Just thought I would start a discussion about things you like about (or did like about) film and what you like about digital (or don't) I am a film man (or leg) so these are a few of mine (these are all likes..)

No batteries or beeps or computers needed
Proper black and white
Able to use old/vintage/professional cameras and now getting very cheap(Olympus OM1/OM4Ti, Minox, Kodak Retina bought from Bardwells for £1 !)
The sound of a mechanical shutter and the feeling it gives you
Mixing chemicals and experimenting
The thrill of taking the film out and unwinding all those images
Archival - try looking at an image stored on a cd-rom/memory card etc. in 25 yrs time!
Camera out of date in 2 months time? no, it just uses film!
No batteries or beeps or computers needed
Anticipation of developing the film
Not taking 50 shots of a subject but composing and carefully taking 1 or 2
No shutter lag (Grrrrr)
No batteries or beeps or computers needed
Watching the image appearing in the tray - magical
My printer will never run out of ink in the middle of a print
Did I say no batteries or beeps or computers needed
The feeling that you have 'created' the image rather than the computer

Over to you all! :)

PS: Have nothing against digital before anyone asks, these are just my likings

I like it when people look at you funny and say 'is that a proper camera?'

I like film, although I use digital for paid work.
I use film for my personal work. I like photographing flowers and
plants as well as landscapes. I am, also, very interested in people photography, but finding models is hard.
Everyone is so suspicious these days.
What type of photography inspires you, and where do you do it.

Barry

Just thought I would start a discussion about things you like about (or did like about) film and what you like about digital (or don't)...

I went completely digital some time ago but was forced back to film for a couple of weeks by a camera fault. I was horrified by the results when I eventually got them and couldn't wait to get the dSLR back. And before anybody jumps on that let me say I've had film cameras go wrong too!

No batteries or beeps or computers needed
Easy - turn the beeps off!

Proper black and white
At least as good in digital if you avoid the obvious things like 'desaturate'. And shooting raw you have the chance to use any kind of 'film' you want - and choose after the shot rather than before.

Able to use old/vintage/professional cameras and now getting very cheap
You seen the price of out of date dSLRs these days? :gag:

The sound of a mechanical shutter and the feeling it gives you
My 5D sounds great - if a little loud in the church!

Mixing chemicals and experimenting
Well if you like getting funny coloured fingers why not take up smoking! :hihi:

The thrill of taking the film out and unwinding all those images
The satisfaction from 'chimping' the shot and KNOWING it's in the bag!

Archival - try looking at an image stored on a cd-rom/memory card etc. in 25 yrs time!
You may have a point there but I've still got some 5.25" floppy drives (had some 8" drives until recently) and can still read the source code from a project coded in 6800 assembler from about 25 years ago. I suspect that you and I are the exception in still having negs from 25 or more years ago. Joe public won't.

Camera out of date in 2 months time? no, it just uses film!
Yeah but it still takes pics and I don't have to hunt for film for it! :P

Anticipation of developing the film
The knowledge rather than the hope that I've got the shots I need.

Not taking 50 shots of a subject but composing and carefully taking 1 or 2
The option to take 50 shots of a subject that isn't fully under my control so that I DO get one or two 'wow's. And I can still compose carefully and take just one or two if it is controllable.

No shutter lag (Grrrrr)
No shutter lag on my 5D, or on my old Pentax *istD.

Watching the image appearing in the tray - magical
I'll grant you the magic, I felt it too, but all in all I prefer the certainty from 5s after the shot.

My printer will never run out of ink in the middle of a print
Nor does mine - I send 'em away as I did with colour film.

Did I say no batteries or beeps or computers needed
Yes you did but I bet your OM4 wouldn't do much without a battery, and your dark room needs mains power, unlike my laptop.

The feeling that you have 'created' the image rather than the computer
Yup - still get that - the computer is just my slave, like your enlarger.

Nostalgia is fine but how many steam trains do you see used on busy commuter routes? Being practical about it, digital is way more convenient and I can 'develop' my shots now on the computer without having to convert the bathroom into a darkroom for a couple of evenings a week.

I can do more in less time and use that time to take better pictures in the first place.

The taking of the pictures hasn't changed and that's the skillful bit.

The results from today's dSLRs (you can't compare an OM4 with a digital compact any more than you could compare it with an Instamatic 50) are every bit as good as the best of 35mm film SLRs and way more practical and convenient.

Nope having gone digital, gone back to film and back to digital again I'll choose results over nostalgia any day.

The results from today's dSLRs (you can't compare an OM4 with a digital compact any more than you could compare it with an Instamatic 50) are every bit as good as the best of 35mm film SLRs and way more practical and convenient.

Achh - "practicalities and conveneince". Art should consider neither of these :)

CanonLad - "What type of photography inspires you, and where do you do it"

Well, I like that capturing of an image in film. So I'm easy! I like taking photos of people I know and close up abstracts. Where do I do it? Anywhere where there is enough light. So, outdoors mostly, because I'm always struggling for light.

Quote" You may have a point there but I've still got some 5.25" floppy drives (had some 8" drives until recently) and can still read the source code from a project coded in 6800 assembler from about 25 years ago. I suspect that you and I are the exception in still having negs from 25 or more years ago. Joe public won't

Oi, I'm not that old ;) though I too did program a 6800!



Did I say no batteries or beeps or computers needed
Yes you did but I bet your OM4 wouldn't do much without a battery, and your dark room needs mains power, unlike my laptop.



Well it will, just switch to manual 1/60, or just use my OM1, How do you charge your laptop up? is it a wind-up one? :|

How do you charge your laptop up? is it a wind-up one? :|

I sometimes wonder! :hihi:

Achh - "practicalities and conveneince". Art should consider neither of these :)

Ah - but the bit before that was the important bit - 'every bit as good'. Hmm - maybe I understated that - I think modern dSLRs are better than the old film ones - at least - the Canon 5D sure is.

Anyway - if we're going to go in for nostalgia art properly then maybe we should go back to dipping our fingers in buffalo blood and painting on the walls! Come to think of it... there's a lot of 'art' looks like that anyway. :hihi:

Quote: I think modern dSLRs are better than the old film ones

The thing is you can't compare them, it's a bit like saying my new vacuum cleaner is better than my old washing machine. They both remove dirt and dust but do it in a totally different way!

Quote: I think modern dSLRs are better than the old film ones

The thing is you can't compare them, it's a bit like saying my new vacuum cleaner is better than my old washing machine. They both remove dirt and dust but do it in a totally different way!

Then doesn't this make your whole "film versus digital" thread pointless? ^_^

Oi! This is fun. Don't spoil it! :D

so if your digital camera has a docking station printer, does this mean it's a digital Polaroid :hihi:

I can agree with digital lag. I had a Pentax 3.3mp that interpolated to 6.6mp which i bought from Index about 5 years ago for £70. The thing didn't have a view finder only a pathetic LCD with major stuttering, You pressed the button to take a snap and it took 30 secs to do so, once you took the picture it then took 3-5mins to dump it and make ready for the next shot.

Then doesn't this make your whole "film versus digital" thread pointless? ^_^


No, I never said compare, just what you liked/disliked about the two methods of removing dust.

I can see both sides of this as I use digital and film, and each is good in its own way, but for paid work, it's digital every time for me. I was reluctant to go digital at first, and it was through stubbornness and the mistaken belief that film was somehow "purer" but as Impinabox has said, the opportunity to take more pictures means that you can be more certain of getting a good image, and when it's your job, that's important.
At weddings, you often have to take a group shot of 50 people or more and you can bet your life that even if you take 20 pictures, every one of them will show at least on person yawning or with eyes closed or grimacing, but at the computer you can pick the best one and even replace a few of the heads from other images to make one really good one - I know you can do that in the darkroom but nowhere near as easily.
When you work as a commercial photographer, you have to take pictures which will sell, and when you are a busy commercial photographer you have to do it within a time-scale, so digital is really the way to do it.
I have 16 film cameras on my shelf behind me as I write this, and they are becoming less valuable every day, and unfortunately less used every day - but they are as good in terms of quality as they ever were. When you have to go out to make money from your camera, nostalgia has to take a back seat.

What type of photography inspires you, and where do you do it.

A far more interesting question than all this film vs digital stuff (tho mea culpa on that one - I can never resist a good argument!). Photography for me is all about the light - looking for the best light and making the best use of it. I love landscapes that make you think, "Wow! I've been there but I've never seen it like that before". I find a well composed and well lit portrait both inspirational and aspirational. I'm sure I ought to be able to do it too but somehow I never quite manage it to my satisfaction. (Must get more practice - any budding models out there want some TFP/TFDC work?)