Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Nikon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       3       end
  

Archive 2013 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...

  
 
Andre Labonte
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


... it may well be the film companies.

I'm a huge fan of digital, but in other areas of life I wax nostalgic over the ways of old ... so while I love my digital cameras, I still think it's neat to see people shooting film ... especially if it means an 1800's style view camera.

But in many things, you can keep the old ways going by building it yourself ... take being an iron smith for instance ... scrap metal can still be found, tools can still be bought and made, you can build your own forge. And since the best horse shoes are still made custom, you can even make a living as a smith in some areas.

Not so with film photography ... while Nikon still makes film bodies, and used film bodies will last decades, it may well be that the film to fill them will no longer be available before long ... or at least the options will be rather limited, thus taking much of the flavor away ... this article by Thom Hogan got me thinking about this:

http://www.filmbodies.com/newsviews/fujifilm-prunes-some-more.html

The real issues is it's hard to make film yourself unless you are a chemist and have access to the right chemicals. So how long does film photography last? Will it die all together or will it last like being a smith?

I can see view cameras being around for many years as the film is simpler and easier to make (to my limited knowlege) as are the cameras ... but what about 35mm format? It would be an irony that the format that brought photography to the masses may be the one that dies in film and the format that started it in the 1800's lives on.





Jul 25, 2013 at 10:38 AM
BenV
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


Film is a dying breed, just like VHS and cassettes. Everything is going digital. When film companies can't afford the cost of making film, it'll disappear and become a relic of the past. That's just the way the world works. People (like myself) like things instantly. I shot film with a Canon AE-1 when I was much younger and enjoyed it simply because I had no other means. But not for a second would I go back to film days. I might pick up the camera every now and then for nostalgia, but that's about it. I much more prefer the renditions, speed and ease of use of digital. Not to mention never having to buy film.


Jul 25, 2013 at 10:50 AM
DTOB
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


If there is a market for film, it will continue to be made.

Andre, here's hoping this thread goes better than your last Thom inspired thread.



Jul 25, 2013 at 11:01 AM
pburke
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


I can only hope film will take the path vinyl records did - except those don't take a huge chemical lab to produce.




Jul 25, 2013 at 11:08 AM
Andre Labonte
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


DTOB wrote:
If there is a market for film, it will continue to be made.

Andre, here's hoping this thread goes better than your last Thom inspired thread.




I'll drink to that! I specifically avoided an attempt at humor in the title.



Jul 25, 2013 at 11:20 AM
Andre Labonte
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


pburke wrote:
I can only hope film will take the path vinyl records did - except those don't take a huge chemical lab to produce.




Fill me in ... I know very little about the status of vinyl records today ... despite the fact that I used to play them when I was a kid.



Jul 25, 2013 at 11:21 AM
mrdat
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


Records are still being released new. Of course not all new "albums" are released on Records, but a lot are.


I shoot film. I prefer it to digital. Why? Because I just do. I shoot digital because I sometimes need instant return.

One way to keep film alive is to buy fresh, buy often, and buy at retail.



Jul 25, 2013 at 11:32 AM
Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


"I can only hope film will take the path vinyl records did - except those don't take a huge chemical lab to produce."

Vinyl is actually making a comeback and was stronger last year than in many many years. Almost all major artists are producing limited numbers of vinyl of their current releases and many smaller artists as well. Just as in film, vinyl produces a sound (or a look) you can't get any other way. In addition to vinyl, purists are also recording to two inch analog tape to the tune of (pun intended) about three hundred dollars for every fifteen minutes of tape. So, yes, I agree with the sentiment that I too can only hope that film takes the path of vinyl.



Jul 25, 2013 at 11:35 AM
carlitos
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


Well, I have a stash of film in the refrigerator, and the guy that runs my local E-6 lab just bought a view camera plus lenses (cheap). He's shooting large format transparencies, so I'm pretty comfortable that I can get my slide film developed for a while.

I think I'm probably one of the few people in the world shooting Velvia with modern Zeiss lenses.



Jul 25, 2013 at 11:37 AM
pburke
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


My local E6 pro lab charges $12/roll to process and mount a roll of E6 these days and they only do it once a week. One reason I haven't touched film in a long long time.



Jul 25, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Tommy_D
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


The only thing I miss about film, and film cameras, is advancing the frame. There is something about pushing that thumb lever over to move to the next open space on the film reel. I wish something like this was on a DSLR, but it would serve no purpose.

Oh well. I'm more satisfied with digital than I was with film, but maybe it has to do with the fact that I do my own post processing and have a bit more control after the shot has already been taken. I never had a dark room, so everything was developed by other people or by the one hour photo machines. I like having a bit more control on the final product and because it is all done on a computer instead of with toxic chemicals, its just a lot better, IMO.



Jul 25, 2013 at 12:04 PM
Andre Labonte
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


Peter Figen wrote:
"I can only hope film will take the path vinyl records did - except those don't take a huge chemical lab to produce."

Vinyl is actually making a comeback and was stronger last year than in many many years. Almost all major artists are producing limited numbers of vinyl of their current releases and many smaller artists as well. Just as in film, vinyl produces a sound (or a look) you can't get any other way. In addition to vinyl, purists are also recording to two inch analog tape to the tune of (pun intended) about three hundred dollars for
...Show more


Interesting ... thanks for the info ... I never would have imagined.



Jul 25, 2013 at 12:05 PM
montym
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


My daughter packing for her vacation...




Old School :)




Jul 25, 2013 at 12:21 PM
mrgetalife
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


Peter Figen wrote:
Vinyl is actually making a comeback and was stronger last year than in many many years. Almost all major artists are producing limited numbers of vinyl of their current releases and many smaller artists as well. Just as in film, vinyl produces a sound (or a look) you can't get any other way. In addition to vinyl, purists are also recording to two inch analog tape to the tune of (pun intended) about three hundred dollars for every fifteen minutes of tape. So, yes, I agree with the sentiment that I too can only hope that film takes the
...Show more

Well partially true. The difference is format. Record companies still haven't embraced using better quality digital files that are out there. They still use "CD" quality formats. Rather than higher quality versions of the same standard. The purists found it was the only way to try to get around from this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression But it really depends on the producer. It can still sound like crap on Vynil if they do it wrong.

Same concept goes with digital sensor. We have a Dynamic range limitation and it gets less and less over time.
So 35mm will have a harder time staying around than the larger film formats. As Digital keeps progressing 35mm and smaller film formats just won't required. Sensor makers don't limit themselves like Music did with keeping with the same format. In the case of TIFF/PSD/RAW files, they have progressed over the years. They are all called the same but under the hood they've progressed.
Just the large formats are cost prohibitive on the digital sensor side. So economics play a key role to this and that's why they continue to stick around.



Jul 25, 2013 at 12:28 PM
Peter Figen
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


A year and a half ago, I was doing a CD cover for a singer songwriter in Santa Barbara. The recording was mastered by Doug Sax in Ojai, Ca. Doug has worked with every major artist and on some of the most famous records of the last forty years. Doug recommended two different replication houses that he felt were up to his standards. I called the closest one to me and they asked if I was doing CD or Vinyl. Turns out, this place, in Ventura, Ca. has quit doing CD's and is only doing vinyl replication now. That was a big surprise to me, but in a way, not. Digital downloads have killed CDs but you can't digitally download a vinyl LP. It's a wacky world out there.


Jul 25, 2013 at 12:45 PM
Two23
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


While I do think E6 will disappear, I honestly don't see b&w going anywhere. There are just too many Leica owners, Lomo etc. out there. I went back to shooting a lot of film over the past two years for several reasons. First, I just love to use historic cameras and lenses. Second, it gives me a real connection to the past. Third, I really like the look of the images. Everybody is shooting digital and all the images have the same sort of sterile look to them. Finally, my 1880s half plate camera, 1935 Bessa, and 1942 Leica will almost certainly still be shooting long after my new D7100 disposable digital has been sent to the landfill. The question might be will our current digital formats outlast the classic film cameras?


Kent in SD



Jul 25, 2013 at 12:55 PM
Ed Brooks
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


I began doing film work in the 1960's and continued until I acquired an allergy to darkroom chemicals in 1994. Years of exposure to chemicals had caught up with me. Since working with professional level digital cameras and lenses - there is no doubt in my experience that digital has surpassed film. Digital is less damaging to the environment as well as the cost being less, once you have the equipment. Lens design has also improved. I don't miss film, but I do miss the darkroom.


Jul 25, 2013 at 01:17 PM
Zebrabot
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


E6 doesn't have to cost $12 a roll to process, and while the options are slimmer, film isn't dead in Chicago.

While this list may appear like a commericial plug, it's not. If people want film to stick around, you have to continue to buy and use it. These businesses are all located in Chicago.

Commerical lab, with E-6 and C-41 lines in house, and they do mail order as well
CSW Film Systems
http://cswfilmsystems.com/

A community darkroom for anything B&W, rentals, training and workshops
Chicago Community Darkroom
http://chicagocommunitydarkroom.org

Commerical B&W Lab
Print Lab
http://printlab.com/

The best (well only) places to get film in Chicago
Central Camera
http://www.centralcamera.com/

Calumet Photographic
http://www.calumetphoto.com/




Jul 25, 2013 at 01:36 PM
pburke
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


Even in the 90s our local labs were already asking $9 per roll , so I used Flatiron Color Lab in NY for years when I still did the film year. Good prices then and pretty fast turnaround and very few scratches on my originals. No idea what they charge now, but it used to be $3.75 when I paid $9 in town.

Another thing I don't miss from the film days: labs screwing up your irreplaceable master files by cutting the slides incorrectly, or by running them through dirty processing equipment, etc. It was always a gamble, even in the better labs.






Jul 25, 2013 at 01:51 PM
Two23
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · It's not the camera companies that will kill film ...


Andre Labonte wrote:
... Not so with film photography ... while Nikon still makes film bodies, and used film bodies will last decades, it may well be that the film to fill them will no longer be available before long ...



Well, not so fast. I've successfully made some dry plates for my Watson & Son tailboard camera. My 1928 Bergheil came with six dry plate holders, so I could start making 6.5x9cm plates if I had to. You can even get a plate holder for a 1950s Rolleiflex. Others, even more ambitous, are into wet plate (collodion) to use in their tailboard and sliding box cameras. I thought about it because I love the look, but doing wet plate in a land that is below freezing much of the year may not be practical. And then there's the real hardcore folks doing Daguerrotypes........

I still don't think b&w film is going away in our lifetime. It's relatively easy to make, there's a market for it, and there are plenty of small scale manufacturers.



Kent in SD



Jul 25, 2013 at 01:57 PM
1
       2       3       end




FM Forums | Nikon Forum | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       3       end
    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.