Jump to content

Dear God, Shall I drop digital?


Steve Ash

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

People, consumers, have always taken the path of least resistance - that which yields adequate outcomes with the least expense/effort. Why would anyone be surprised that digital has dominated?

 

The average pro is in the same paradigm, although he might choose cameras that his clients consider adequate.

 

Nothing has changed.

 

I think that is an oversimplification of reality Pico, although to some degree true of course.

 

Over a similar lifespan as yours, I have used just about all that was available (well nearly all ;) ) and still do. I stopped using 4x5, but still have the gear, because it literally did not do what I wish to achieve now. I have stopped using MF for work because digital achieves similar (equal?) outcomes at a better profitability. My MF gear is still my favourite 'plaything' so nothing is really black and white, except the film I put through my Hassy, and even that has shades of grey! No simple explanation really.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Replies 127
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Coming home from a trip to Rome I am looking at about 800 files from my M8 and the first scaned images from my M7.

 

What shall I say but the first three rolls I look at leave all my M8 files behind.

 

Regards,

Steve

 

Going back to the original reason this thread was created, those were my exact sentiments after returning from a recent trip where I only shot film. I left the digital cameras at home since it was a holiday and just traveled with an M7 and R9 to shoot some film for fun. Kodak Portra is just great. The images look so alive. It's not something I can really sum up in words, but I think that's a reason I want to take photos anyway; to convey emotion and communicate in a way that words can't.

 

I had thought about getting a DMR for the R9, but aside from the convenience aspect of shooting digital I can't see any real reason to do so. If the DMR offered good high ISO performance in low light, that might be a practical incentive as it's one area where color digital has a clear advantage over film. But I have a D3s for that, so I think I'll just continue to use film where possible when shooting color under good light. I really could care less about an R solution now!

 

The more film I shoot, the less inclined I feel to go back to digital. It's great we still have the choice to shoot both. I just hope Kodak's products survive the film division's sale intact. It really would be a shame to loose them. Sometimes it's easy to forget how mature today's film products are and how much research and development has gone into achieving the performance they have now. It's ironic it's looked at as outdated technology, when in reality digital is still very much in its infancy by comparison.

 

Just sharing this as it was like a breath of fresh air and re-ignited my passion for photography. I hope it might do the same for someone else. I also find film a welcome distraction from the technological race and inevitable redundancy of digital equipment. We're surrounded by computers in so many aspects of our lives now it's nice to just forget about the continual cycle of updating equipment and just go out and take pictures. It's liberating actually.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

8x10 -> 4x5-> 120-> 35mm-> digital

 

When I posted the above I didn't mean to indicate anything about quality or artistic merit. It is just the general progression based on cost, convenience, and usage. This kind of thing has been the trend in photography since the beginning and applies fairly evenly to all from snap shooters to pros.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest Ming Rider

Hi Alan,

 

I (we?) fully understand your original intention. The resulting comments were just two people having a little 'jest'.

 

Your histogram and the photo work well together.

 

Peace.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...