Interesting thread.
Time to don the flame suit.....
First things first, the my personal opinion is that there is only a resurgence for Film at a high end amateur level only.
In my area, to have a Pro shoot film is very rare now. I only know of one and funny enough, he actually ended up selling his Nikon D3 to buy more film gear! For the rest, there is a perceived thought that working in Photoshop is far more efficient then doing it the old way. Also interesting to note, that the guy I know who still shoots film at a pro level does it Because its easier. His arguement is that with the right film choice he can achieve 95% of what he wants in camera. He sends his films away to a pro lab, they develop and provides proof. For anything else that requires a level of creativeness (selective colouring etc (YUKKK)), he scans and does it in PS. I know of other pros who call him crazy. He just thinks its the smart way of doing things.
OK, now to the bit that requires some flame proof clothing.
For the main resurgence into film at the high end amateur level, you can thank the sudden craze of the affordable Digital SLR camera.
When I began my photography hobby 20 years ago, I learnt a few things by reading a couple books and doing a course at a community college. And that's about it. I understood the relation between shutter, apertuer and film speed and not much else. And that is how it stayed for around 15 years.
About 4 years ago, I bought my first digital SLR....this quickly relegated the film cameras to a zip lock bag and a packet of silicon (why sell them, they were worth nothing). The beauty of a DSLR was that it was far easier to get the results online, share with one of the many communities online. I learnt 5 times more about exposure, composition and general photography within 6 months of owning a DSLR then I had in the previous 15 years. Instead of becoming a SLR owner, I became what I would call a photographer. AND I LOVED IT!!
But with most things, you need to try different things. Out of interest, I got the film cameras out and the rest is history. Last month I didn't shoot a single digital frame. The month before, the only time I shot digital was for a sports event that I was commissioned to do. (I won't talk about this month....the digital is getting a bit more of a workout)
OK, this is my story alone, hardly a resurgence. BUT, I am not the only one. I know of at least half a dozen photography friends (I.E., in my local area) who are doing exactly the same thing. I also know of a few online communities where there are constantly new threads about "Which film camera", "Thinking about getting into film", etc (I know there are a few members from Dyxum here who know what I am on about).
Film will never be mainstream. Its impossible to think that it will.
Yes, I can see the lack of new hardware becoming a problem (I second the thought above. I really wish someone like Sony would make a Film SLR, that is manual focus but took Minolta AF lenses), but as long as companies such as Ilford still make materials, there will always be an interest at the high amateur level.
Not sure I'd want to buy that.
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