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What convinced me was the difference between these two pictures I shot in the autumn of 2014 in Glasgow. Both with a 28mm Summicron ASPH and a B+W red filter. The top picture was shot on my M Monochrom mk1, the lower picture on my M2, loaded with Kodak Tri-X film.

 

The M Monochrome is an incredible camera, and it's as close to shooting black and white film as I've yet come across. It's also versatile since the ISO can be altered from frame to frame, and convenient, because the images are instantly available.

 

The M Monochrome is also very sharp. In the M Mono shot attached here, you can zoom in and count the ridges and veins on some of the leaves. With the film image from my M2, there is less detail, but a more beautiful veiling grain, especially in the sky.

 

Crucially that's the difference. I've made both of these images into prints, and everyone who has seen them, including me, instantly prefers the image shot on film. It just looks nicer. In the M Monochrom shot, the tree trunk has a kind of plastic look to it. 

 

Film requires more dedication than digital. But when you get a shot that you're happy with, you're always glad you shot it on film. It looks nicer, and you have a negative, a permanent record of the event, whereas with digital, you're always worrying that the file will become unreadable one day.

 

Anyway, hope this is of some help - best wishes, and good luck!

 

Colin Templeton

Very nice example, thanks! The film capture shows more depth for me. And what's your scanner?

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Hi Graeme,

I had two Leica SLR (a german panzer Leicaflex and R4S) and I wanted to experience the M and digital by purchasing 2 M8 and M9 with CCD sensor for vivid color . So after this essay , I liked now the M rangefinder through it and I continue to love.
5 years and many digital pictures, I trigger besides completely unnecessary,now that I think about with the film.

 

I now return to the film with all the developments made by myself b&w and color
I still have my enlarger who is recovering in service, and finished correction Lightroom (LR) during hours in front of the PC
....  but what happiness and what a pleasure to take time to frame , in a mechanical viewfinder (not Electronic huh !) and trigger
...   also ended up dust on the sensor or the fear of cracked his sensor, image edges and lines "sharp as a razor", without relief"flat" images, and for b&w pictures, black not black (I like deep and true black) :) with sometimes banding (pictures in contre-jour), white not white (compare Kodak TX with Monochrom) , real faithful color of film (ex Kodak Portra) with no need correction in LR ...

 

 

Some links to inspire you for your definitive choice of film

https://fstoppers.com/education/why-ive-gone-back-shooting-filmand-why-you-should-too-30630

https://simonjamesonweston.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/return-to-film-black-and-white-film/

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/04/22/why-digital-is-dead-for-me-in-street-photography/

http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/01/10/10-reasons-why-you-should-shoot-street-photography-with-film/

http://istillshootfilm.org/

 

and as said Mark  (thank you Mark:)  , please post your pictures in film's thread :

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/205842-i-like-filmopen-thread/page-475

 

and for the definition of film look at this picture posted recently :

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/205842-i-like-filmopen-thread/?p=2967101

and its crop 200%  ...  versus "smooth pixels and lines" by camera software  and the result :

the bird is less defined in digital !

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/205842-i-like-filmopen-thread/?p=2967107

 

Best

Henry

 

and for adults only :D

http://www.summilux.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=51356

and translated by google:

https://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.summilux.net%2Fforums%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ff%3D10%26t%3D51356&edit-text=

...   to continue

Edited by Doc Henry
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Very nice example, thanks! The film capture shows more depth for me. And what's your scanner?

 

 

which does not mean that the MM captures cannot be pp-ed to images with depth. I believe that the real benefit of film lies in the wet print, #

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What convinced me was the difference between these two pictures I shot in the autumn of 2014 in Glasgow. Both with a 28mm Summicron ASPH and a B+W red filter. The top picture was shot on my M Monochrom mk1, the lower picture on my M2, loaded with Kodak Tri-X film.

 

The M Monochrome is an incredible camera, and it's as close to shooting black and white film as I've yet come across. It's also versatile since the ISO can be altered from frame to frame, and convenient, because the images are instantly available.

 

The M Monochrome is also very sharp. In the M Mono shot attached here, you can zoom in and count the ridges and veins on some of the leaves. With the film image from my M2, there is less detail, but a more beautiful veiling grain, especially in the sky.

 

Crucially that's the difference. I've made both of these images into prints, and everyone who has seen them, including me, instantly prefers the image shot on film. It just looks nicer. In the M Monochrom shot, the tree trunk has a kind of plastic look to it. 

 

Film requires more dedication than digital. But when you get a shot that you're happy with, you're always glad you shot it on film. It looks nicer, and you have a negative, a permanent record of the event, whereas with digital, you're always worrying that the file will become unreadable one day.

 

Anyway, hope this is of some help - best wishes, and good luck!

 

Colin Templeton

 

Agreed. And one can choose a film from one that has barely visible grain to one that is rich with grain and gives a very different look and atmosphere to a photograph. 

 

Lahina dock, Maui, HI, Dec. 2015

 

Maui, HI

 

 

Edited by AAK
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Crucially that's the difference. I've made both of these images into prints, and everyone who has seen them, including me, instantly prefers the image shot on film. It just looks nicer. In the M Monochrom shot, the tree trunk has a kind of plastic look to it...

 

Film requires more dedication than digital. But when you get a shot that you're happy with, you're always glad you shot it on film. It looks nicer, and you have a negative, a permanent record of the event...

These are exactly the reasons I switched from digital to film around five or six years ago - but for me it was color and particularly skin-tones. 

 

Looking at digital pictures of my children (I still shoot digital when I simply want to record something like a school event), I get no emotional response to the images - but the film shots somehow have another dimension: as you say, they look 'nicer', and people also look less plastic somehow. I'm never able to really put my finger on exactly why, but all my friends prefer the film images also - another dad at my daughter's school asked me if he should get a Hasselblad a few weeks before christmas...

 

But film isn't simple: I bought a few film cameras - and actually sold them at a loss - before I finally decided to make the leap. I just kept on coming back to a couple of rolls of film I'd shot on holiday in Denmark - they had a magic that none of my digital images had ever had before. I'd shot them on an M6, been disappointed at the whole process of waiting for film to be developed and didn't have my own scanner at the time - so the whole experience was an initial disappointment, and I sold the M6 (and later an M7 and another M6). Lost a lot of money in fact.

 

But like I said, the images kept on drawing me back for some unknown reason. I could spend half an hour staring at each picture, and finding new things to see. And I love having folders of negatives. Again - probably something to do with my digitally-immersed existence: I've spent my whole working life creating different sorts of digital artifacts in one way or another. But film is real.

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Digital...film. Different mediums. It really depends on your wants. I enjoy being able to work with both. For me, that is truly one of the great advantages of working in photography at this time. There are so many options that you can almost do anything you want.

 

Why are you considering moving back to film? Is it just GAS, or is there something you are looking for in your digital black and white images that seems to be missing?

 

If I want scientific exactness, I use my digital camera. If I am looking for quick family snapshots that I can share, I use my digital camera. If I were doing portraits, shooting sports, or recording newsworthy events for a living I think I would use digital. If I am just not in the mood for developing film, making prints or scanning, then I grab a digital camera.

 

But, when I am looking to capture a mood, photograph some subtle light changes, or working on any project where I want to display life in the city or the country, I select film, usually black and white. If I am planning a long hike or a trip where I am not interested in worrying about batteries, then I grab a film camera. In fact, two of my favorite film cameras right now are my Leica M-A or my Rolleiflex 3.5 Automat, neither of which require any batteries. Often when it is really cold I prefer film to digital.

 

But everyone has there own needs. You need to figure out what yours are and then decide whether the additional time requirements involved in using film are acceptable.

 

Of course, there are a few of us old grumpy farts around who just love using film and will continue to do so no matter how problematic it is. :D

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Plasticman , you are right when you said :"I get no emotional response to the images - but the film shots somehow have another dimension: as you say, they look 'nicer', and people also look less plastic somehow. I'm never able to really put my finger on exactly why, but all my friends prefer the film images also - another dad at my daughter's school asked me if he should get... "

Exactly! 

My advisor Leica now retired told me the same thing . He even said there is a "soul" in the analog photography
This means tell all.

I recently took pictures with my 2 M digital and my 2 M analog.for a wedding.
I have developed and the married prefer analog pictures for color (Kodak Portra 400 and 160)

and b&w of Kodak TX400.
I have not sold my 2 digital cam. but they remain in my Billingham bag . I do not sell  because you lose a lot of money when you sell . It's is the characteristic of digital . It's expensive to buy (pixels race and profit)
but it is quickly depreciating. M8 is now selling at 800-1000 Euros. M9 is selling 3000-4000 E
M240 in a 4000 E-4500 E. New all above 5000 E
.

 

Best

Henry

Edited by Doc Henry
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I grew up with film and have always felt as if I was cheating in some way when using digital. It isn't that I can see a profound difference between the two kinds of photographs (though lately digital seems to be leading the resolution race). I'm trying to think less about technical perfection and more about what's in the photograph, and the more careful style of picture-taking when using film helps in this regard. I enjoy the developing, and mostly scan nowadays: rarely do I wet print now.

A couple of weeks ago I sold my M9 and M Monochrom, and I'm sticking to an M2 and the holy trinity of 35, 50 and 90. The Monochrom was a wonderful machine, far more capable than its owner, but I still prefer to use film! Anyway, by using film I get to buy and use all those cameras I lusted after as a youngster but had no hope of affording. It's such fun, and extremely satisfying, even though I don't make stunning photos. You should try it out and see if it strikes you the same way.

 

Chris

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I have never abandoned film but I did make some serious investment in digital photography in the past 10 years and shot quite a lot of digital pictures. I am now pretty much abandoning digital photography and selling all my digital gear. My reasons:

 

1. I am in fine art photography, and clients do not care how I produce the image.

2. Depending on the project, besides digital I still shoot 6x17, 8" x 10" and 14" x 17".

3. I shoot relatively few photos.

4. I am not under time pressure to deliver the images to clients.

5. My best photos, the ones I am most proud of, are almost invariably those I shot with film. This is probably an age-related issue, though :-)

 

Digital photography is a must for almost all segments of commercial photography for reasons that you all know. I am in none of them.

 

I would have continued shooting digital in spite of the points 1-4 above if my interests were in very low light photography (e.g., night street photography) or infrared. Here digital photography is a true game changer and opens up fascinating artistic opportunities.

 

Cheers

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Just go to a store and handle a Leica MP. It is a piece of art. Hold it to your eyes and release the shutter, and you will fall in love instantly.

 

I did that once and after that I fell more in love with a second hand M4 that had obviously been used with love and dignity by the former owner. It also depends however who made and finished that MP at Leica: there are real differences between new film M's, also in sound of shutter

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I did that once and after that I fell more in love with a second hand M4 that had obviously been used with love and dignity by the former owner. It also depends however who made and finished that MP at Leica: there are real differences between new film M's, also in sound of shutter

Really, so much variability! (I'm not questioning you, by the way).

 

Suppose it's the same, but different, regarding Adam's musings about surgically enhanced breasts!

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I'm not arguing about which film M to get. They are all beautiful. I had always been enamored with Leica then maybe ten years ago, a good friend of mine gave me a book for my birthday that had all the M models and a description of them. Just from the looks I then fell in love with an MP and ended up buying a used black one. I have since bought several digital Ms and a silver M7 for functionality. I believe the MP and M7 are the most technologically advanced versions of the film Ms (I do like having a light meter occasionally.) 

 

But I go to camera shows and stores that carry used Leicas occasionally and trust me, seeing any model, especially some of the special editions, always make me have to fight temptation. They are all beautiful and you can't go wrong.

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Just go to a store and handle a Leica MP. It is a piece of art. Hold it to your eyes and release the shutter, and you will fall in love instantly.

...   like this one Bern ?  :)

I agree with you  : goldsmithing ... and the best trigger noise, the quietest I've heard so far

a bright viewfinder photographing what you see (no need battery as with electronic viewfinder)

 

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

M8-90 Apo Summicron Asph

 

 

Best

Henry

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and the kind of picture you can do with this jewel  :)

without being noticed and in silence

 

 

Kodak TX 400

(dev home lab D76)

MP-28 Summicron Asph

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

Kodak TX400 black is black (no banding) and white is white

 

Best

Henry

Edited by Doc Henry
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