M8 is Dead

[newyorkone]

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This discussion is a very good example to me why I will never trust an electronic or digital

camera. I have been to many very stange places all over the world and my mechanical

cameras never let me down, minus 35 Celsius or plus 40, no problems at all.

I really ask myself how silly people are to through away some very reliable cameras in

favour for digital nightmares.I am laughing! I would never feel sorry for a digi photter

running out of batteries or realising his camera isn´t working anymore because he

missed the last software upgrade or any other stupid things like that. I would shake

my head, take my mechanical and get the shot. I will never be an electronic slave!

Over 30 years with mechanics, they never let me down, I wonder whether this statement

could ever become true for digitals!

 

Jo

 

I totally agree...I like my vehicle with stone square wheels as well. The round ones with air in them seem so much more likely to fail.

[jhild]

Well, as you have said good bye to real cameras there is nothing you can do but believe in the new technologie. I hope you can still look at your digital shots in 30 years or so. By the way, I was never ever running out of film and batteries are something you get almost everywhere if they are of the AA type, but what about all the special batteries one needs for the digitals? You talk about sleep, I sleep very well because I know all my shots are in some big lockers in the next room, can you be sure your digital files will always be there, somewhere inside your computer...

 

Jo

[jhild]

It´s not that I don´t understand digital cameras, I have one but only use it for short living

documentary shots.If this camera fails or the data gets lost it will not hurt at all.The digital

industrie doesn´t provide anything for "storage" that can be compared with film and is as

easy and cheap to do.That´s the point for me. If you are a happy snapper or give your

files away to your customers it´s a different story...

[AlanG]

... You talk about sleep, I sleep very well because I know all my shots are in some big lockers in the next room, can you be sure your digital files will always be there, somewhere inside your computer...

 

Jo

 

 

I had this experience with film: All of my E-6 transparencies processed over about a two year period (hundreds of rolls of film) were incorrectly stabilized. They looked fine at first but eventually faded to a greenish mess. Only the digital scans of those images remained. And those "reliable" mechanical cameras can and did break or cause problems. Did you ever have a hair or dust caught in front of the shutter ruining many images? If a shutter or auto-diaphragm goes bad during a shoot, you may never know until you see the processed film. Same thing if one of my electronic flash units is firing intermittently. It was common for pros to have to rotate several film cameras through a shoot to minimize the possibility of problems.

 

As for shooting film... I used to have to shoot lots of extra rolls and sheets to cover myself. Extra sheets and rolls to be marked and held back from the lab. Extra images for me to retain in case a client damaged or lost a transparency. Extra film to bracket my exposures. Extra film to bracket color balance. And lots of extra film when shooting action or people to make sure I got the image or a good expression. (I really never could be sure until I saw the film.)

 

And even then, I could still mess up. Once the rear element on my view camera lens became slightly unscrewed. The image was sharp in the center when I focused, but the edges were soft. I had to re-shoot a whole days worth of work photographing home interiors. With digital, I can shoot directly to my computer or magnify the image on the LCD and make sure I have what I want before I leave the scene. I also don;t have to over-shoot. Once we have an image we like, we go on to the next set-up. When shooting people, once we have an image that my client or subject likes, we are done or can go on and try a variation. Since going digital, I have never had a problem on a job - focus, depth of field, color, exposure, composition, propping, etc. is all confirmed before we break down.

 

As for batteries, I can shoot several days of interiors with one battery and I carry 3 batteries for one camera and 4 for another. I also carry the charger and have an adapter so I can charge in my car. And since I always have a laptop and external drive with me, I never run out of "film." Plus I don't have to bring, all kinds of different film with me in case I need high speed, tungsten, b/w or what ever. No correction filters or color meter is needed either. No darkroom, lab bills, messenger to and from the lab, light box, loupe, scanning, etc. etc.

 

And if you work with clients as I do, they expect to see results instantly while on the set. So I doubt if many will put up with you if you shoot film.

 

So if you want to keep on shooting film, that is fine with me, but I don't see any advantages to it.

[winks147]

Well, as you have said good bye to real cameras there is nothing you can do but believe in the new technologie. I hope you can still look at your digital shots in 30 years or so. By the way, I was never ever running out of film and batteries are something you get almost everywhere if they are of the AA type, but what about all the special batteries one needs for the digitals? You talk about sleep, I sleep very well because I know all my shots are in some big lockers in the next room, can you be sure your digital files will always be there, somewhere inside your computer...

 

Jo

 

Please do not feed the trolls. It gets them excited and results in noxious emissions.