Going back to film (I think?)

Hi All,

I've been slowly increasing the amount of film I'm shooting (from zero a couple of months ago to a few films a month now) and nearly made the decision last night sell off my K-5 & DA lenses (moderated today to shooting film exclusively for a while - apart from the MX-1).

This has been driven by a couple of factors:
1) I've got too many film bodies (far too many) and wanted to test some of them before potentially putting them up for sale. As such I now have un-finished rolls in various cameras.
2) I'm shooting too many digital shots, the good ones are getting lost in a maelstrom of mediocre ones and I'm losing the 'wow' factor I first had with digital.
3)I dug out my LX last night, attached my new finders and a lens...

I'm hoping that I'll be able to take more time, be more selective and concentrate on getting the best shots I can. Whenever I look back through my slides libraries, there's something there I just don't currently get with digital.

I'm lucky to have a comprehensive collection of film gear which makes this an easy change for me to make and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Is this crazy in today's digital world?

John.

Yes!

At some point companies will stop making film, it's inevitable. So yes!

Not at all. It's a conscious decision that you make. Others that disagree have their reasons of why they would not do it.

I have recently bought a 645N II and will soon have an Epson V700. There are a lot of film shooters over here in WA and the shops that provide printing & developing services are doing very well. I intend to do all of my own developing. Any shots I think worthy may be printed but all will be scanned.

We lost certain things with the decline of film. A digital camera is just like buying a specific film type if you just shoot JPEG as they differ between manufacturers due to bespoke in camera processing. If you shoot only RAW, the camera won’t have any effect on the finished appearance as the user then has to process the image to JPEG (no point bringing up Ltd lenses etc. as having impact, as Canon users use them too with the advantage of full field of view).

I will be shooting film in July in the UK, probably more film than digital. Will film disappear? Just like the LP record, it will be here as long as a few want to use it.

Your point about shooting too many digital shots is very true. There are many people that do the same and in doing so, have given up the eye for a good image. Sure, there will be a few shots in amongst the hundreds from the "weekend" that are keepers but the time and effort of processing and reviewing them all has to be considered (let’s just batch process the lot).

Also in using film, you isolate the image from the camera. As long as you have metered and focussed properly, only the shutter and lens have an impact, not so with digital. I will be using my MZ-S and Maxxum film bodies along with plenty of B&W, colour neg and slide films. Quite looking forward to it.

Yes you do take the time to get a shot right as each shot counts and actually costs in real terms. You may even get more satisfaction from using film (real RAW).

Best regards

Film is just great. FF goodness on a shoestring. Wouldn't want to go without the convenience of digital as well though.

No it's not crazy at all.

Frankly I WISH I had the willpower for film. I've got 4 Pentax 35mm SLRs, SF1, SFX, ES and Super A. I really oughta shoot some film again.

I don't agree you lose you 'eye' with digital allowing you to shoot a lot more images, but a roll of 36 does makes you consider each shot more carefully. On the one hand this may give some shots you wouldn't have got when shooting digital, but on the other hand with digital you can more easily afford to fire off the impulse shots, which can also yield some gems. Swings and roundabouts realy on that front IMO.

"have given up the eye for a good image" in the context that could be due to various reasons. It was not meant to mean “lost or lose”.


Best regards

I shoot some film but could not imagine giving up digital, it seems a rather Luddite approach to the problem of digital allowing you to shoot so many more images. Why not stick a 512mb card in your camera, and don't take a spare, every time you go out with your camera? Then you will be forced to think about every shot you take on your K5 in the same way you have to consider each shot when using film To really replicate using film, but without the cost, you could tape something over the LCD screen so you can't see what you have shot.until you get home.

I completely agree with that thought. It is too easy to take a lot of shots nowadays - not just because digital is so easy and cheap, but with auto focus as well, which makes 'grabbing' a shot so much easier.

While this can be good and useful, I am often thinking back to the days when I was younger and used film. A lot more time was spent considering each shot before pressing the button - not least because of the costs of film and developing, and time and trouble setting up a 'temporary' dark room.

But 'Smeggypants' has a perfectly valid point too, in that the ability to easily and cheaply fire off impulse shots can yield some gems as well.

I am trying to slow down and consider each shot more, but I have to say I not successfully enough at the moment. I often take around 200 shots if I'm out for the day (although the last time I was out with a friend, he took 500!). I think I will have to try and limit myself to the equivalent of 2, maybe 3 rolls of film in a day and spend more time looking before taking that shot.

I have no desire to back to film, but some of the constraints that went with that are, perhaps, not such a bad thing.

Unlike many here, I started with digital and have now moved to film. I find I enjoy it more and more and have bought 35mm cameras, now medium format cameras, a scanner, B&W developing kit....

I found that I have the same problem with digital - too many shots and not enough quality. I need to slow down, and film helps me do that. Using old manual lenses on digital also helps me do that.

But yes, film has a look that my digital gear can't get close too. Film producers are still adapting to the revoluttionised industry, but film will be around for a long time yet.

Definitely keep shooting film. Whether you get rid of the digital body is (obviously) a personal choice. I wouldn't - I like photography in general, so the more tools I can go out and play with, the better for my enjoyment. This means I'd never get rid of the digital stuff in the same way that I'd never, bar the complete unavailability of film, get rid of the film stuff. But other people may have specific likes or needs that make film (or digital) unnecessary.

I could not imagine giving up digital or film - for me they both have their place and I learn from both disciplines.

I understand what you say about taking too many photos and I suspect we all go through that phase with digital I know that during the first couple of years I used digital - I would think nothing of an average of 500 shots a day. These days I probably average 50-100, when pursuing my landscape passion or street photography- not much more than I would on film.

The exception being nature, sports and action photography. Last weekend for instance - photographing the UK free style jest ski championships - I fired off nearly a thousand shots either individually or in bursts of 4or 5 shots. Something I could not even contemplate with film. I expected to discard 80% and did but at he same time captured shots I would never have achieved with film.

In other words - not abandoning film 'keeps me honest' even when using digital but when needed - can switch the brain to 'digital mode' - best of both worlds for me.

Carl

I've neglected the digital over the last year, more or less only using film. There is a look with cheap film and expensive film that is unique. However I am probably going to concentrate on getting my skills with the DSLRs up for a while. Digital has the convenience factor and ability to see immediately what I've done wrong!!

I've got shots I like from both, the main difference I sometimes find is with older film bodies like the Spotmatic F, it's just so nice to hold and use and for street shooting I kind of feel it gives a different atmosphere off to people using an old film camera than a modern DSLR with a big zoom lens! But as always that's just my personal perception!!

I have just taken a step up in glass for my K5 so we will see how that impacts on me after only using the WR kit lenses on it. Oh, and another thing (with Pentax definately) is the weather sealing, I have had my K200d out and shooting in torrential downpours very happily where my film cameras could not go.... Haven't had the K5 out in such bad weather yet but it's possibly the main reason I first bought into the Pentax system.

I started with film, my photography was re-invigorated when I bought my K10D, and now I largely shoot film (for fun) and digital (for work, ebay, etc.).

I wouldn't go film only, though. For example, tonight I am going to an event in a vault under the A1M (honestly!) and I want to take photos. Bouncing light from the vault ceiling will be a bit hit or miss. With my digital I can check the histogram and lighting etc., and be happy I have something. Someone with much more experience with flash (I only use it in extremis) would be able to get it right with film, but I would be very unsure. On the other hand, when I was being a tourist in San Francisco I left my K20D in the hotel room and just shot with my LX and MX and was perfectly happy with the results.

As ever, courses for horses.

Best wishes, Kris.

Only 500. I've been known to rattle of 4,000 in a few hours. hradly any are purely random. most are "Saw something that looked like it could make a good shot, and pressed the trigger

The real downside is the time taken to sift through them all the next day, or rather than next week


What happens when you've reached your limit and then aliens land and you have the exclusive on the event?

I don't think it's healthy to force yourself to do anything like this. If you're taking 500 shots a day, or even 4,000 ( hehe ) then that's obviosuly a natural behaviour.

If you force yourself to criticise each shot more you'll only end up with worse shots. One of the best ways to stifle creativity is to criticise while your creating. Create freely and criticise the next day


Sometimes people's best film shots were when they fired off the last two or three so they could load up a fresh roll or get them off to the developers