Originally posted by vwbus1967 any of you gone over to shooting the film Pentax 645 for everything using nothing else? (no digital or 35mm or large format). I've been thinking about doing that lately and I'm wondering if there's any downsides or comments or suggestions on that or regrets.
John
John,
Yes and no. In the pre-digital era, when I got my 645 in the mid 80's, I completely dropped 35mm for my personal photography. However, professionally, 80% of the clients, agencies, studios, etc, wanted 35mm, so I continued with it.
I am no longer a full time pro, and when I do shoot professionally, it's all digital. However, although I still teach 35mm film photography, all my personal film work continues to be with a 645 and 645N.
I really miss 120 Kodachrome and Ilfochrome P30 prints, but my default emulsions are Kodak Ektar 100 and Ilford XP2+.
I agree with many of the earlier responses about the pros and cons. I believe I would regret completely giving up digital just as much as I would regret giving up film. The two mediums are not just different in results, but also in process and depending on the subject and my mood, I prefer to have a choice.
I tend to shoot normal to wide and make 16x20 and larger prints, so I don't miss smaller formats like APS-C or 24x36mm for film.