Originally posted by RR84 Fair enough. But if you think about it, shooting digitally would give better results, technically speaking. I seem to think it's the process that we manual film shooters like. The limitations inherent in old camera technology make us approach the craft in a completely different manner than a modern, digital camera. What do you think?
"Better" is a subjective term. I understand you mean it from a technical perspective, but film has a look that is difficult, if not impossible, to duplicate with digital. Even if you could, it would take far more time to achieve. To some folks, better has nothing to do with technical--it's all about the final result that they envision.
The "limitations" of film cameras is precisely what some of us want. Anyone can take a $500 camera and produce a very nice picture. But it takes real work to produce a beautiful work of art with some film cameras. What's more soul satisfying? Same is true of folks who climb Everest--would you want a helicopter drop you at the top or would you want to climb it and endure the struggle? People thrive on struggle because overcoming it empowers us.
Personally, I prefer shooting film cameras of all types because of the "feel," for lack of a better term. Shooting with an old, solid, all metal camera has a certain tactile nature that no digital camera will ever achieve. And the sounds those old camera makes are so sweet. And I should add that manual focus lenses (especially Takumars) have a wonderful feel, as well.
I shoot a variety of film cameras, all 35mm at the moment. I have some early 20th century medium format folding cameras I hope to start using this year. Some of my favorites are the Pentax MZ-S and Super Program, Nikon F100, Minolta SRT series, Rollei 35, Ricoh 500 (which is older than me and works beautifully), Petri Compact (half-frame), Yashica Electro 35.
I'm not at all against digital--it's a great tool for certain situations. The immediate feedback and ease of post processing are great, too. I have no intention of ever giving up my K-5 IIs. And I hope to get the upcoming K-1 at some point this year. Each camera is suited to a particular task. The joy is finding out what those tasks are.
Last edited by foto guy; 01-04-2016 at 05:22 AM.