[artobest]

Today I noticed there were 19 people visiting the film forum when I logged on. Is this a record? If so, is it indicative of an upsurge of interest in our favourite medium, or just the quality of the forum?

[séamuis]

im not sure if thats a record, but I am certainly all for a more popular film sub-forum.

[k100d]

maybe more people after trying digital want to try some film. like me.

[Pumalite]

I've been analog for 40 years. I'm all for it. Maybe that way we'll have film forever. I'd never swith to digital. I had a D40x in my hands. Tried it and didn't like it. Have more fun with my spottie.

[Gooshin]

i enjoy the format given my lens library.

i am shooting film until FF becomes cheap.

[k100d]

my guess would be that most of the people who started with Pentax Film cameras probably moved on to more advanced Film and Digital bodies long ago.

[jgredline]

Over the past two months I have shot film 80% of the time. My wife and kid noticed I don't even have a digital in my truck any longer and that is that I have 2 K20D's and 1 K10D. Go figure

[Ira]

I can't speak for others, but I can speak for my own 52-year-old old ass:

Some guys in my age group, who started in the 70s and continued with it as a hobby or profession up until now, they've seen or done it all in film and digital. But the majority of my age group dumped the SLRs for a point-and-shoot film compact and VHS-C (or other format) camcorder when the kids started spewing out of our wives.

The kids grew, we had to pay the bills and listen to our wives to stop that nonsense, and then we bought digital cameras--to shoot the KIDS, of course.

Which makes no sense, because since you see them every day anyway, what kind of fun is shooting THEM!?

So years and years and years go by, and the majority of us non-pros or heavy hobbyists have been using these crappy, then better, then even fairly decent digital cameras, including digital SLRs.

But it just isn't the same thing. It doesn't look the same as film. You can't play with what you're shooting like you can with film. And it doesn't FEEL as good as shooting film, where you take your time with every single shot or it's gonna cost you.

Plus, it's those same stupid shots of your kids and the wife.

But with film, you send your rolls to Santa Claus who sends them BACK to you fully developed! And I feel like it's the 70s again. AND NO KIDS IF YOU CAN HELP IT!

It's just a different experience than with digital.

If you're single and without kids, your experience may vary.

[lithos]

Man, when you pull a reel of BW negatives outta the fixer and see it for the first time in the light...magic. Just beautiful.

I started out on digital, and moved to film. I think it's better for kids of my generation to learn on digital, what with our notoriously short attention spans and lack of financial sense.

[stevebrot]

I have been enjoying shooting a little film lately. I say enjoying because my Ricoh XR7 is so much lighter and better balanced than my K10D. Then there is the matter of hand holding in low light. The larger format makes that task so much easier that I truly don't miss the SR.

The scanned results are quite acceptable and in some cases better than what I get with the K10D. Think tonality and texture and you will understand what I mean. The main issue at this point is getting quality scans made. I have been having Costco do the processing and scanning. They do a pretty good job, but like machine prints, the scan brightness is often skewed. Dynamic range is often somewhat lacking as well. At this rate it looks like my next major purchase might be a scanner rather than a camera or lens!

Steve

[stevebrot]

Over the past two months I have shot film 80% of the time. My wife and kid noticed I don't even have a digital in my truck any longer and that is that I have 2 K20D's and 1 K10D. Go figure

Last weekend I was at a snowbound lodge in the mountains and did not even take a digicam with me. The XR7 with my standard three-lens kit (28, 50, 70-150) and the Olympus XA thrown in for convenience and backup were more than adequate. The weather was lousy for photos, but it was still nice to be carrying half the weight as the digital setup.

Steve

[aruxaru]

maybe more people after trying digital want to try some film. like me.

+1

although I haven't taken the full plunge yet. Still got my k100d for travel (although I'm thinking of bring my film camera on trips. don't know about traveling with film though...)

[CSoars]

Started with film, had a stint with digital and the DA limiteds, then 'regressed' back to film.

I love the build and operation of the MX and LX. I love massive, bright viewfinders and the ease of manual focus. I love shooting & developing my own B&W.

Think a big part of it is what gooshin said; I dig primes and while Pentax is the best of the SLR makers in developing them for APS-C, there are gaps that i'd like to see filled, esp. regarding speed. But then I look at Canon's fast prime glass, and choke on the price tags. For my purposes, manual focus suits me better for low light & candid... it's quiet and easy to touch up accurately (re: big viewfinders). I shoot faster without the little AF motor zig-zig-zagging for micro-adjustments.

I miss digital for the convenience and fun of mucking about with off-camera flash, night exposures, etc. I think I might like to get a new-ish digi P&S for on-the-fly travel updates, video recording, etc; but basically a gadget. I shoot much less colour because of the hassle of developing, scanning and correcting the WB, but when I do, Fuji serves me well. Honestly, I don't really print too often, and usually present my .jpgs at around 1280 pixels on the longest edge, so 35mm is very suitable for what I do.

For photography as a craft, my heart lies with B&W film in a way no CMOS or CCD can replace. One day in the future I hope to get a dark room up and running so I'm not limited to a hybrid workflow.

It wouldn't surprise me if there were many older people still shooting Pentax but don't have a computer.

[drewdlephone]

I was given my Spotmatic F by my father, who bought it new in 1974. He hadn't used it in over 20 years, so he figured I'd get some use out of it. I didn't really pay it much attention until I had my K200D for awhile, and then I decided to try it out.

I liked it so much, I sold my K200D for more money to buy Takumar lenses. I don't do my own B&W yet, but there's a magic about film photography. I really, really like not being able to see what I just shot. I found I missed some of the best opportunities when I was looking at the display of my K200D. With the Spotmatic, you just shoot, wind, shoot, wind, shoot. Once you learn the camera, you know what to expect. I'm having a lot of fun trying out the different brands of film to see what kinds of colors I get and how to use that information depending on what I shoot.

Also, automatic exposure and motion-tracking autofocus are much overrated. With a little practice, you can capture anything, moving or not. Shot on Fuji Superia 400 with an SMC Tak 55/1.8.