Jump to content
🇩🇪 Neu: Leica M11-P Safari ×
🇬🇧🇺🇸 New: Leica M11-P Safari ×

The end of film?

David Wogan

By David Wogan
in Film Forum

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 81
  • Created
  • Last Reply
luigi bertolotti

luigi bertolotti

Posted
Posted
Freestyle photographic supplies sells all kinds of film stuff, including film I've never heard of.

 

Freestyle Photographic Supplies

 

They have all kinds of film processing and darkroom gear, and are quite dedicated to film.

 

Eventually, we may have to form an association or co-op collective, and combine our buying power. Someone will make it if there is a group willing to subscribe to a set amount.

Processing B&W is simple, you don't need Kodak or anyone else for that.

 

There are some terrific films out there from Eastern Europe with more silver content like film used to be. I just bought 50 rolls of 120. Can't wait.

 

The link of freestyle has been an appreciated surprise for me, not for the impressive quantity of classic chemical photo material, but mainly for the reason that, navigating into, I discovered a "thing" named HOLGA, that never heard about before: simply incredible, a sort of smash in the ego of people like us that are so intrigued by our Leica bodies.

Apart this, I think that film & Co. will stay alive for years and years simply for the reason that is anyway a cheap to manufacture item: if demand exists, someone will produce it.

Link to post
Share on other sites
NZDavid

NZDavid

Posted
Posted

Stnami: It's "Lloyd George KNEW my father, father knew Lloyd George."

History repeats. Of course. Doesn't mean we shouldn't keep asking. The answers change.

Link to post
Share on other sites
mwilliamsphotography

mwilliamsphotography

Posted
Posted

Mark, Your blog is highly appreciated. Keep up the good work, it is not wasted.

 

Here are the films I recently purchased to feed the Hasselblads:

 

Bergger BRF-200; efke R50; Fortepan ISO200; Fomapan ISO200.

 

Any experience of insights on these? Some are covered on Mark's site which makes interesting reading.

 

I will try some wedding shots with a few of these, and have a question for Mark ...

 

Which of those films would you trust to a mail-in pro lab? When it come to personal work I try to make time to develop the B&W film myself, but weddings are a time/cost crunch. So I secured a half dozen mailers from B&H to try out ( A&I Lab in Hollywood CA) for processing and contact sheets.

 

I then edit the selects and scan on an Imacon 949, printing key shots on a Epson 3800 with Colorburst RIP using Crane's Museo Silver Rag paper (a luster finish).

 

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

To those who have gone digital and never looked back ... never say never. There is an asthetic character to B&W film that you may eventually recognize as missing in your digital works no matter what you do in post. I found that it's pretty rewarding to redoscover it after years of digital, using the best digital capture available. Keep an open mind.

Link to post
Share on other sites
guywalder

guywalder

Posted
Posted

Advertisement (gone after registration)

here it is...

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!

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Metroman

Guest Metroman

Posted
Posted
For anyone in the UK (or elsewhere for that matter) I can also recommend Retro Photographic...

 

I'll second that. Get all my wet & dry supplies there and Nigel Dear is a very helpful chap. Currently the MP is eating Rollei Retro 100 & 400 and loving it ;)

Link to post
Share on other sites
Mark Antony

Mark Antony

Posted
Posted
Mark, Your blog is highly appreciated. Keep up the good work, it is not wasted.

 

Here are the films I recently purchased to feed the Hasselblads:

 

Bergger BRF-200; efke R50; Fortepan ISO200; Fomapan ISO200.

 

Any experience of insights on these? Some are covered on Mark's site which makes interesting reading.

 

I will try some wedding shots with a few of these, and have a question for Mark ...

 

Which of those films would you trust to a mail-in pro lab? When it come to personal work I try to make time to develop the B&W film myself, but weddings are a time/cost crunch. So I secured a half dozen mailers from B&H to try out ( A&I Lab in Hollywood CA) for processing and contact sheets.

 

I then edit the selects and scan on an Imacon 949, printing key shots on a Epson 3800 with Colorburst RIP using Crane's Museo Silver Rag paper (a luster finish).

 

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

To those who have gone digital and never looked back ... never say never. There is an asthetic character to B&W film that you may eventually recognize as missing in your digital works no matter what you do in post. I found that it's pretty rewarding to redoscover it after years of digital, using the best digital capture available. Keep an open mind.

 

Hi Marc

 

Of the films you listed I've only tried the EFKE 50 and the Fomapan, I would try the Forte but as they are no longer with us, I'm not sure if I should be advising people on using defunct emulsions (although I love APX)

 

I like the EFKE/Adox emulsions they really are retro, because as far as I can ascertain they are pretty much the same now as they were 50 years ago and they have wonderful tonal transitions.

 

Foma are new (to me) and I like their emulsions, although I've yet to try the 400 they seem to have a very good range of products both film and paper.

 

Processing recommendations are harder. I process all my own B&W film, but have tried the Ilford mailers which seem to be OK if you don't want to get your hands dirty. Other than that try to find a good local Lab, which is hard as you'll need others recommendations in your area to find a good one.

You could try this place

http://www.photoimpactonline.com/info.htm

But as I'm a UK resident I've no experience of them.

 

As for printing, at the moment I'm scanning on a Minolta DiMage then printing on a Epson R2400 Quadtone RIP and a whole Variety of papers including the one you mention and Photospeed EG, Hahnemühle Fine Art, and my proof paper is Ilford Galerie.

 

I must say that even though the D-max of inkjet papers is up to or exceeds conventional papers I really miss the 'glow' (for the want of a better term) I used to get from Record Rapid or Portriga.

I find the base white of modern papers is too bright for my taste (which is ivory) lot more testing and profiling is needed.

 

On thing is for sure, B&W film has a characteristic that is hard (even impossible) to duplicate with current digital technologies, that must be reason alone for its survival.

 

Mark

http://photo-utopia.blogspot.com/

Link to post
Share on other sites
biglouis

biglouis

Posted
Posted

I really admire people who use film. Tried it again earlier this year for the first time in about 20 years, did about 6 rolls and thought.....nah..... I'm sticking with digital. Does that make me a bad person???

 

LouisB

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest flatfour

Guest flatfour

Posted
Posted

Vinay - The fact that my Leica III has lasted for seventy years without a service IS a comment on film. Digital is very expensive as a medium as one is forveer updating equipment for no improvement in image quality over film. Film will last . Digital may disappear in favour of camcorders.

Link to post
Share on other sites
StS

StS

Posted
Posted

Some time ago a friend set up his slot racer track and invited to a 'drink and drive' night.

 

We felt sorry for the generation growing up with computer games only.

 

I do use a digital camera, however occasionally I need the ceremony of carefully inserting the film, the limitation to 36 images, to finally have some real negatives in your hands.

 

I'm spending maybe 80% of my working life on a computer. I guess sometimes I need to connect to the real world.

Link to post
Share on other sites
StS

StS

Posted
Posted

There seems to be also some devaluation in the dynamics of development at the digital side - are the images taken with 4MP processed over a Digi6 processor inferior to a 8MP image processed over a Digi7 processor?

Link to post
Share on other sites
m4-2

m4-2

Posted
Posted
To those who have gone digital and never looked back ... never say never. There is an asthetic character to B&W film that you may eventually recognize as missing in your digital works no matter what you do in post. I found that it's pretty rewarding to redoscover it after years of digital, using the best digital capture available. Keep an open mind.

 

I can understand, that you see it in B&W, I can`t understand, if you don`t see it in color:) .

Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest stnami

Guest stnami

Posted
Posted
I'm spending maybe 80% of my working life on a computer. I guess sometimes I need to connect to the real world
................... this is part the real world.
Link to post
Share on other sites
StS

StS

Posted
Posted

Don't get me wrong, I couldn't do my work without computers. There are some people whose working life is completely filled with writing e-mails and showing computer slide shows. It gives the feeling to have everything under control until something goes wrong in the material world or the interface to it. So it doesn't hurt to have an occasional look there.

 

I guess it is about knowing at least one craft which is photography for me. I guess people are craftmen by nature. It's a hobby, so it's my choice how I do it :). If I earned my living by doing it, I would probably turn completely to pragmatic digital.

 

On the other hand I could adjust the transmission of my bicycle myself, however the shop servicing it did a much better job. Plus, it's a dirty job I wouldn't like to do in my free time. This concept also gives someone else a job.

 

Summing up, Nes (Yes and No).

Link to post
Share on other sites
erl

erl

Posted
Posted

Haven't read this entire thread. I am just struck at this time of night ( and slightly incaholized:D ) by the title. "The end of film?"

 

I can only ponder as to which end you enquire. The leader, or the tail? Ah well, as long as I can find the leader, all I have to do is be creatively productive and I automatically find the other end, usually all too soon. Pass another roll please, end out. On second thought, make that start out.:)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

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