I probably shoot more film than most people on apug, and it's an extremely time consuming business. I process my own colour and black and white, and scan it on a flatbed. As I aim to produce a photo book on a regular basis, editing work down to the one good shot in 4 or 5 rolls of film (if I'm lucky) means a huge throughput of film. If I was wealthier I'd send the film off to a professional lab and wait for the negatives and high quality drum scans to drop through the letterbox, but that's unrealistic. Basically, you have to be a bit crazy to shoot 35mm in 2016, though larger formats still make sense.I shoot digital but also medium format film when I want to slow down. I also have a Nikormat FT3, Nikon 6006, but don;t shoot 35mm any longer. My scanner (Epson V600 flat bed) just doesn;t do justice to 35mm. 6x7's does a lot better. Curious what you guys shoot with 35mm? Film type? What do you do with the film afterwards? By the way, good luck with the F6.
Completely agree!I probably shoot more film than most people on apug, and it's an extremely time consuming business. I process my own colour and black and white, and scan it on a flatbed. As I aim to produce a photo book on a regular basis, editing work down to the one good shot in 4 or 5 rolls of film (if I'm lucky) means a huge throughput of film. If I was wealthier I'd send the film off to a professional lab and wait for the negatives and high quality drum scans to drop through the letterbox, but that's unrealistic. Basically, you have to be a bit crazy to shoot 35mm in 2016, though larger formats still make sense.
While I own some beautiful classic film cameras, their quality is irrelevant to getting the shot and a Nikon F60 does that just as well as a Leica M5. I've conducted an 5-year experiment in digital photography alongside film, and in truth digital gives me 9/10 of what I need at 1/10 the effort. So why shoot film? Pure sentiment, a little nostalgia, and the joy of having a negative instead of a virtual file at the end. Like I say, it helps to be a little nuts. Most of the world isn't, and have moved on.
Yes, 3 to 5 rolls in the winter months, 5 to 8 in summer. Plus 120 and a little large format. It isn't sustainable because processing and filing takes a day, scanning at least another full day. All time that would be better spent taking photographs and creating books. Mostly it's force of habit because the aesthetic advantage of film isn't met by the extra commitment in time.Completely agree!
BTW, how much 35mm film do you use?
I use 5-6 rolls a week. Sometimes more if I'm using as well one of my folding cameras.
Well, you're right that film cameras won't ever be mainstream again. As you say, the bulk of society won't be using them.
People (like us here) buy film cameras for several reasons. One is that the process is engaging - we become involved in making the photo. Another is that we appreciate mechanical equipment or film as a medium.
Why would ANYONE pay full price and buy a new F6 when you can get mint used ones for huge discounts. There's no reason to buy a new F6 from Nikon.
I have to disagree: With reversal film and projection I get a much much better quality with 35mm film than with any digital camera. Because the imaging chain with film is much better than the digital imaging chain (digital projectors with their extremely low resolution and inferior colour fidelity are the bottleneck).
And there are lots of films (mainly colour reversal and BW negative) which are outresolving the D810 sensor at medium and higher object contrasts (I did all these tests in my optical test lab; results have currently been published in the film photography print magazine PhotoKlassik).
And high resolution BW films like Agfa Copex Rapid and Adox CMS 20 II are a league of its own.
... Now, just imagine a company like Hasselblad acquiring lots of its old mechanical CM500s and the like, totally going through them and refurbishing them....
Thanks!Yes, 3 to 5 rolls in the winter months, 5 to 8 in summer. Plus 120 and a little large format. It isn't sustainable because processing and filing takes a day, scanning at least another full day. All time that would be better spent taking photographs and creating books. Mostly it's force of habit because the aesthetic advantage of film isn't met by the extra commitment in time.
Define mint?
The film count, frequently quoted to demonstrate "only five films through" can be re-set from the menu quite easily by the user and thus cannot be relied on S/H.
Page 121 in the manual:
http://cdn-10.nikon-cdn.com/pdf/manuals/F6-en.pdf
The camera counts shutter activations but accessible only at a service centre.
New is new not mint
BTW The internal "battery" is replaceable by a service centre.
Are you sure he said 500CM and not 500C ?
The CM range was last made in 1994, which may or may not qualify as "very old" the 500C (1970 discontinued) I would agree to be "very old". The 501 series is actually more complex mechanically with the gliding mirror mechanism.
Yes, 3 to 5 rolls in the winter months, 5 to 8 in summer. Plus 120 and a little large format. It isn't sustainable because processing and filing takes a day, scanning at least another full day. All time that would be better spent taking photographs and creating books. Mostly it's force of habit because the aesthetic advantage of film isn't met by the extra commitment in time.
I've bought my F6s new because I wanted 100% safety to have perfect working cameras (and a 3 year guarantee). With used ones you never know which abuse the camera has got.
I've bought all my film Nikons new. And I have never had any issues with them.
I've bought my medium format cameras used (because they were not available new anymore). I've had issues with all of them, all needed repairs.
And I've done my part to support film camera manufacturing. I've supported the infrastructure we need as film photographers.
If all would refuse buying new film cameras, and only would want used ones, well.......then no one could ever take a single picture because no cameras would have been built.
Without film camera production, no film pictures.
And from my long experience here on apug I know: Those who have bashed me here for buying new F6s (I've got this bashing several times in the past), will be the first ones who are complaining when Nikon, Leica or others may stop production of one or more film models in the future.
Best regards,
Henning
Well it's impossible to know but averaging a 35mm film a day, 365 days a year, plus about half that on 120 and occasional large format, all home developed and scanned, is as much as I can cope with as an amateur. I've shot plenty more in the past as a pro and an amateur, including two weeks away recently when I got through around 50 rolls of colour and black and white film, but I'm guessing that's more than most APUGers, yes.You call this a lot?? More than most on APUG? Seriously?
It was about 2 years ago (when he repaired my old Hassy SWC), but I think he said to avoid the 500 series for old age and lack of parts (in the near future). He is saving old unrepairable cameras for parts. I checked my note book and he did say to look for a 501CM (without TTL) or a 503CW, if I was gonna get me a Hasselblad.
Congratulations on the F6!
Did you get a card from the guy that put it together thanking you for buying it?
I was told by a friend that bought a new one some years ago that it came with a "Thank you" card.
Well it's impossible to know but averaging a 35mm film a day, 365 days a year, plus about half that on 120 and occasional large format, all home developed and scanned, is as much as I can cope with as an amateur. I've shot plenty more in the past as a pro and an amateur, including two weeks away recently when I got through around 50 rolls of colour and black and white film, but I'm guessing that's more than most APUGers, yes.
2. Extremely seldom have been reports about dead internal system batteries. Looks like this happened only when cameras have been stored without the normal batteries or complete empty batteries for months.
You may have misread the original post, Ricardo asked how many rolls per week. The average comes to somewhere around a roll per day of 35mm over a year. Put it this way, my film fridge was full to the top in January, now there's plenty of room inside. That isn't close to Daido Moriyama who is said to have got through 10 rolls of Tri-X a day for years, but I think it may be in the upper percentile on this forum, seeing as a lot of it is given over to camera collection, but there's no way of knowing. Whatever, I agree volume of film consumed is the worst way to evaluate interesting photography.In your post it says 5-8 in winter. Now you are saying 1 per day for a full year? That's a wild swing, so I'm not sure exactly what your consumption of film is. Anyway, it does not matter.
Yes, I asked per week.You may have misread the original post, Ricardo asked how many rolls per week.
Yeap, but perhaps it is the best way to evaluate interest in film.Whatever, I agree volume of film consumed is the worst way to evaluate interesting photography.
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