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Worried that medium format will be forgotten by the time I am a true adult


maylon_roberts

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Just curious...how old are you-- the users of medium format and this

forum?

 

Perhaps my fears are unfounded, but my impression, albeit from

limited experience, is that you have to be at least in your 40's or

50's to have even heard of medium format. I am 23, and love my pentax

67, but it seems like my generation is only interested in digital--

yuck. Is the hobby of film photography in danger of becoming extinct

when all of you middle aged and older folks pass on? I hope not. I

think if more folks my age saw velvia chromes from my 67 they'd be

hooked like I am.

 

Thanks for your time

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Digital back might be an OK solution if you want to continue to use film as well. If not its a waste of resources and put design contraints on the camera. However, MF system seems to me to be ideal platforms for digital systems if you design the camera for digital from ground up. Eg. a Pentax 645 has only 1,2cm longer bayonet/film plane distance than 35mm. About 40% of the size can be shaved off by removing the film transport, not seeded for digital anyway. Hence, a 645 based digital slr can be made to look exactly like a 35mm system DSLR and someone like Pentax could probably make it significantly smaller than a Canon pro DSLR.

I believe the future for MF based DSLR's is great!

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Jon,

Don't worry about digital vs medium format. Do what YOU like. I started with a used Rollei TLR at age 26, at age 58 I use 2 1/4's from Bronica, Pentax 6x7, Hasselblad, & a tiny Fuji 645. And I also use a digital SLR. Sounds like a lot of stuff, but I accumulated it over all those years.

Like others have said, medium format is still sharper than digital & cheaper too.

Remember it is the brain behind the camera that changes.

www.pbase/cwphoto

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Jon-

 

1. "(T)rue adults" are boring and aren't very creative. I'm 41 and have never really grown up.

 

2. My prints start at 8x10" and go up. I'm not sure when or if MF cameras with digital backs will fall in price enough to make it economical to switch from 6x7cm MF film cameras and a good scanner.

 

Regards, E

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I am 30 and I still insist to shoot B&W and slides in MF. Projecting MF slides are just gorgeous. B&W darkroom is so unique, interesting, and addictive that I cannot find the same thing in digital at all (I enjoy working in darkroom for hours, but not in front of my computer unless I have to). Don't get me wrong. I am not saying which is better than which. It's just my personal preference and my own approach of artistic expression.
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"Put a 22MP digital back on a medium format camera and the results will surpass 5x4 film and rival 10x8"

 

I guess deep down I'm not suprised how tremendously trendy and short-sighted the vast majority of humankind is, even the so called "artists" among us. These are the same type of people who overindulged in drugs in the 60's as freedom loving flower children and then turned humanity-despising, money grubbing conservatives after they moved out of mommy and daddy's.

 

Hello, this is 2004. The main benefit of digital over film at present is lower cost and conviennce, not superior quality.

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"you have to be at least in your 40's or 50's to have even heard of medium format."

 

what the hell are you talking about??

 

Important - do not confuse 'digital imaging' with 'photography'. two very different worlds with very different interests and users...

 

go and get yourself a box of 4ooTX.. we're with you...

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<i>"I guess deep down I'm not suprised how tremendously trendy and short-sighted the vast majority of humankind is, even the so called "artists" among us. These are the same type of people who overindulged in drugs in the 60's as freedom loving flower children and then turned humanity-despising, money grubbing conservatives after they moved out of mommy and daddy's."</i><p><i>"Hello, this is 2004. The main benefit of digital over film at present is lower cost and conviennce, not superior quality."</i><p>LOL!.....what the fcuk are you talking about???
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Heh, always the digital drama.

 

It's photography, whatever you are capturing it on. If for you it is a hobby (which it sounds like), then it really does not matter what format you use. Do what makes you happy and don't worry about it. If film is your thing, great! It will be available for quite a while to come.

 

Oh, and Andre, what kind of comment is that? Why is a digital user "short sighted" and how did you associate a digital user with a ex-hippy conservative? For some uses (especially in the 35mm realm), digital is better and higher quality. For those that are professionals, they just want the best tool to do their job. If you are an "artist" then do whatever you like, just don't shove your ridiculous views down other peoples throats.

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Don't take your 22 mega pixel back to the beach or to the desert if the wind kicks up, or if

you get a bizarre phenomenon called RAIN.

 

I can afford the $700 repair and CLA bill to my hasselblad bodies and lenses from my last

commercial shoot, but am not quite sure I can afford the repair the repair bill to the $30K

back.

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<<I am 23, and love my pentax 67, but it seems like my generation is only interested in digital-- yuck. Is the hobby of film photography in danger of becoming extinct when all of you middle aged and older folks pass on?>>

 

Your generation was raised with a disdain for history, a complete lack of appreciation for quality, contempt for sentimentality, and a predisposition for instant gratification that renders all things disposible. That's why so many of you mutilate yourselves with tattoos and piercings, in a desperate cry to get some feeling back from the numbness. And it's the fault of my generation who has done this to our own children to make ourselves rich.

 

I don't think that the hobby of photography will become extinct but film most certainly will become extinct and long before the middle-aged generation dies.

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"Don't take your 22 mega pixel back to the beach or to the desert if the wind kicks up, or if you get a bizarre phenomenon called RAIN. "

 

That's true, and that is also why I lug my fuji ragefinder backpacking. I could drop that thing in a river, pull it out, and continue shooting. Well, probably. One would hope that as digital progresses - especially with professional gear - that we have better environmental sealing. It never will be straight mechanical however. Interchangeable backs make it easy though. Grab the right tool for the job. Going to the beach in the rain? use the film back.

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Part of the reason you see mostly "older" people using medium format is, I might speculate, that the gear is generally more expensive. Your average college student usually can't afford a whole lot of Hasselblad equipment.

 

Hey, you've got a Pentax 67. Use it. Film will probably be available for a long time, although (sigh) I am sure film will be relegated at some point (soon)to an alternative process.

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jonathan,

 

i just turned 29 this month but definitely understand what you're saying. i shoot with a late model pentax 67 and i love it. i also use a 1950's rolleicord v, and i just picked up a sinar f 4x5 camera.

 

my career is in the computer industry and i get very technical/hard core at work. my greatest passion is photography, though, and getting elbows deep into manual process with film, developing, darkroom work.. it really brings a balance to my life i think.

 

i'm a member of a local camera club.. of which there's one other guy my age but most memebers are much much older (one guy said he first picked up a camera in about 1930!) and they all shoot digital.

 

i look at it this way.. everybody is dumping their film gear which makes it a buyer's market. i love film and older cameras and i do it for me, not them.

 

cheers,

jason

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Jay, you are certainly cheerful on an Easter morning. I'm 50, with the exception of the piercings and the tattoos, I thought you were talking about my generation. I can remember how as you soldier the mixed feelings I had when my Uncle presented me a Yashicamat. It was a time when 35mm SLR's were the current rage and I of course wanted one.

 

That said, I see quite a few folks in their 50's with quite a few digital cameras under their belt. I've been through three, but still use film at a rate of about a roll per week. With regards to the future availability of medium format film, I look forward to seeing some of the smaller, independent film manufacturers producing B&W film for many years to come.

 

The problem which I see is looming will be the availability of new medium format cameras in 5 to 10 years. Sales of new medium format cameras have for the most part tanked and there is currently a large supply of used medium format gear that is for the moment being sold on the cheap. Although, it's great to find a $40 Rolleicord V in pristine condition and give it a CLA, the current situation can't be good news for the makers of medium format cameras.

 

As for becoming hooked on the bug, welcome to club.

Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX
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>>"Important - do not confuse 'digital imaging' with 'photography'. two very different worlds with very different interests and users..."<<

 

amen enrico! i'm 36 and the only reason i broke down and bought a 3.2 meg piece of crap that runs literally 8 minutes on a fresh set of batteries, is so i can post pictures on the auction site to sell equipment that i no longer use so i can buy some cheap used MF gear.

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"Your generation was raised with a disdain for history...contempt for sentimentality...a predisposition for instant gratification... That's why so many of you mutilate yourselves...a desperate cry to get some feeling..."

 

=================================

 

Wow. Jay. And I thought I was too often overwrought by bouts of digression.

 

Don't worry about the availability of medium format film anytime soon, Jonathan. Tho' some particular types of films may disappear, many will remain available.

 

The major players in MF cameras have way too much infrastructure invested in film and digital backs are nowhere near affordable for the average Josephine shooting a Bronica or whatever. Hasselblad, Bronica, Rollei, Pentax, Mamiya, etc., will all lobby Kodak, Ilford and others *hard* to keep at least some films available for as long as is practical.

 

However, when a 10-12MP digital back drops to the price of a new Hasselblad film back (overpriced as they are), *then* we can pretty much kiss MF film goodbye. Color film, anyway.

 

Even after the major film manufacturers have dropped out, tho', China, Eastern Europe and other markets will pick up the slack and keep supplying certain films for a while. It'll be much more a specialty or boutique item, catering as much to the sense of sentimentality among older photographers and novelty among new photographers. And it'll be expensive relative to the cost of production. But we'll pay.

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The son of a friend of ours is an art student. This semester he is taking a course in traditional photography and is using one of my old Nikormat EL cameras. The instructor insisted that the students learn with B&W traditional processing, non AF cameras, and do things from scratch. Hooray for him.

 

This young man is 22, and has a digital camera which he uses for some color work, but he is not as happy with the 'creativity' he can put into the original camera work using film. He has to use photoshop to satisfy himself with the digital.

 

He has 6 prints in a show right now, all B&W, and they look very good for a beginner.

 

Film will be around for a long time. The major manufacturers are still putting a large effort into film and paper development work. Recent advances have improved structure of all film and paper types.

 

Don't worry.

 

Enjoy.

 

Ron Mowrey

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Hey Jonathon,

I'm 32 and have been an amateur photographer for only 4 years. I started with an minolta autocord. I think film will be still available, just harder to come by. However, the instant feedback of digital is just to convenient for people not to pass up.

 

My only problem is the archival quality of the medium. I have cd-rom's that are 3 years old that I can't pull all the files off of. Coupled with the incremental changes with technology every 2 years, it can be frustrating staying on top of digital. Even though I shoot film I still mess around in photoshop just to stay up with that side of photography.

 

But yeah, I just don't see alot of younger photog's embracing film, especially with the emphasis placed on computer technology these days.

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"Important - do not confuse 'digital imaging' with 'photography'. two very different worlds with very different interests and users..."

 

I just don't understand this, why is it different? What is the fundamental difference when I hook a Canon 10D or a 1V to the back of my lens? It certainly doesnt feel much different to me. My interests certainly don't change, and obviously the user doesn't change. Is my work somehow less valid, less "fine art", because it was caught with a sensor rather than film?

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Keith, just out of curiosity, how has the public taken to your pigmented ink photographic prints?

 

Do you you yearn to give paying customers something handmade, a part of yourself? ie, custom print on fuji crystal archive/cibachrome.

 

That's what an example of the thinking of an ideal photographic artist is in my view (not that I can claim to have as beautiful of a portfolio as yours)). I presume your shots were taken with traditional film, and not digital capture?

 

...so to answer your question, this is what I'm fucking talking about.

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