Film/Digital

[xrayspecs]

Is it just me or does anyone else mourn the passing of film with the increase in digital technology. As a photographer one of my great pleasures was loading dark slides with 5x4inch film. In the dark, with the smell of the emusion wafting around .... oh those halcion days!! Maybe it is just me!

[woofgang]

I am only a hobby snapper, got to say I love digital, its so immediate and easy to play around with and loads cheaper

[gary baldy]

I would say for professionals digital is good for paid work but i still use film for my art! Digital is great for snapping but film makes you think more about your shots.
Without spending tens of thousands of pounds i still think that you cant beat the quality of film.
Dont worry xrayspecs there are still purists like me about.

[Buenchico]

I read this question just a few hours after moving my photographic enlarger (untouched for several years) from the bathrooom/darkroom to the attic (where it'll probably remain for several years until it finally gets consigned to the local tip). I used to love processing my own films and making my own prints but I've been lured away from the darkroom by two things. One is the advent of digital photography; the other is the improved reliability of commercial laboratories.

For day-to-day shots I use a digital camera but for anything important (e.g. weddings) I still use film. The reason has nothing to do with the smell of chemicals. It's simply that my cheap Praktica SLR still offers far better control over the final image (particularly with respect to depth of field control) than any sub-�1000 digital camera will ever be able to do.

Chris

[gary baldy]

I agree with Chris.
I use an old Mamiya 645 and the results i get from it i could only get from digital if i was to spend several thousand pounds.
It still makes financial sense for me to buy some slide film (�3) get it processed (another �3) and just get prints done as and when.
When the Sunday Times does a six page spread on my work i might think about splashing out on a digital!

[tony1941]

I don't miss 35mm cameras at all, but my dusty box full of Mamiya 645s (yes, really, 4 bodies plus 6 lenses) still calls. Even worse, my 5 x4 monorail hasn't seen the light of day for over 4 years. I'm thinking of using my Fuji 602 on macro to photograph the focussing screen and then I could still play with all the movements!

[plasticdan]

I use both film and digital and while I believe a sharper image can be achieved with digital the colours, especially skin tones are a lot more true to life with film.

[gary baldy]

hey tony1941 - have you got any lenses you might be wanting to sell and the monorail sounds very interesting (i do a lot of architecture)

[wacky racer]

I use both but with the instant playback of the digital (and the useful histogram on the display) I am using the 35mm less and less.

Also I seem to end up scanning all my 35mm into the computer anyway.

I made a decision last week - anyone want to buy a Canon F1 with a full set of lenses and accessories?

[xrayspecs]

Thank you all. I must admit, using digital when the client is lurking in the background is very reasuring. Waiting 4 hours for the trannies to process was always a killer for me. I still use film on occasions, but more often than not now, you won't even get your book seen if you don't shoot digital.

One thing I have noticed though, when using digital, is that I rely on the image on the lap top to check the exposure and focus, and I'm starting to rely on it rather more than trusting years of experience. That has to be a bad thing!

[tony1941]

Hi Gary baldy, it's possible that I could be persuaded to part with some of the kit. How do we get in touch?