeye leaf rust colors etc. You can move a hillbilly to the coast, but you can't take the hillbilly out of him! Even here I bag some of those same kinds of complex hues, but the opportunities are greater in the Mother Lode region, which has more interesting rocks too.

 

[Pieter12]

Yjere are a number of small, portable photo printers available. If your friend can wait to get back to his room or doesn't mind carrying a bit more stuff, that would be a pretty good option.

 

[Cholentpot]

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.

Spotmatics show up in the classifieds all the time. At killer prices and they just hang around and wait for someone to roll up and get one. As for light seals, part and parcel of shooting these days with these old cameras is learning how to do very basic services like light seal replacement. I'm all thumbs with this kind of think and still learned how to do it.

I bought my Spot II off APUG classifieds. It's a tough well built camera. It's also clock smooth.

As for that tactile Polaroid camera feel. There are a few companies that make Instax folder cameras. The price is quite steep but it gives you full control of exposure. And they're pretty nice looking. I was on the tail end of the peel apart era where you could get a pack under $10. Shame its gone.

 

[DREW WILEY]

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.

 

[Cholentpot]

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.

Use the search function. I think there's one floating around for a few months.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/pentax-spotmatic-sp-ii-black-35mm-slr-with-28mm-lens.190367/

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/fs-pentax-spotmatic-body-black.190511/

Just a quick search turned these two up.

 

[MattKing]

New norms like the prices many here complain bitterly about?

Yes.
However when people complain about the changes in prices, I think they are often cherry picking their comparables from days of yore.
Although it was pretty tough to hear yesterday that the new Kerrisdale Cameras price for a 100 sheet box of 8"x10" Ilford MG "V" RC paper is over $190.00 CDN when you include the taxes.

 

[Lachlan Young]

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.

 

[faberryman]

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.

 

[Pieter12]

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.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Never was, Pieter. But even today there are thousands and thousands of film photographers out there, and there is still a certain percent who do magnificent work. Same applies to painting, pottery, just about any expressive medium you can think of. My gosh, you're more pessimistic that an earthworm at the end of a fish hook.

 

[Cholentpot]

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.

Who can say what art is? The biggest condescending term is 'Outside Art' go read the definition. And anyone who wasn't trained classically in art is a whimsical child.

I create art. I put effort into expressing myself and my creativity. Hence, art.

 

[Pieter12]

Outsider art - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

You are most probably not an outsider artist, sorry.