drummerman
pfm Member
35mm or Medium Format? - Does it still make sense nowadays other than for sentimental reasons?
Perhaps MF more so than 35mm?
Perhaps MF more so than 35mm?
Does anyone here still shoot film?
- Thread starter drummerman
- Start date
drummerman
pfm Member
What is the attraction of it for you Pete?
vuk
\o/ choose anarchy
it makes sense if you need to discipline yourself in certain ways. after getting rolling via digital (in 2001), i switched to film and shot that way exclusively for about 3 years straight. slide for color, which i had the lab process (obviously), and negative for B&W, which i developed myself. cost and time forces you to think very carefully before actually shooting something. slide shooting also helps being very careful about exposure -- especially if you are going to look at the slides via projector. note: at the time (early 2000s, film was still clearly better than digital, at least in terms of "affordable" digital).
there is something very satisfying about the whole process, as well, until you get to the point of having to scan the stuff for digital rendering. then all the joy quickly evaporates.
at some point, i will return to film for B&W.
there is something very satisfying about the whole process, as well, until you get to the point of having to scan the stuff for digital rendering. then all the joy quickly evaporates.
at some point, i will return to film for B&W.
I used to shoot and print my own film in the darkroom back when I was in uni and went through a brief film revival phase last year. My reasons for returning to it were purely aesthetic (I like the look of film). I was very happy with the results, but the ball ache of developing and scanning my own film quickly became tiresome. I would love to have the patience to pick it up again, but I'd be very surprised if this happens.
Lefty
Lefty
Tony L
Administrator
I love the simplicity of film cameras and wish there was a digital camera that didn’t have a menu system at all, just the basic controls and light-meter one would find on an old Nikon F2, Olympus OM1 or whatever. That is all I want aside, and this is a big one, the ability to review pictures after taking them.
For me the true revolution of digital photography is the ability to discard and re-frame whilst you are still at the location of the subject/time of event. There is none of that waiting for a week to get the film back and then realising I’d not spotted something ugly at the edge of frame or realised I could have got a far better picture by shifting position a little. I think I suffer more than most from this as I am short-sighted, wear glasses and have never been able to see to the edges of a frame properly through an optical viewfinder. They just don’t work for me and I actually far prefer the waist-level finder of a medium format camera, or the very similar flat-screen of an iPhone!
For me the true revolution of digital photography is the ability to discard and re-frame whilst you are still at the location of the subject/time of event. There is none of that waiting for a week to get the film back and then realising I’d not spotted something ugly at the edge of frame or realised I could have got a far better picture by shifting position a little. I think I suffer more than most from this as I am short-sighted, wear glasses and have never been able to see to the edges of a frame properly through an optical viewfinder. They just don’t work for me and I actually far prefer the waist-level finder of a medium format camera, or the very similar flat-screen of an iPhone!
Pete MB&D
Pete Maddex, the one and only!
martin clark
pinko bodger
Yes.
I have a roll of 35mm B&W in the Braun Paxette my grandfather bought new in 1954; a 12exp roll of 6x6 in my Yashicamat (orig version, no meter); and a complete Olympus OM2 set-up - not currently in use.
Film remains a lovely medium: the pause, reflect/take thing: and actually, I found my highest hit-rate with the Yashicamat, simply because it is a slow-and-considered process: unmetered, the inverted / waist-level view forces it; and it can also be the loveliest thing for portraiture - because a waist-level finder is never between you & the subject. And it has a wonderful 80mm lens thrown-in.
I have a roll of 35mm B&W in the Braun Paxette my grandfather bought new in 1954; a 12exp roll of 6x6 in my Yashicamat (orig version, no meter); and a complete Olympus OM2 set-up - not currently in use.
Film remains a lovely medium: the pause, reflect/take thing: and actually, I found my highest hit-rate with the Yashicamat, simply because it is a slow-and-considered process: unmetered, the inverted / waist-level view forces it; and it can also be the loveliest thing for portraiture - because a waist-level finder is never between you & the subject. And it has a wonderful 80mm lens thrown-in.
All good points for far.
I started with 35mm film, then got heavily involved with digital 35mm before realising at some point that medium format gear was now affordable since it had been dumped by so many pros. This then lead to the fun of exploring various camera systems that had previously been too expensive for me, and having got used to large DSLRs, the jump to a film MF system wasn't so great in terms of weight or size.
I've never left digital, enjoying both. When shooting film I mainly use B&W film, as i'm not the kind of person to be carrying around a box of colour correction filters for slide film. I can develop all film types at home as i've got an autolab. Colour and digital goes very well together, B&W and film.
My main reason for shooting film is to make darkroom prints, which I find very satisfying, and it gets me away from screens which is a bonus.
I started with 35mm film, then got heavily involved with digital 35mm before realising at some point that medium format gear was now affordable since it had been dumped by so many pros. This then lead to the fun of exploring various camera systems that had previously been too expensive for me, and having got used to large DSLRs, the jump to a film MF system wasn't so great in terms of weight or size.
I've never left digital, enjoying both. When shooting film I mainly use B&W film, as i'm not the kind of person to be carrying around a box of colour correction filters for slide film. I can develop all film types at home as i've got an autolab. Colour and digital goes very well together, B&W and film.
My main reason for shooting film is to make darkroom prints, which I find very satisfying, and it gets me away from screens which is a bonus.
I'll add, quality wise, i've been happy with both even back to my 6mp digital days (canon 10D). The earlier 3mp D30 was a bit of a stretch sometimes, but it was very forgiving due to the lack of pixels which makes most lenses look great 
You don't need high mp digital to get good images - most of the stuff people get really excited about they see on a low resolution screen anyhow (or I guess on a mobile these days).
You don't need high mp digital to get good images - most of the stuff people get really excited about they see on a low resolution screen anyhow (or I guess on a mobile these days).
It makes sense to me for a few reasons:
- The hardware is dirt cheap now
- The lenses for some old manuals are excellent, and awesome value as they don’t fit on newer stuff
- Each film has its own character, which you can use to your advantage
- it’s really fun not seeing what you have, I think digital promotes taking loads of shots and finding the best one, but film promotes both taking your time, and being spontaneous.
Paulicus
pfm Member
I still shoot film, both 35mm and medium format. I do it for the nostalgia and, I like the responsibility of the process, it slows me down. Film is costly both in pounds and opportunity, it doesn't have the instant gratification or the ability to shoot thousands of frames which digital has spoilt us with. Every firing of a digital shutter is almost free, one can examine the shot and discard if it's no good. Not so with film. A film camera is like an exercise machine for a photographer, that if you stick with it, you can do great things. Just look at some of the respected photography masters, Ronis, Lange, Avedon, Capa, Hausser, Koudelka to name a few, all these folk learnt how to render the visible, to make it visible on film cameras, at a time that they’d be considered as skilled craftspeople, and no doubt, placed no value on being respected as artists.
I don't do my own developing though, the enemy won't allow it, so as the negs drop through the letterbox, I’m on ‘em, like a tramp with a bag of chips! Then I scan them, which is a dark art in itself, but one I enjoy doing.
Digital cameras just speed up the learning process, what with their dazzling speed and image capabilities, quantity can start to pinch in on quality and a little bit of the atmosphere and responsibility of taking a shot is lost to some degree. They can make one lazy. IMO
However, saying that, I use my Fuji X-T2 digital camera as if its a film camera with old adapted lenses screwed on the front, lenses which are relatively cheap to buy and they have proper aperture rings and well-damped manual focusing. Good glass is still good glass if you buy the right ones. Why do I do this? Because I like the astigmatisms, vignetting and other foibles that these old lenses have, they suit my slow, (I miss a lot of shots) deliberate, style of photography.
Anyhow, don’t be afraid to take plenty of shots, and don’t be lazy! I think it basically comes down to the idea that more practice equals more ability.
I don't do my own developing though, the enemy won't allow it, so as the negs drop through the letterbox, I’m on ‘em, like a tramp with a bag of chips! Then I scan them, which is a dark art in itself, but one I enjoy doing.
Digital cameras just speed up the learning process, what with their dazzling speed and image capabilities, quantity can start to pinch in on quality and a little bit of the atmosphere and responsibility of taking a shot is lost to some degree. They can make one lazy. IMO
However, saying that, I use my Fuji X-T2 digital camera as if its a film camera with old adapted lenses screwed on the front, lenses which are relatively cheap to buy and they have proper aperture rings and well-damped manual focusing. Good glass is still good glass if you buy the right ones. Why do I do this? Because I like the astigmatisms, vignetting and other foibles that these old lenses have, they suit my slow, (I miss a lot of shots) deliberate, style of photography.
Anyhow, don’t be afraid to take plenty of shots, and don’t be lazy! I think it basically comes down to the idea that more practice equals more ability.
Last edited:
drummerman
pfm Member
Thank you Paulicus. Very interesting. I too shoot sparingly. I may miss certain opportunities but less is sometimes more. I enjoy framing and seeking locations ... the wait. - There were a few occasions when something went wrong when I wanted instant shots ... Like when my camera went into post focusing mode and I had to go through the darn manual to find out how to switch it off! Electronics ...
drummerman
pfm Member
Many/most modern digital enthusiast cameras seem excessively burdened with features that many (me) will probably never use.
Hat off to Fuji and Leica to come out with models which buck that trend to some extend.
Personally, I find the complexity of my camera infuriating even though I (kind of) have gotten used to it and do most things in either aperture priority or manual (manual focusing is not easy with my kit lens ... so on occasions it is easier to engage autofocus)
vuk
\o/ choose anarchy
well, they are all annoying. what i hate the most is the placement of buttons on the back that are so easy to hit accidentally when handling the camera or even pressing it up against face, which is a big problem for left-eye shooters like me. every month or so, i mange to turn on some annoying feature which requires getting the manual out to figure out how to turn off (i sometimes pop into my favourite camera shop, if close by).
a couple of days ago, i managed to somehow turn on "bracketting", so i was getting 3 exposures of everything.
IMO, it should be far more difficult to access the settings menu -- how bloody often does one really need it? twice a year maybe?
Mr Perceptive
Perceptive Member
On a Fuji, you can lock most of the buttons, hold and press the MenuOK button for a few seconds, should lock most buttons on the rear (certainly locks the MenuOK and 4 buttons around it, and my case with the X100F locks the Q button, the top button and dials continue to work fine. To release lock repeat holding down MenuOK button
drummerman
pfm Member
Brilliant