You ever get the itch

<p>there's a difference between film, digital, manual focus, auto focus....? sheesh, where have I been It's all the same to me. right now I flip flop between a Canon 5D and a Mamiya 7....and I hardly notice the difference. I know what the machine in my hand can do....and I shoot accordingly.</p>

I have plenty of up to date digital bodies when I need them but find myself carrying an F2 and a couple of lenses in my daily routine. As for people looking at me funny, hell that's been going on for years. You get used to it.

 

Rick H.

<p>the thought is tempting as i do have my old film camera laying around and i do look back fondly on the memories of shooting film, taking the film to be developed/printed ... but after shooting digital for so long, i don't know what i would do without the lcd anymore</p>

<p>I know this is the <em>Casual Photo Conversations</em> forum, so I'm really not surprised at some of the replies here.</p>

<p>But I use 99.99 percent film for all my pictures. Shooting film isn't a rare thing for me at all. Everytime I go out to take pictures, it's with a vintage film camera with completely manual exposure and manual focus. Almost all my film cameras were made decades before I was even born. Heck, I even have a Kodak Brownie 2A box camera that was made in the 1920's! And I've been using it a lot lately too.</p>

<p>I also develop my own black and white film...AND I set up a darkroom in my garage to develop prints. In fact, the reason why I originally joined Photo.net was because I wanted to learn how to use antique cameras with manual exposure. Shooting film isn't an "itch" for me...I do it all the time.</p>

<p>When I go out with a vintage 35mm SLR, no one really looks at me any different. Some people will get curious and ask questions if they happen to see my camera up close. I guess because they're used to plasticky cameras and they're not used to seeing a solid, all-metal camera like that. But otherwise, no one really seems to pay that much attention to me. </p>

<p>I do sometimes get some weird looks if I'm out using a TLR though. I can understand that. I'm sure a lot of people have never seen a TLR, and that included me. The first time I saw one in a used camera shop, I thought it was some kind of antique 8mm or 16mm movie camera. I had never seen a still camera that big before!</p>

<p>But yeah, go to the <em>Classic Manual Cameras</em> forum and people there shoot with vintage film cameras all the time. That's mostly where I hang out. </p>

<p>By the way...I really don't get people in their 20's who say they "have never used film." That's total BS. I was in my 20's when I joined Photo.net, and that was only in about 2006 or 2007, and I had definitely used film. In fact, I've been shooting film since I was 8 years old. Digital cameras have NOT been around that long at all. None of my friends had a digital camera before about 2002 or so at the very earliest. One of my friends graduated in 2002, and all his pictures were on 35mm film. It's not like we're talking about ancient history. We're talking about less than 10 years ago. I guess if this was the year 2030 and digital cameras had been around for entire generations, then yeah okay I could understand young adults who say they "have never used film." But otherwise, it's BS. If someone is at least 18 or 19 years old or so, then YES they have used film. In fact, I would say that if someone is at least like 19 or 20 or so, and they try to claim that they never used film...then probably the only reason why they ever got a camera in the first place was for MySpace. Cause film was definitely still in the mainstream when they were kids. And who has NEVER taken a picture when they were a kid? I think pretty much everyone took pictures when they were kids...pictures with your friends, at school field trips, etc. Even if it was just a disposable camera or a simple P&S 35mm camera. But I guess some people just like to say they "never used film" because they think it sounds cooler or funnier or whatever. "oh yeah...I never used film cause I grew up in the digital age!" Yeah, right...whatever. I grew up with electronics and computers my whole life too...but I've used film.</p>

<p><br />That 'kid' in his 20's knew that Argus camera wasn't digital. He was just trying to be a smarta***.</p>

<p><br />Anyway...I have some more cameras to play with. I've got an "itch" to go out and take some more photos with my Brownie camera again :)</p>

<p>i have about 20 cameras now... mostly 35mm. plus a couple vintage polaroids, two TLRs and a mamiya 7. last year i got my first digital -- a panasonic DMC-LX2, purchased used. <br>

each camera has its strengths and weaknesses, so i may take more than one depending on that day's mission and opportunities. the panasonic goes almost everyplace with me, since it's so small. i haven't figured out how to shoot decent interior or flash shots with it, or if that's even possible. i probably wouldn't bother, i'd just take my canon AT-1 with 50mm 1.4 and separate flash -- clunky but it always does great work and the controls are second nature.<br>

i rambled around the west coast this summer shooting abandoned buildings and sites, mostly with the mamiya 7 [fujichrome]; panasonic; and voigtlander bessa T [ilford delta 100]. that was a great combo for the tasks at hand. <br>

i doubt i'll invest heavily in digital equipment in the future. more interested in keeping the cameras i already have in good shape and getting a few more lenses.</p>

My M3 goes everywhere with me. Film isn't necessary better, maybe even worse. But it's more fun to me (for reason I haven't been able to put my finger on). It makes my pictures better, since I enjoy taking them more. And that's what matters (to me).

 

I think I'll admit myself to the classical camera forum now.

<p> I shoot a lot of film, probably more than is good for me in terms of cost. Most of my best pictures have been taken with my N80 and one of my two prime lenses (which is all I have right now). I just acquired a great condition F3+50/1.8 AIS, and it will be my slide film camera, coming out during the golden hour to take advantage of great light with slide film.</p>

<p>If you want to slow down while shooting, do it, no matter what you're shooting with. </p>

<p>I found the itch cured itself as Kodachrome became less unavailable, and it just got too expensive to shoot color slides. At approximately $0.40 per slide or $14 per roll processed, one roll a day is more than $5,000 per year. Then I'd have to scan them to use.</p>

<p>I miss using my Contax G2 rangefinder, but want a digital body so I can use the lenses, not revert to film. Leaving film behind represented one of the happiest moments for me in photography. I hated having to carry bricks of it in coolers, avoiding x-ray machines, waiting for processing, spooling bulk film, nasty chemicals and wet processing, different ASA, black and white vs...</p>