Is there really a strong interest in film photography?

[Cholentpot]

Well, @faberryman, this was a slightly inappropriate (for which I apologize) way of saying that I noticed your behavior in this thread over the past few days, which has not been very constructive or friendly. I refrained from stepping in until now, and I personally don't mind dealing with a snarky tone or a bad case of cynicism - you can reap what you sow as far as I'm concerned. However, others probably don't appreciate this kind of altercation, and frankly it's not really something I prefer either if given the choice. And given that your behavior is fairly consistent, it seems like a good point to see if we can change this around.

So let's keep the nastiness at this and continue from here in a way that nobody can mistake as trolling, shall we? I'd very much appreciate this, and so would many others, I'm sure.

Hi-five

Ah, but it decides the aperture and shutter speed, which do influence the content of the depth of field and the look of any moving object.

I have one Minolta X700 that I've started using in "P" mode with expired Vision2, obtained in a large volume for dirt cheap. Sometimes it surprises with a shutter speed unexpected for the lighting conditions. It's fun, just shooting away. Kind of like digital.

How's Vision2? I've been shooting Vision3 but am curious about previous generations. I heard they made Vision2 well into Gen3 because many TV shows/Movies had used it Gen2 and for continuity they stuck to the stock they started with.

 

[foc]

When I shot professionally on film, with an Olympus OM4ti and then Canon EOS 1, I would often shoot on Auto or P as well as either AV, TV or manual.

It was just a matter of knowing which mode suited the subject and lighting best.

I must admit that the EOS 1 was a game changer when shooting weddings. The auto focus ( on single point) was spot-on every time and super quick and the matrix meter reading was accurate and made life so simple. (knowledge of lighting a photo was needed).

It meant I could concentrate on photo composition and more importantly wedding logistics.

 

[Huss]

That sounds good, but I'm not really sure I want some engineer to dictate the shutter speed if I have already chosen it. I would rather see a Hi or Lo and make the call for myself if it is the shutter speed or aperture I want to change. Or grab a tripod if that is handy. The cameras I have that have a P setting automatically take into account the focal length of the lens, nothing to go to the menus for. The menu setting is generally for an absolute slower limit--some are comfortable with 1/30, some 1/15 or even slower. But the focal length will determine the preferred speed in P.

The vast majority of the time one is concerned with getting a 'correct' exposure. Leica knows that and thus this intelligent implementation. And if you want to over-ride it - you really wanted to have your shot 3 stops over or under exposed - you can do so with the superbly placed exp comp lever.
No menus. Done.

I also have an F6 which does the hi/lo thing, Leica's way is much better as the point of auto exposure - whether Aperture or Shutter - is just that.

 

[Agulliver]

The last few years I've done a lot of shooting on fully manual film cameras in a dim jazz club where the performers are sometimes lit by spotlights, and sometimes aren't and which has a backdrop lit up in red. I also shoot a few digital photos and I've found the various "modes" on which ever digital camera I use don't cut it with such unusual conditions. Either the whole image is under exposed because it's decided the backdrop is the subject, or the musician's faces are blown out as highlights. What does work roughly 70% of the time is telling the camera to under-expose 2/3 of a stop. This goes for a DLSR or a compact digital. It can also help to zoom in on a close up of a performer's face but while that's great for singers it's not so good if someone is playing a guitar or sax. But with digital I can "afford" to shoot a few that don't come out without wasting any film.

On the film cameras...if shooting B&W I usually shoot HP5+ and push process to 1600. f2.8 and either 1/30 or 1/15 second depending on if the person I intend to photograph is lit by a lamp. Sometimes I also shoot Lomography colour 800 film at f1.8, 1/30 or 1/15 second. Honestly the photos are usually better exposed than the digital cameras which are clearly confused by the weird lighting conditions.

However, outside in pretty much any conditions the aperture priority modes get it right 99% of the time.

I shall be shooting a gig tonight. At the behest of the band I'm taking a 1920s folding Kodak as they play music of that era. So it's Delta 3200 at f6.3. I won't be the only person shooting film in the club tonight either. Five years ago, nobody shot film there and when I showed up doing so I was assumed to be quite mad. Then they saw the photos....and that all changed.

 

[Moose22]

You gave me a few nice suggestions when I started doing film in dim light, Aguilever. Places I shoot are almost exactly the same settings. HP5 at 800 actually looks better than at 400 to my eye, and I never have a problem with it at 1600, so I use it a lot. I seem to always be around 2.8 with cheap lights. 1/30. A good spot might buy me a stop.

And, even on a brightly lit stage, I had exposure issues with a modern digital camera and wonky light. Shots would blow out the skin on the performers because of the weird colored backlights. Digital I tend to bracket and get a look, which invloves some annoying chimping and is too spray and pray for film. But once I get it I go manual unless something changes. For film I test with the meter to see if it's about what I thought, set it on manual, and forget about it. If there's a spot coming on and off I might compensate a stop with aperture, but in general HP5 seems gentler on highlights than digital.

It's just the way it works. Sometimes auto does it all right, sometimes manual does it all right and eliminates guess work. Use the tool for the situation.

Last time I shot was at a brewery, I sat at a tall table in the back of the room where people ignore me and I was shooting with a VR zoom on the F6 and when I pulled another roll out of the bag while it was rewinding the girl at the next table asked "You shooting film?"

I said yes, and she pulled a point and shoot out of her bag to show me. We talked about my settings and the film a bit as she wanted to try it with her SLR, too.

5 years ago, at the same place, even having a DSLR instead of a cell phone was weird, but now I'm not alone with the film.

 

[Pieter12]

I meter pretty much the same for digital as for film, maybe exposing more for the highlights like reversal film when shooting digital. I have not found a significant difference between the two, it comes down to metering technique.

As an aside and more on-topic, all the spot illustrations are of film and film cameras in the current issue of The New Yorker.

 

[Cholentpot]

I meter pretty much the same for digital as for film, maybe exposing more for the highlights like reversal film when shooting digital. I have not found a significant difference between the two, it comes down to metering technique.

As an aside and more on-topic, all the spot illustrations are of film and film cameras in the current issue of The New Yorker.

I meter the same for both. I'll meter with my DSLR and transfer over the reading to my SLR if I have no meter for the SLR. I'll be more generous with over exposure with film though. For digital I attempt to be spot on when it calls for it.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I meter the same for both. I'll meter with my DSLR and transfer over the reading to my SLR if I have no meter for the SLR. I'll be more generous with over exposure with film though. For digital I attempt to be spot on when it calls for it.

What kind of film? Negative color or chromes?

 

[Cholentpot]

What kind of film? Negative color or chromes?

Negative color and b&w. I've not shot all that much chrome. When I do shoot slides I tend to try to nail the exposure. That might be because it's a fortune to shoot...

 

[Moose22]

Yeah, but it's also pretty narrow dynamic range.

I love me some Provia, and Velvia is Velvia, but when the highs start to go, they are gone. You just have to be right on and know what you'll lose of the scene is too contrasty.

 

[Cholentpot]

Yeah, but it's also pretty narrow dynamic range.

I love me some Provia, and Velvia is Velvia, but when the highs start to go, they are gone. You just have to be right on and know what you'll lose of the scene is too contrasty.

Or luck into a bulk roll of expired Ektrachrome 64 and shoot with reckless abandon.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Or luck into a bulk roll of expired Ektrachrome 64 and shoot with reckless abandon.

1. Need a haze filter
2. Need a building feature to remove the buildings.

 

[Cholentpot]

1. Need a haze filter
2. Need a building feature to remove the buildings.

3. Need fresh film
4. Need a time machine

I have a few rolls with the fall on 'em but I haven't scanned them yet.

 

[Moose22]

That shot was mid day/afternoon (that position has much nicer light in the morning if I remember correctly) and etc... but it's better to take the shot than not take the shot in my mind.

When I'm somewhere photogenic I'll take the same shot I could get by buying a postcard, but I take it anyway. Good, bad, or otherwise, why not? Taking the photo is fun for me.

And now, with our help of course, you know how to plan for your next trip to the exotic locale of Buffalo.

 

[Cholentpot]

That shot was mid day/afternoon (that position has much nicer light in the morning if I remember correctly) and etc... but it's better to take the shot than not take the shot in my mind.

When I'm somewhere photogenic I'll take the same shot I could get by buying a postcard, but I take it anyway. Good, bad, or otherwise, why not? Taking the photo is fun for me.

And now, with our help of course, you know how to plan for your next trip to the exotic locale of Buffalo.

I used to live in Buffalo. And you're right. Photo was take at high noon in the summer. I have many photos of the falls from time when I lived in Buffalo. I would take cameras and film to test there. I just enjoy taking photos. Given the opportunity I'd rather push the shutter than regret it later. The Canadian side or walking across the bridge will get you better photos most of the time.


Here's one on a cold, gloomy, windy and icy day taken on an XA with some UFX400 +1. I was standing at the Duty Free (Free parking!)

 

[pbromaghin]

How's Vision2? I've been shooting Vision3 but am curious about previous generations. I heard they made Vision2 well into Gen3 because many TV shows/Movies had used it Gen2 and for continuity they stuck to the stock they started with.

What I have is 250D off the outside end of a 400ft recan that spent 10 years in my fridge. Some colors came out pretty weird, but it could be because it was my 2nd-ever attempt at processing color neg and very poor photoshop color skills. Some came out pretty nice.

 

[Agulliver]

Two gigs out of three done for this week. Thursday was a band playing 20s blues/hokum/vaudeville who asked me to bring a 1920s camera...so the folding Kodak 1A was brought into action. Yes, you read that right. The band asked me to bring a specific film camera to photograph them.

Last night was a loud blues rock band, and I was one of two people photographing them on 35mm film. Additionally someone asked at the bar why the member of staff who usually takes phone pictures for the club's instagram feed wasn't doing so and she said "A will take loads of good photos and I'll just use his". I was also approached by another gig-goer who I've not spoken to before, and he said "I've noticed you at the front with really nice cameras. You're using film? What kind? Are they some of yours on the club's Instagram? I've got an old camera in a cupboard I'm thinking of dusting it off after seeing you here. Where can I get film?"

It was my pleasure to tell him that at 9am Monday he can purchase as much film as he likes from a shop on the same street as the club!

Attitudes have certainly changed. I see more people with film cameras around. I know from talking with staff at various shops that film is flying off the shelves, in the case of colour film way faster than they can restock. People are inquiring about buying used film cameras from the 50s to the 90s, mostly people under or around 30....those who haven't shot film before. I am not regarded as mad or even suspicious for carrying film cameras around any more.

On my recent trip to Arkansas and Missouri I found a couple of film cameras in flea markets and the staff there said they'd upped prices of "antique" cameras because people were now buying them to use rather than as display items. four Wal-Mart stores had run out of Fuji film. Five once I cleared the fifth one out LOL.

 

[pkupcik]

I use primarily film these days, not because it's better or because I can achieve with it something unique, but because the process is fun and the output is different from digital. It's fun experimenting with different films, development techniques, etc. I enjoy the journey as much as the output. I surely have more bad photos due to multitude of pitfalls (my own technique, film defects, etc) , but also feel like I have more interesting photos.

There does seem to be uptick in film camera use, but it will likely have its ceiling/limit. Good thing is that it will hopefully keep film manufacturers producing film, labs will stay in business, repair shops will stay in business. Bad thing is that gear prices keep going up. I wish I saw this coming and bought some film gear 15 years ago. One can still buy plenty of cheap cameras, but some of the more sophisticated or sought after equipment keeps going up in cost.

 

[Cholentpot]

What I have is 250D off the outside end of a 400ft recan that spent 10 years in my fridge. Some colors came out pretty weird, but it could be because it was my 2nd-ever attempt at processing color neg and very poor photoshop color skills. Some came out pretty nice.

I voted for Perot in first grade in school wide election! Clinton won overwhelmingly and they didn't even count my vote! They told me 'Why would anyone vote for Perot? You must have made a mistake.' I didn't! I liked his ears!

Two gigs out of three done for this week. Thursday was a band playing 20s blues/hokum/vaudeville who asked me to bring a 1920s camera...so the folding Kodak 1A was brought into action. Yes, you read that right. The band asked me to bring a specific film camera to photograph them.

Last night was a loud blues rock band, and I was one of two people photographing them on 35mm film. Additionally someone asked at the bar why the member of staff who usually takes phone pictures for the club's instagram feed wasn't doing so and she said "A will take loads of good photos and I'll just use his". I was also approached by another gig-goer who I've not spoken to before, and he said "I've noticed you at the front with really nice cameras. You're using film? What kind? Are they some of yours on the club's Instagram? I've got an old camera in a cupboard I'm thinking of dusting it off after seeing you here. Where can I get film?"

It was my pleasure to tell him that at 9am Monday he can purchase as much film as he likes from a shop on the same street as the club!

Attitudes have certainly changed. I see more people with film cameras around. I know from talking with staff at various shops that film is flying off the shelves, in the case of colour film way faster than they can restock. People are inquiring about buying used film cameras from the 50s to the 90s, mostly people under or around 30....those who haven't shot film before. I am not regarded as mad or even suspicious for carrying film cameras around any more.

On my recent trip to Arkansas and Missouri I found a couple of film cameras in flea markets and the staff there said they'd upped prices of "antique" cameras because people were now buying them to use rather than as display items. four Wal-Mart stores had run out of Fuji film. Five once I cleared the fifth one out LOL.

A few years back I brought an 35mm SLR as backup on a gig and some people got almost mad at me for bringing one. 'Why would you even? It's just stupid.'

Last week in the same place people were falling over themselves to get a look at the Nikon F and motor drive that I brought. These were teenage kids, they thought it was the coolest thing ever. My bells and whistles DSLR was boring.

 

[Agulliver]

A few years back I brought an 35mm SLR as backup on a gig and some people got almost mad at me for bringing one. 'Why would you even? It's just stupid.'

Last week in the same place people were falling over themselves to get a look at the Nikon F and motor drive that I brought. These were teenage kids, they thought it was the coolest thing ever. My bells and whistles DSLR was boring.

In the late 90s when digital was just beginning to become "a thing" I started photographing one specific band on Fuji Super G and later Superia 1600. There was another guy shooting digital, and a small handful with compact cameras. Everyone other than me needed to use a flash, and the band commented that my photos were the first to show their spectacular stage show how it actually looked to the eye. I was using a SLR and fast colour film. By 2010, it was forbidden to take SLR's to such gigs. But also by then, everyone had a camera phone.

 

[Cholentpot]

In the late 90s when digital was just beginning to become "a thing" I started photographing one specific band on Fuji Super G and later Superia 1600. There was another guy shooting digital, and a small handful with compact cameras. Everyone other than me needed to use a flash, and the band commented that my photos were the first to show their spectacular stage show how it actually looked to the eye. I was using a SLR and fast colour film. By 2010, it was forbidden to take SLR's to such gigs. But also by then, everyone had a camera phone.

Funny how I can't bring a DSLR into many place but they'll let a TLR in.

 

[faberryman]

Funny how I can't bring a DSLR into many place but they'll let a TLR in.

The last time I was at a concert in a large venue, the guy checking bags for bombs and cameras said they allowed cameras with fixed lenses in, because given the distance between the seats and the performance stage, you couldn't get any decent photos of the performers without a large telephoto or zoom lens. Of course, different venues may have different policies.

What cracks me up is seeing people in the balcony with their iPhones or compact cameras shooting with flash. The light from the flash goes about ten feet and the performers are about a half a mile away. It runs down the battery pretty quickly too.

 

[Cholentpot]

The last time I was at a concert in a large venue, the guy checking bags for bombs and cameras said they allowed cameras with fixed lenses in, because given the distance between the seats and the performance stage, you couldn't get any decent photos of the performers without a large telephoto or zoom lens. Of course, different venues may have different policies.

What cracks me up is seeing people in the balcony with their iPhones or compact cameras shooting with flash. The light from the flash goes about ten feet and the performers are about a half a mile away. It runs down the battery pretty quickly too.

They just want to rifle through bags. It's their fun. I brought a Pen F with a 150mm lens and it got through because it's pretty small.

 

[MattKing]

What cracks me up is seeing people in the balcony with their iPhones or compact cameras shooting with flash. The light from the flash goes about ten feet and the performers are about a half a mile away. It runs down the battery pretty quickly too.

With respect to the compact cameras at least ....
In the days of Instamatics and the like, people would often try that with flashcubes or small built in flashes. Funnily enough, it actually helped. Not because there was enough light from the flash, but rather because a lot of those cameras would engage either a larger aperture or a slower shutter speed when the flash was used - thus increasing the ambient light exposure.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Two gigs out of three done for this week. Thursday was a band playing 20s blues/hokum/vaudeville who asked me to bring a 1920s camera...so the folding Kodak 1A was brought into action. Yes, you read that right. The band asked me to bring a specific film camera to photograph them.

Last night was a loud blues rock band, and I was one of two people photographing them on 35mm film. Additionally someone asked at the bar why the member of staff who usually takes phone pictures for the club's instagram feed wasn't doing so and she said "A will take loads of good photos and I'll just use his". I was also approached by another gig-goer who I've not spoken to before, and he said "I've noticed you at the front with really nice cameras. You're using film? What kind? Are they some of yours on the club's Instagram? I've got an old camera in a cupboard I'm thinking of dusting it off after seeing you here. Where can I get film?"

It was my pleasure to tell him that at 9am Monday he can purchase as much film as he likes from a shop on the same street as the club!

Attitudes have certainly changed. I see more people with film cameras around. I know from talking with staff at various shops that film is flying off the shelves, in the case of colour film way faster than they can restock. People are inquiring about buying used film cameras from the 50s to the 90s, mostly people under or around 30....those who haven't shot film before. I am not regarded as mad or even suspicious for carrying film cameras around any more.

On my recent trip to Arkansas and Missouri I found a couple of film cameras in flea markets and the staff there said they'd upped prices of "antique" cameras because people were now buying them to use rather than as display items. four Wal-Mart stores had run out of Fuji film. Five once I cleared the fifth one out LOL.

YES, get the film before the hoarders do!