Practicality of using a film Leica in the digital age?

[imsilly]

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Am I the only one here that buys their film when they arrive?

 

I've never been anywhere that didn't have at least one shop that shipped film.

 

Also, one thing I've noticed is that every country in the world seems to have a Lomography store somewhere, they usually do the best developing and scanning on a budget because they are used by kids and hipsters non-stop all around the world.

 

Anyway, all this paranoia about x-raying films seems a little extreme as I've never experienced fogging or anything and I always use 400 ISO film.

[abrewer]

Nothing beats a slideshow of vacation pics (as long as it's not too long: 50 images max)

 

You have to wait for the slides to come back but if you want instant gratification you have a phone (I presume) and apps

 

Get that little Domke lead-lined bag or one like it to travel with

 

Are you kidding? A Leica in Germany? You'll make many, many friends when they see that red dot...I guarantee it will improve your social life

 

[erl]

Am I the only one here that buys their film when they arrive?

Possibly. Buying overpriced film that has no verifiable storage history is the last thing demands my attention whereever I arrive. Film is expensive enough now without paying top dollar in a tourist or whatever destination.

 

I've never been anywhere that didn't have at least one shop that shipped film.

You need to get out more.

 

Also, one thing I've noticed is that every country in the world seems to have a Lomography store somewhere, they usually do the best developing and scanning on a budget because they are used by kids and hipsters non-stop all around the world.

Best developing is never done by lomography or other retail stores. It may suit lomography but is sub standard for anyone who shoots Leica gear and expects the end result to be comparable with it.

 

Anyway, all this paranoia about x-raying films seems a little extreme as I've never experienced fogging or anything and I always use 400 ISO film.

Your experience is just that. Mine has been different. It is etablished that scanning xrays are cumulative and any travel involving a lot of changes and re-scanning can be deleterious. It has happened to me.

[CalArts 99]

Nothing beats a slideshow of vacation pics (as long as it's not too long: 50 images max)

 

Slide shows at hipster cocktail parties have become popular. Either as the emphasis of the party or in the background (like having a TV set on.) And projectors can be bought dirt cheap on eBay these days.

[robert blu]

IMO it depends if photography is the main purpose of the journey or not. If yes, if you need the photos digital will help. But if you travel to enjoy the experience, meet new people, see new places, make new experiences I would choose film. I'm back from a week in NYC with my wife and I had with me as main camera an old Zeiss Super Ikonta with a dozen of B&W film (but I bought more when there). As second camera and backup I had in the bag my small Leica x1 but didn't use it much, mainly in difficult light situation (interiors).

So my suggestion is to go with film and if possible a small digital. Relax and enjoy it!

robert

[Guest Ansel_Adams]

Film is just as practical as it has always been. Nothing has changed. Prices here are stable and choice is excellent. Its a great time to be a film photographer.

[pico]

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Film has the virtue of ignoring digital bullshit. It is as simple as that.

 

The final product you prefer is the determinate. If a computer monitor is your default view, then a cheap camera will suffice today (note date of post)

 

If your idea of camera-result is based merely upon abstract metrics susceptible only to semantics then your opinion is immediately invalid.

[sblitz]

To Robert's point, and I live in NYC, I have had more conversations with people when traveling while walking about with a film Leica. Had a great talk with a guy in Berlin about a year ago who was lamenting getting rid of his M4 years ago. Just one of those chats that can make visits much more memorable experiences.

[gberger]

In a way, I agree with Pico. Take slide film and a pocket light meter. Shoot what you can't find on the local postcards. Send off your film. Use a portable light table to sort. Use a decent projector and a matte screen. Enjoy!!

 

I still have Kodachromes I shot in the late 30s.

[maxofrome]

I am back shooting in film since I own a M2. As someone wrote a camera without bullshit. Is a pleasure to shot in film because there is still the imponderable opportunities that a masterpiece or a mess is around the corner and only after having develop the film you know your fate.

[tadeyev]

If they refuse, put your Domke Film Shield bags with your film in them through the carry on x-ray machine. It will show up as a black square on the machine's screen and you will get your hand inspection anyway. In other nations, just put your Domke Film Shield bags & film thru the carry-on x-ray machines. They will hand inspect it at the "out" end of the machine....

 

Now THAT is very neatly stated!

Instead of having the occasional endless discussions about hand control, this seems the perfect method. So obvious as it is I never thought of working it that way.

 

Just automatically use the (Domke) bag, leave it in a very accessible area of your carry on luggage, (or even in the tray with liquids . mobile, etc.) and the result is you get the hand control for the film you wanted anyway- without discussion or hassles. Brilliant!

 

Tadeyev

[michaelwj]

You've all done a pretty good job of convincing me. I just need to get a little more practice with this camera and I'll be fine. Really, its a pretty easy machine to use, very intuitive, I'm just inexperienced with film but I'll get there!

 

Thanks!

 

My trajectory follows yours quite closely, I got into photography post film, and just over a year ago got an M6 as a curiosity. 1 month later sold all my Nikon gear. I couldn't be happier.

I'd take the M6, feel free, enjoy it. I use my iPhone as a backup, but I really don't like taking too much. As for inexperience with film, the only real trick is to not worry about blowing highlights, instead you worry about shadows blocking up. Other than that, its a camera, and you know how to use it already.

Enjoy the trip,

Michael

[philipus]

Sounds great, except I can't seem to shake this voice inside my head that says:

 

"you're not actually going to take that as your only camera are you?"

"you know its just going to get stolen."

"your film is not going to stand up to 2014, USA-bound airport security and even if it does you're just going to screw it up in the darkroom when you get back."

"something is going to go wrong and you'll be sorry."

 

etc. I can't tell if these are stupid concerns or not. So what better place to ask for opinions than from a bunch of people who own exactly the same/similar camera right? Do you ever have these thoughts? What is your point of view/justification?

 

discuss

 

I guess it is a good thing occasionally to revalidate one's reasons. Incidentally, I use an M6TTL, an M4 and a Leica II, that latter of which has taken photos since 1931 and is still doing a sterling job.

 

Let's have a look at the questions that bother you, starting with the last one.

 

Something can always go wrong and, depending on what it was and your disposition, you may be sorry or you may not. This is clearly too general a concern to affect your decision, plus it evidently also applies to your digital camera.

 

About airport security - I've flown with film since I began shooting in the late 80s. Never had one single problem. The rule, as has been said many times, is never to place your film (exposed or not) in the checked-in bags. Some are a bit more careful and ask for a manual check by the security staff, and I have done that too, but it's usually unnecessary. I say usually because in some parts of the world the hand the hand luggage x-ray machines are a bit too powerful. But that said, and having flown from quite a variety of airports in the world, I have never had problems with film that was x-rayed by hand luggage scanners. Germany, incidentally, is not a country where this concern would apply.

 

If you doubt your skills in the darkroom - and nobody forces you to develop yourself - then don't, esp. if you've photographed during an important trip. There's no shame in using commercial services. Also this concern shouldn't affect your decision whether to bring your M6 solely or not.

 

Whether your camera runs the risk of being stolen is also, I would suggest, completely immaterial to whether you should bring this particular camera or not. And, naturally, this concern applies also to any piece of valuable equipment you may bring, like your watch. Ordinary precautions apply, as always. Unless you're an exceptionally worried individual who won't bring anything valuable at all for fear of being robbed, also this concern shouldn't affect your decision to go all in on film on this journey.

 

Well, coming, finally, to the first concern, I think you're realising that that is not a concern at all. It's just doubt, which, in turn, is simply a feeling. And that is precisely what this is about.

 

Given that there are no concerns at all about bringing a film camera, especially to a safe and exceptionally pleasant country like Germany, should you choose to go there, whether you should only bring your M6 depends on how you feel about it.

 

Do you want the intrinsic richness that film-based photographs have, do you want to have tangible artefacts - the negs - that were with you right there when you took the photo and experienced the scene you saw, do you enjoy the slower more considered and deliberate photographic process that film-based photography, and particularly with a rangefinder, entails?

 

If you do, then the answer to the first and most important question is, simply, yes.

 

Good luck

Philip

[pico]

Practicality of using a stove in the microwave-oven age?

[maurometallo]

There are many people who deeply enjoy he whole process of using Film. Some also manage to earn their living through it. I am one of them. In this perspective, even in the so called "Digital Age", Film is still VERY practical...

[Herr Barnack]

Film is still "practical," whatever that means. If anything in the equation is not "practical," it is we photographers who are not (just ask a photographer's wife).

[gberger]

If I want a photo "in a hurry." I use the camera in my iPad Air. It's not bad.

 

If I want to save a picture for posterity (a memory) where it can be viewed by my children, grandchildren and great granddaughters, I use my ZI or M7 and film.

 

I've shot over 1000 photos with the iPad in the last year - - and five rolls of trannies and print. Guess which photos are now in an album, plus the three that are framed and on the wall ? Guess which ones are hidden away in an external hard drive? Guess which will be around in 20 years?

 

Just a thought

[Stealth3kpl]

I never consider taking only a digital camera on holiday. To me, part of the memory of traveling somewhere is the camera I'm using. I take cameras that mean something to me. I took M2s to Yellowstone, Paris and New York, an M2 and a Voigt R4A to Canada, an MP and Olympus Mju2 and Polaroid SX-70 to Cuba, Olympus OM1n to Alaska and Norway, a Pentax 67 and Fujifilm GF670 and MP with a 35 LUX FLE to Scotland, etc. Before going away, I picture the camera I'd most like to take. I can't imagine taking a digital camera rather than a living, breathing mechanical film camera .

Pete the dreamer

[NZDavid]

It's a really good question to consider how many photos will be keepers and how many you will want to see afterwards. Not hundreds or thousands! Perhaps just 30 to 50 and out of those perhaps a dozen favorites.

 

Slideshows are great. I would recommend an ISO 100 slide film such as Fuji Provia. You can print your favorites.

 

100 ISO sounds slow but it really isn't. f/2 @ 1/15 lets you shoot great dusk pictures. You might also want to take a mini tripod.

 

Film definitely requires a more disciplined approach. You think about all aspects of the picture before you squeeze the shutter. You don't just snap away. Why is this picture special? Is it worth taking? Is focus, exposure, composition optimal?

 

Cost is a great motivator. Here, film plus processing alone costs about $60, with scanning $70-80. If you want a digital final product, use digital, but if you are happy with slides or negs and just want to have a few prints made, then try film.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Herr Barnack]

For travel, I am beginning to think in terms of the M240 for color and the M4-P and Tri-X for B&W imagery. That seems like the best of both worlds, and all compatible M mount lenses are interchangable between the two cameras.

 

Besides that, it is hard to argue with a well printed Tri-X image, whether it was printed in a wet darkroom or from a scan by an inkjet or dye sublimation printer.