Originally posted by Frito A question ; Are most of the members of the forum into digital photography or do many still do film? And do you consider Film to be very out dated. Just wondering what everyone thought. FRITO:
I am late to this discussion, but will add my bit. In short...
- Have done film photography since the late 1960s, including both color and B&W darkroom
- First digital camera in 2001 (Canon G2)
- First dSLR in 2007 (Pentax K10D)
- Current digital camera (Pentax K-3)
- Current film kit...am minor collector, though my go-to 35mm SLR is an early 1980s Ricoh XR-2s mounted to Pentax-M 50/1.7*
I shot almost exclusively digital from 2001 to 2008, but on a whim in 2008, bought a few rolls of the then new Ektar 100 film and on New Year's Eve rediscovered an element of joy that was missing with my K10D.
Ricoh XR7, Tamron 28/2.5 (02B), Ektar Professional 100
Yes, the above was the first frame of the roll and the first I had used the camera in several years. My thoughts as recorded on Flickr...
Quote: Sandhill Cranes fly over the lower Columbia River at Frenchman's Bar. It was the experience of making this shot that resulted in my adding film back into the mix. The process was so simple...hear birds coming from behind overhead, raise camera to eye, track flock while snapping focus, and shoot. The whole process took less time and work than to wake camera and acquire focus with my K10D.
In my mind, digital did not replace film photography anymore than color films replaced B&W or acrylic paints replaced oils. Let the medium suit the message. I do good work with both and seldom do my film images have the same "feel" as the digital captures. The two are different and attempting to assign equivalence in regards to technical factors is just plain dumb. My negatives are blatantly absent of pixels and that is a good thing.
Now a bit of confession...despite being nicely equipped for multiple film formats, I am in a dead spot and have not been actively producing for about 4 years. My intent is to have that change in the next month or so. I am looking forward to it.
A quick note regarding gear and approach...I do love my K-3. It is an incredible tool. Unfortunately, the technical aspect of extracting optimum results often threatens to overwhelm the creative process. It is probably enough to point out that never does one see a thread on the film photography section of this site exploring the agony of "shutter shock".
Steve
* Full disclosure...Yes, have an eclectic gathering of gear, but they are all in full working condition and include (large to small): 1) a recent manufacture Chamonix 4x5 field camera, 2) 6x7 roll film holders to work with said field camera, 3) a mid-1950s Mamiya 6x6 folder, 4) several M42 35mm SLRs including four from Pentax, 5) several more K-mount 35mm SLRs, including two from Pentax and one from Krasnogorsk, 6) a couple SRT-series Minolta 35mm SLRs, 7) two Exacta 35mm SLRs (VXIIa and VX1000), 8) three Soviet-made 35mm LTM rangefinder bodies (Zorki, FED, and Kiev), 9) a Canon P 35mm LTM rangefinder, 10) a Voigtlaender R3M 35mm M-mount rangefinder, and 11) an Olympus XA. For each camera type and mount, there is a representative three-lens kit and all but the Zenit Automat are fully operational.