what are the reasons we shoot film today?

wattsy · February 6, 2015

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The more I shoot film and digital, the more I realise that the reason I now shoot more of the former is that it looks better. The ergonomics of the film camera and "the process" are nice things too but ultimately it is about the photograph and nine times out of ten (for me) the film ones simply "look" better.

February 6, 2015

Hi wattsy,

Take a look here what are the reasons we shoot film today?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!

Keith (M) · February 6, 2015

Maybe parity has been reached with the release of the Canon 5DS R 50.6-megapixel CMOS sensor. Canon claim it competes with medium format digital backs. One thing that struck me as a bit of a fudge is that instead of removing the low-pass filter, it has a "low-pass filter effect".

The difference between the two new cameras is that the 5DS R model features a cancelled low-pass filter effect to help shoot images with greater resolution and more dynamic range but at the expense of, potentially, more moiré in images with converging lines.

Westfall said Canon decided to go with a cancelled low pass filter effect on the 5DS R rather than simply eliminating the low pass filter because the company “wanted to match the optical length on both cameras.”

“We would’ve needed to mechanically re-design the camera body to meet the difference,” Westfall explained about the decision not to remove the low pass filter in the 5DS R.

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

Doc Henry · February 6, 2015

The more I shoot film and digital, the more I realise that the reason I now shoot more of the former is that it looks better. The ergonomics of the film camera and "the process" are nice things too but ultimately it is about the photograph and nine times out of ten (for me) the film ones simply "look" better.

Ian, David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino feel the same as you

... me too

Best

Henry

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/2879810-post4.html

CalArts 99 · February 6, 2015

Ian, David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino feel the same as you

... me too

Just for the record, I'm not so sure I'd portray Lynch as the ideal ambassador for using film. While he certainly does like the look of film, he's been a digital convert since 2005. He feels he can get the kind of film look that he is after with digital. Plus he prefers the editing process of digital and the logistics of working with small footprint cameras (which he emphasizes in that video link you posted.)

“For me, there’s no way back to film. I’m done with it,” Lynch says. “I love abstraction. Film is a beautiful medium, but it’s very slow and you don’t get a chance to try a lot of different things. With DV, you get those chances. And in post-production, if you can think it, you can do it.”

So yes, he does like the look of film. But he no longer uses it.

(I attended a screening of Inland Empire where he went into detail about his desire for using digital. And he felt that low-def DV gave him a specific look of film from the 1950s. He is a great example of someone who simply uses what works for him for whatever projects he has in mind and without any apologies; he may some day even go back to using film if it's ever necessary )

Doc Henry · February 7, 2015

Cal, that's right for D Lynch with its Inland Empire.

DL but probably changed his mind for his future film "Twin Peaks" *** because he says :

http://filmmakermagazine.com/88420-ten-lessons-on-filmmaking-from-david-lynch/#.VNXQqCxwb0E

"... Stop the film vs. digital debate. There’s room for both.

For a long time I championed digital. I fell in love with digital with Inland Empire. And recently, I was working on deleted scenes from Twin Peaks. And for the first time in a long time, I saw the footage shot on film, and I was overwhelmed by the depth of the beauty that celluloid, that film can give. It has such a depth and such a beauty. And I like to photograph factories, and I think that in photographing factories I also saw the difference between digital and celluloid in film."

On the "film preservation" K Rives said :

BBC News - Side By Side: Keanu Reeves examines the future of film

"Going into the film I was definitely biased to 'what are we losing?'. Film was being held up as the gold standard and digital was this idea of replacing [it]," he says.

"But what I've come to learn is that it's not necessarily replacing it - but that it's something else. And if it is that, then film has a better chance"

Best

Henry

*** that's it, I found the link on "Twin Peaks".... a film that I love , and you ?

http://welcometotwinpeaks.com/news/david-lynch-twin-peaks-2016-on-film/

Edited February 7, 2015 by Doc Henry

CalArts 99 · February 7, 2015

*** that's it, I found the link on "Twin Peaks".... a film that I love , and you ?

David Lynch Won't Talk Twin Peaks Until 2016, Except That He'll Shoot It On Film

Thanks for that update. My faith has been restored.

And that's what I enjoy about Lynch, he's compassionate about whatever it is he does. He was so adamant about leaving film forever because he found something that motivated him (digital.) That's why I said he "may some day go back to film if it's ever necessary." And yet he'll never feel any need to correct his own contradictions, he just moves on to the next project. A lesson I think for everyone--- that it's the end product that counts.

btw, I've always felt Eraserhead is one of the best example of the feel he has for film. Are you familiar with Bela Tarr's B+W films? They have a much wider tonal range (e.g., Damnation.)

m4-2 · February 8, 2015

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Make Music with Mr. Eggleston...

tobey bilek · February 8, 2015

I like to hunt for home size color kits with long lasting chemicals. It gets more and more challenging.

I like to mix developers and and weigh chemicals, then wait 24 hours for it to settle down.

I like to disappoint customers that they must wait some to see results.

I love spending time making contact sheets

I love washing prints

I love having a clean sensor for each shot

I love spotting out all the emulsion imperfections

I love trying to find a way to run original software for my KM 5400 scanner on a modern computer. Think I found a way to use bootcamp on the Mac.

I love making a darkroom print, mating & framing, and putting it on the wall. No subcontracting to a lab. I don`t like inkjet prints and at home volume, they are very costly.

I like the solace of the darkroom

On mint M6 left and a few Nikon F2, Nikkormat, and Ft something.

robert blu · February 8, 2015

...I love having a clean sensor for each shot

Great

robert

Seshiro · February 11, 2015

For me shooting film is mostly about the things you don't have compared to digital.

The fact you can't go out shooting "a movie" and afterwords sitting the whole night in front of your computer choosing the perfect frame out of thousands.

You're not that entrapped to pixel peeping. It's not only about resolution and sharpness, it's more about the character of the final print.

The hard hit you get realizing the shot you take has been exposed wrong and you just can't fix it sufficiently. Hard to say but this is the way we learn the most...

That list might be endless. And it continues in the darkroom:

It's the little excitement you still have after years while developing a roll of film.

The second more or less of exposing the paper that might ruin your final print...

It's always an emotional process, exposed to so many errors you can't fix easily, sometimes unpredictable. It simply is a joy when you produce a print wich is, in spite of the difficulty of so many potential mistakes during the whole process, exactly how you wanted it to be.

Paulus · February 11, 2015

The hard hit you get realizing the shot you take has been exposed wrong and you just can't fix it sufficiently. Hard to say but this is the way we learn the most...

and the exitement of getting it right the first time without getting the chance to chimp.