The look of film vs digital

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Beowulfenator
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p.2 #1 · The look of film vs digital

Film if it's scanned an properly post-processed

Nov 09, 2009 at 07:18 PM

h_2_o
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p.2 #2 · The look of film vs digital

i have to jump into the neither/both category as well. there are times when film is great and digital is great. there are times i want a film rangefinder then there are times i want a dslr. there are just too many choices including medium and large format as well.

Nov 10, 2009 at 08:02 AM

plateaulight
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p.2 #3 · The look of film vs digital

There are some applications where film is superior. One of the big issues with sensors is IR and UV. They both cause a certain amount of bloom on digital. I live in the desert and digital does not perform as well here as it does in other locations.
I really prefer the look of film in the desert and since I shoot LF grain and rez are in films favor. Now remember we are strictly talking look and not convenience here.

Nov 13, 2009 at 06:02 AM

k.brown
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p.2 #4 · The look of film vs digital

I'm a 20 year-old photographer who shoots zero digital, and for many reasons.

a. Sorry I don't have the quote, but someone earlier commented on how he does not like the varying/incorrect color balances. You may be surprised to know that film comes in a variety of white balance figures, and when combined with proper use of filters (film manufacturers will let you know proper matches) there's no need to worry about proper color balance. In addition, digital post-processing or corrections made during the C-printing process will be able to compensate.

b. Image quality. Digital has overtaken 35mm, and is the king of high-sensitivity photography, but there is no way digital imaging can match medium/large format film pound for pound. I just found my friend a Mamiya 645AFd + 120/220 back + 80mm 2.8 for 625 dollars. We have access through our school to an Epson v750, but lets assume you buy it. 625 + let's say $750 for the scanner. Thats a total of $1375 for camera + scanner. I can get tens of megapixels out of my scans, at high quality even from the v750. The Mamiya DL33 is 19,999.00 from Adorama. That's slightly less resolution than I'm comfortable getting from the v750 and 645 negatives. 19,999-1,375= $18624, or about 2600 rolls of 120 film bought and developed. Sorry, film still makes sense unless we're talking about investment capital that lets us purchase MF digital equipment. Let's not even talk about 4x5 film and larger.

c. FIlm allows for c-printing. This is more of a niche, but allowing for c-printing is a big deal for anyone who has access to the technology. Anyone who has seen a well-done c-print knows what I'm talking about. Gorgeous.

d. Film has nostalgia. There's not much to expand on here, but film is f---ing beautiful. And there are so many varieties, its simply a great technique to experience.

That said, digital has such an incredible advantage over film in terms of speed and convenience, it's ludicrous to ignore it. I shoot (trying I swear to not sound pretentious) "fine art" and film makes sense. If I was still shooting sports, or pro portraits, or PJ - digital! It makes sense. I prefer the more laborious and deliberate process, the BEAUTIFUL 16x20s and larger, and the easy access to incredibly powerful camera systems.

Nov 13, 2009 at 08:28 AM

Brit-007
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p.2 #5 · The look of film vs digital

I answered film and over 30. But, In my opinion, I much prefer Medium format film to anything. If you are purely talking about 35mm then I would say digital. Currently, I think that the larger mp 35mm cameras can produce images getting near to the look of medium format film. Not quite there yet but getting closer.

Nov 13, 2009 at 06:42 PM

tomm101
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p.2 #6 · The look of film vs digital

I'm i n the end of my fifth decade. I have shot film for over 40 years. I'm only doing digital now. Why a 10mp DSLR is better than an 35mm I have shot, I have 2 Leicas, 3 lenses in a cabinet. Though I love the feel, my D200 gives a better image. About 7 years ago i was working with a photographer using a 6mp Kodak DCS760, up against a Mamyia 645 the Kodak won every time, its max ISO was 400 and we never would use 400 color, TMAX 400 worked well if we needed b&w. Shifting the Kodak to b&w you had nearly the same type image, of course the b&w film had more dynamic range but all that was lost printing in catalogues.
I have been doing large format digital prints since 1999, color prints from good digital printers have been better than C-prints for a while. The current printers from Canon, Epson and HP are certainly better in b&w and color, when I moved 5 years ago I sold my darkroom equipment and bought a good digital printer. I am happy with the b&w and color and through my portfolio of prints I have been published.
Where digital doesn't work, unless you have the $ for a 40mp medium format back is against 4x5 and up. But 10mp makes good 16x20s and I have more fun. But I keep saying I'm taking my 4x5s out again.

Tom

Nov 14, 2009 at 01:55 AM

tomm101
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p.2 #7 · The look of film vs digital

Nov 14, 2009 at 01:55 AM

SergeyT
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p.2 #8 · The look of film vs digital

skid00skid00 wrote:
I just spent 10 minutes looking at the many film images posted in one of the other threads. Aside from a gorgeous model, I was sick at seeing 'off' color, featureless highlights and shadows, a lack of contrast between same, and the grain! the grain!

I DO like the tones of faces, but that's about it.

I can understand the artistry of how film looks, but my detail-oriented mind wants to see an image with all the tiny details that I would see with my own eyes. I like seeing twigs, leaf edges, and grass blades in my landscapes...

That thread might not be the best source for judgement(eventhough it contains some nice images among not so) ...Wonder why would ppl pay $500+ per 11x14 inch unframed lanscape print taken with film?

Film has some clear advantages over todays DSLRs sensors...To name a few:

1. Lattitude (B&W and Color negative films handle up to 11-12 stops easily). No need to take multiple digital exposures to blend them (most always imperfectly) in PS to cover scenes's dynamic range..

2. Variety of emulsions which can be used simultaneously (with single camera body)depending on the subject, light and mood...with a DSLR one gets stuck with a particular sensor and its limitations forever(until a new model comes out)...

3. Most if not all of the image processing is done at picture taking and development time... No need to spend hours in PS adjusting contrast, colors, saturation, etc...only to find out that the final image that we "somewhat" like looks nothing like the in-camera generated JPEG

4. Hard to impossible to beat Velvia colors...

5. Resolution...Need a 40x60 final print - piece of cake! And no need to talk about minimal viewing distance to appreciate the level of details...
One can go as high as 8x10 with color film sheets and even higher with B&W...
A professional entry level film scanner easily extracts 3000 pixels per inch (true optical resolution). On more advanced models the number goes much higher then that. Color and tones fidelity is a top notch. So no endless PS work...Some dust cleanup, resizing and sharpening is all that properly scanned files require.
With yesterdays 12MP sensor images of landscapes hold on fine up to about 11x14.. Sure with todays 24MP one can go up to 16x20, but what the cost of upgrade? And it is still not 40x60...

6. Film usually "makes" one to think about every shot before it is taken... so no 100s and 1000s digital files after a weekend trip to wilderness only to save them all to a hard drive for a later review (which typically never happens)...

7. If the negatives large enough one can do a contact printing...

What makes DSLRs so popular? - Conveniences (LCD, Histogram, Preview, Instant feedback, instant image availability for endless twicking in PS

Nov 28, 2009 at 02:03 AM

papageno
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p.2 #9 · The look of film vs digital

Does this discussion center on film v. digital or the good old days v. progress (goo, bad and indifferent)?

Nov 29, 2009 at 06:13 AM

Pavel
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p.2 #10 · The look of film vs digital

I like them equally but for different reasons. That option was not included so I answered that I prefer film. I'm not sure that it is true since I shoot more digital (of course work necessitates it) but in this "digital everything" I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that there is more of a hobby aspect for me in shooting film and that is more meaningful to me than digital's speed and ease. Film and its look is starting to become unique as the whole planet dances to the digital tune. So film got my vote - but I appreciate both ways of chasing images.

Nov 29, 2009 at 10:00 AM

Mike Yamin
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p.2 #11 · The look of film vs digital

I'm actually just starting to experiment with film (got an Olympus XA2 and a Yashica-Mat - haven't even developed a single roll yet), but I was attracted to film because it imparts a "look" that I like without even trying. The grain, the colors, the tonality, the skin tones... whatever it is, I like it, and I don't have to do any PS work to get those results. That's just exciting to me. With digital, I feel like every shot is a work in progress, whereas with film I can just shoot. Not to mention that the Yashica-Mat is simply a larger negative that has a look of its own.

Nov 29, 2009 at 06:38 PM


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