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Digital doing serious film users a favour ?


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Reading Trevor's last thread, it seems a lot of improvements are

going on in film and it occurred to me that manufacturers are

concentrating not on the mass market but dedicated users who want

quality above speed and convenience ; and on doing what film is best

at. So instead of film dissapearing, we are getting spoiled for

choice.

 

With this should come higher quality processing and services ?

 

If this subject has already been done to death: apologies.

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If they're putting money into film R&D still, then it maybe that better chemicals could arrive that in themselves could provide a better result. Chemicals are being developed (no pun intended) all the time not just for film but that my have benifits to film processing services. Advancements in technology also help in the R&D labs and making things cheaper (not just for gadgets and digi photography). Who knows, if there's someone out there who can make colour tempreture indipendant dev chems, then they're going to sell a lot of it! That's a market worth having.
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I don't see how you came to this conclusion just because Fuji has re-named a film they introduced last year and probably were aleady in development way before digital became so accessible to regular consumers. High quality processing and services? I would be surprised if there were any processing services left. Here in Hong Kong we are down to one full service pro lab and the only choice for large format processing. Regular one hour places have gone digital else disappeared. And if I want to buy b/w chemicals I would have to run up to China for them.
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There have been a number of new films recently but not as many as new digital cameras :)

 

Within 15 minutes of where I live in the little old backward UK there are 5 processing facilities 2 of which are professional level and I live almost in the sticks.

 

I think the major benefit of the rise of digital is the ability to lay ones hands on quality cameras for virtually a song.

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Indeed although some pro labs have closed, it may be that they were surplus to requirements prior to digital. The digital revolution has simply trimmed the fat. The four pro-labs I have used are all still going strong. There have been some shake ups, a few services have been dropped, but that's inevitable. I mean, I even have a pro lab around the corner from me in Southampton, and there's nothing good usually in Southampton! In fact the guy there was telling me how all his ergular clients are going back to medium format after trying digital. If you ask me, film has photoshop built in.
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Here's how I came to that conclusion; Fuji has re-named only their 400 speed film, the two new 160's are new emulsions, add to that the new 400 slide film that's coming out and the recent Velvia 100. That's not bad considering film is 'dead', regardless of when it was in R&D.

 

If film manufacturers stop making film, leaving only a couple left, then that doesn't mean those few business stays the same, the get bigger, not proportionately so, but bigger all the same.

 

Also, Fuji are a few years away from their new technology for DSLR's it pays them to keep developing new films until their new technology is out.

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In the long term you may be right, Adrian. The downside of film no longer being the

dominant consumer choice is the loss of local developing and processing options. The

upside is that those remaining no longer have to cater to the whims of the average consumer

who values cheap cost and convenience above all else.

 

I went shopping for a new turntable recently, and there are more affordable, audiophile

quality turntables on the market now than there have ever been, you just won't find them at

your local Best Buys. Perhaps the future of film will follow a similar path.

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I used to have two pro E-6 labs offering 2 hour service close by, less than a mile away. One closed about 15 years ago, the other about 10. That reflects the a lot of the "quick & dirty" catalog and trade journal product shots stuff going digital, along with amateurs no longer shooting slides. Within 10 miles I can still find E-6, custom C-41 and B&W services available including silver gelatin prints. The cheap end of that silver gelatin market has gone though.
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Kevin,

 

I realize this is OT a bit, but since you're looking at turntables consider my favorite, the Linn LP-12. It's an amazing machine. And if you're particularly well-heeled, you might look right in your backyard at one of Basis Audio's models. Fellow P-netter A.J.Conti runs the company and he's in New Hampsire.

 

Ron

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Ron, I just bought a used Rega Planar 3 off flea-bay; there are tons of aftermarket parts

and mods for them, and I'm trying to keep to a $500 budget. Origin, Pro-ject, and Music

Hall all make new tables in that price range, and you'd have to spend multiples of their

price to get a CD player that might sound as good.

 

The fact that you can't find them at your local Circuit City means the manufacturers can

put their money into making a good sounding deck, rather than the silly features and

gimmicks that consumers want. If the same holds true for film, I think we might all be

using mailers rather than driving to the local lab, but then again, we won't have to explain

the advantages of a dip and dunk developer to an indifferent local lab owner, either. ;-)

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Quite a few years ago I thought I saw the handwriting on the wall. I bought several spare cartridges and lots of extra needles for my turntable. Git 'em while ya can, I figured! I knew that I wanted to keep listening to my collection of classic rock and blues in analog sound. Well, I could still be buying new needles and cartridges today if I didn't have such a stash. My son bought a tube amp for his guitar a couple years ago so I assume you can still buy tubes. Friends in the recording industry tell me that a lot of stuff is still being recorded and mixed analog. So why is it so surprising that that some folks still like shooting film and printing silver?
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