I'm just getting back into film after being away for 8 years, and no darkroom work for 30 years. Why? (Besides being nutz, that is.)
1) I have all these great film cams that just cry out, USE ME! and I can't resist.
1a) I bought too many camera-lots on eBay last year and can't sell them now.
2) As noted, film gives depth and tonality that digital still can't approach.
2a) Expired film, and 135 film in MF cams, produces unexpected results.
-- "Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative." --Oscar Wilde
3) I have a zillion M42 lenses that DEMAND screwmount cams. Good, cheap lenses.
3a) I have 21mm & 24mm lenses that are actually WIDE and only cost US$20 each.
4) Backup: I have a pile of PK-mount lenses that work just fine on my Pentax ZX-M.
5) Hi-Res 4 less: I have 6x6 & 6x9 Zeiss folders that fit into (loose) pants pockets.
6) My bro-in-law is giving me his Bronica system 'cause it isn't worth selling now.
6a) He's also giving me a pile of (expired) 120, 220, and 135 film. Oh goodie!
7) You think & see differently with film. No chimping, no do-overs. Bracket or die.
8) To upgrade film resolution, buy new film. To upgrade digital, buy new camera.
9) Sis gave me a handmade wood 6x9 pinhole cam - I must use it or she'll kill me.
10) I'm bored, I don't work, I can afford this stuff; I'll do whatever the hell I want.
EDIT: Yes, there are supplementary costs and efforts. I'll send a couple dozen color rolls off the Dwayne's for processing and high-res scanning, whilst I re-assemble a film-souping lab and get a reasonable scanner. Then I'll do a lot of B&W film with ordinary and exotic emulsions, just like back in my wasted youth, except that I'll only need darkness to load rolls and do contact printing.
HOW-2 ENLARGE WITHOUT AN ENLARGER: Scan a neg. Inkjet-print it on OHP (overhead projector) transparency film, available at OfficeMax etc. Contact-print THAT on the moody photo paper of your choosing. Easy as cake, eh? And the messy stuff can all be done in a bathroom or kitchen, unmodified but light-tight.
HOW-2 TINTYPE: Take that OHP negative, probably 8x10". Get an 8x10 picture frame, with glass. Line the back with tinfoil. Mount the OHP neg on that. Insert into frame behind glass. Voila! Of course, you can do this with digital pics too, but why pollute the experience?
Last edited by RioRico; 05-24-2009 at 12:22 AM.
Reason: addendum