Who are future film camera users?

[brian_m.1]

<p>You often hear that film won't go away but what is the basis for this statement? My take on that is people like me who learned photography with film cameras will always use film in some quantity, either for nostalgia or effect. But how long will this generation last? So my question is if you know of anyone whose first camera was a digital but decided to actually buy a film camera? I personally know of no one. </p>

[swilson]

<p>

<p>I started with film many years ago and now it has no nostalgia for it at all and shoot 100% digital. I would think that there would be any number of people who never shot film that might want to try it out and see what it is like.</p>

</p>

[Brad Cloven]

<p>Fishing with PowerBait, barbed treble hooks and bobbers is supremely effective.<br>

But people still fly-fish with feathers, fur, and barbless hooks. There's a whole industry.....</p>

[janne_moren]

I was never into photography when young, and never used film. It took forever to see the results and it was just a big hassle. When I did get a digital camera I got caught in the photography hobby. But I'd notice how many of the great images I see on exhibition walls and books were shot on MF film. So, about two years ago I got myself a cheap used MF TLR, just to see what using film would be like. I could just keep it as a decoration and conversation piece if I ended up never using it.

 

Turns out, using film is even more fun than digital for me. I use an old 35mm film P&S as my coat-pocket cam (needs no batteries so nothing to worry about), and a Pentax 67 as my main camera. The DSLR I mostly use for flash photography, for throwaway tests and when I need a picture fast for some reason.

 

Other people I've come in contact with seem to say much the same thing: they got into photography with the ease of digital camera, tried film just for fun ("the first one is free!") and got hooked on the process and the results.

[darin_schaffer]

<p>I think for some time, those who grew up with film will continue to use it as well as those who study photography in school. Avid hobbyists will also use it. Unfortunately the law of economics will eventually catch up to it and companies will just quit making it because it is not profitable. I think that is years away yet but eventually that will happen and it will be a sad day. Technology will eventually get to the point where digital does actually look like film even in large prints. The improvements, even in the last 5 years or so are astonishing. All of this is of course just my opinion and is certainly not to be taken as a one is better than the other. I firmly believe everyone should shoot what they enjoy the most and for many that will be both. </p>

[david_carroll4]

<p>I'm in the process of building my first "purpose-built" darkroom. All three of my kids have expressed an interest in developing some film and making prints when it's finished. We'll see how it goes, but if even one of the three takes to it I'll be happy. My son has my old FM/MD-12 with a couple of lenses, which he uses on and off, but I think a stint in the darkroom will determine if he becomes a photographer or a kid who like messing around with his old man's camera. I don't believe many people who learn their craft with digital move to film, rather former film users move <em>back</em> to film. The trick, therefore, is to expose (excuse the pun) as many kids/young people as possible to film photography, and hope that even a small fraction of them stick with it, maintain it in combination with digital, or come back to it.</p>

[silverscape]

I don't know...I get really suspicious whenever I hear someone try to claim that they NEVER used a film camera before.  I mean seriously, if someone is at least 18 years old, then YES they have used film at some point before.  Even if it was just a disposable camera.

 

I can say for an absolute fact that I didn't know anyone who had a digital camera before about 2002.  In fact, one of my friends graduated in 2002, and ALL his pictures were taken on 35mm film.  None of his friends or family had a digital camera.  So up until around that time, most people actually were still using film.  I'm not talking about professional photographers or tech geeks who might have been ahead of the curve...I'm talking about the average person and the general public.  In the late 90's and early 2000's, people were using film.  So let's do that math.  Let's just say someone is 19 or 20 years old right now and they were 9 or 10 years old in 1999.  Are they trying to say that they NEVER, EVER took ANY pictures at all when they were a kid?  I mean, they never took pictures with their friends?  Never?  Heck, I started taking pictures when I was 8 years old.  It was just simple snapshots of course, but I used to bring my camera all the time on school field trips or take pictures with my friends, etc.  I still have some pictures that I took at a baseball game when I was about 8 or 9 years old.  So if someone is claiming that they NEVER, EVER used film before then they're either lying or they must have NEVER taken any pictures at all when they were a kid.  And that would be pretty weird.  I don't know anyone who never took at least a few pictures when they were kids.  Most of my friends had pictures they took at parties, hung up on their bedroom walls (taken with 35mm film). 

 

Here's something else.  I worked at a small, family-owned store for  a while back in 1999.  We sold teacher's supplies...books, posters, grade books, etc.  Sometimes, the owner would bring her daughter to work, she was about 9 years old at the time.  I clearly remember she used to take a camera sometimes on school field trips and to her youth soccer games.  It was some kind of simple 110 camera for kids.  But I clearly remember that she knew how to use it.  She loaded it herself, and she knew what film was because after it was developed she kept looking at the negatives and her mom told her to stop playing around with them.  Her friends knew how to use a film camera too, because sometimes they would play around and snap a few pictures inside the store.

 

So for anyone to claim that they "never used film before"....and especially if they try to use their age as an excuse...eh, I don't think so.  I call BS.

 

If this was the year 2030 and digital cameras had been around for entire generations, then yeah I could understand people saying they've never used film.  But we're not there yet.

 

Also, I knew what 8mm movie film was, even though I'm only 32 and people had long since stopped using movie film by the time I came along.  I was a kid in the 80's and 90's...everyone was using VHS camcorders by then.  I also knew what slides were, even though my parents never used slides.  There are certain things you just get exposed to and learn about by living in the world.   The only way you don't know is if you specifically choose not to.

 

If I knew what 8mm movie film is, and I knew what slides were even though most people had stopped using them DECADES before I was born...then how can anyone claim that they've never used film even though most people were using 35mm film less than 10 years ago?

 

I think for some people, there's kind of a "coolness" factor to say that you've never used film.  Even if they're lying.  Some people think they're somehow "cooler" if they claim the first camera they ever used was a digital camera.  I don't get that...but hey, there's weirder mysteries in the world.

[songtsen]

<p><i>"So my question is if you know of anyone whose first camera was a digital but decided to actually buy a film camera?"</p></i>

<p>My first camera was a digital P&S. Digital helped give me the confidence to try shooting film and I now have 2 film SLRs (Elan 7 and FM2) which I use regularly alongside my DSLR. However, I don't personally know anyone else who uses film either.<p>

[luis_vernon1]

<p>I know people who are my age who use digital cameras more than film cameras these days, not because digital is better but because it is faster. I am in my late 40's. I learned photography on film and 40 years later, since I picked up my father's Polaroid camera, I am still shooting film. My 1st 35 mm camera was a Konica C35 which I bought when I was in Junior High School. Since then I have owned and still own about 2 dozen film cameras including Leica, Olympus, Konica, Fujica, Ricoh, Yashica, Minolta and Canon.. All of my film cameras are in perfect mechanical condition: benefitting from a CLA when they require it and each getting use every few weeks.<br />Digital is useful people who need instant results.. Admittedly it is fast and convenient. I however forsee myself using film cameras till the day I die, assuming 35mm print and slide film is still available.. I shoot B&W film as much as I do color film and I truly feel a sense of satisfaction when I load my mid 1960's Canonet QL19 or early 70's Yashica MC with Kodak TMAX 400 and get exactly the shot I envisioned; exposure, composition, bokeh.. all perfect!<br />I think that the future crop of photographers will be missing out on something special, being brought up and weaned on digital only photography... a sign of the times.. (sigh!)</p>

[rick_jones5]

<p>Brian - your question really got me thinking. The next time someone expresses even a passing interest I pledge to go beyond "well - it's a great hobby". How about - "if you would like to learn more call me. I'll show you what it's all about". Maybe we can make a difference as to who are the future camera users!</p>

[rick_jones5]

<p>Of course I meant "--- film camera users".</p>

[charles_stobbs3]

I use mostly film but I think it's on a downward spiral. If you can't walk into a camera store and see any new film cameras and they carry less and less film, not many people will be motivated enough to go on EBay to see what's available and if EBay sales drop sufficiently people will just junk their old film cameras rather than put them up for sale.

[patrick_mont]

<p>I think we all need to show the young people our craft. Take your nephew/niece, granddaughter/grandson, Cousin (if he/she is old enough or mature enough) out to shoot and back into the darkroom to get the photos. Maybe they will become very interested. I think another downside is that new films cameras are nearly as available as new digital. If Nikon kept out their N80 and Canon kept the Elan we may be somewhere. I know this a classic forum but young people that head to the store are going to look for new I would think....Well, I am the future film user. I am only a freshmen in High School but I have shot slides for a couple of years now. I even have set up a darkroom and not to brag but I have made some great prints. I shoot 35mm, 120 and even 4X5. There must be other people out there like myself who have this great interest in film photography out there that need help to find it and let it out.........</p>

[songtsen]

<p><i>"So for anyone to claim that they "never used film before"....and especially if they try to use their age as an excuse...eh, I don't think so.  I call BS."</p></i>

<p>Chris, I just read your post and I don't understand why anyone would assume that <b>everyone</b> has been using a camera since the age of 8. In my case, I bought my first camera at the age of 36. Yes, I do regret not having taken up the hobby 20 years earlier but I just wasn't interested in photography when I was 16. I think it's quite possible that there may well be others like me who started late. No BS here. :-)</p>

[vick_vickery]

<p>I have always felt that you should use whatever is appropriate to the situation. I am a real estate appraiser who does architectural photography as a sideline; I use a DSLR for almost all of my appraisal photos, but switch to a 4x5 view camera for most architectural shots. On architectural shoots you might find me using the view camera for the main shots and a Hasselblad (with film) or a 35mm for certain detail views...in fact, thats the usual proceedure. I only occassionally use the DSLR on architectural shoots.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Without trying to search for them, I do recall some posts on P.net, especially in the beginner's forum, from time to time from people who obviously have started on digital and don't have a clue how to use a film camera.</p>

<p>Heck, vinyl records are back in "style"--at a local auction/sale to support a charity, there were lots of people there buying records. One fellow actually pulled a battery powered "fold-up" turntable with earphones out of his pack to try out the records.</p>

<p>Never underestimate the power of nostalgia, but some activities <em>will</em> become less frequent when the old timers themselves finally kick off.</p>

<p>So I wouldn't expect film to die so much as to "whimper off" as it gets harder to get the materials needed.</p>

[vincent_peri]

<p>I started with film, and I'm going out with film. I just don't like having to depend on software to process an image.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>There are fewer and fewer camera stores, when you do find one, you see fewer and fewer films and fewer film cameras as well. The manufacturers are making and designing fewer film cameras. It's hard to not have the impression that film is on the decline and the decline is steep.</p>

<p>Also, look at my experience this weekend. I bought an M8 and I went around with my M2 and some regular 200 speed color film. I took the same shots with both cameras. I had to hunt around for someone still doing film processing. I found someone and had to make a special trip there to let the film off and go pick it up. The film had some kind of stain on some of the frames and the pictures were all out of focus. The lesson is that it's hard to find a one hour lab and even harder to find someone who actually knows what he's doing using it. AND you have to make two trips to get the film processed and pay to do it. And then I took at least 3 hours to scan in the 36 exposure roll into my computer setup. And on top of all that, the pictures were actually better with the M8, even though it is only 10.2MP. Now if I used a finer grain film, I could probably match it, Gold 200 isn't the best film, it was just what I had.</p>

<p>I'm not saying there's anything wrong with using film. I'm just saying that this fairly ordinary experience may explain why people prefer digital -- it's not just easier, it's a LOT easier and the results are in no way inferior (and in fact may be superior). And the M8 isn't even a current generation camera.</p>

[brian_m.1]

<p>Also, don't underestimate the draw of the equipment itself. Fondling(the camera of course) is a big part of picture taking. We often marvel at the glass and metal that goes into a camera. Personally, if I don't like the look and feel of a camera, film or otherwise, I am not interested. My point is that image quality is just one part of the photographic experience.</p>

[carbon_dragon]

<p>I assume you mean that the older classic cameras have more fondle potential then the new digital cameras? I might claim that Leica's digital rangefinders have good fondle potential too. Case in point -- Zeiss Contarex Bullseye is maybe the best looking camera I ever owned (past tense) but God help you if you tried to actually use it. It wasn't awful, just awkward, but it was a camera better left on a shelf and admired.</p>

[kelly_flanigan1]

<p>Ponder if a younger generation will collect stuff at all. This seems NOT to be a thing my super young friends I know do at all ; except for collecting mp3s's :)</p>

[silverscape]

Songsten, I'm talking about people who try to claim that they NEVER even used a film camera. Like they never touched film or laid eyes on film in their lives. Are you saying that you NEVER took any pictures at all when you were a kid? Really? I wasn't "into photography" either when I was a kid, but I don't know anyone who didn't take some snapshots with their friends or on school field trips, etc. Surely at 16 years old, you picked up a camera at some point.

 

Digital cameras haven't been around long enough for people to say they "never used film." I mean, yeah, if someone is 12 years old I can understand that. But otherwise, I don't get it.

 

To me, it's kind of like saying you NEVER watched any tv until you got a plasma screen television. Like you had never even seen a television before in your life until you got a plasma screen or LCD tv. Would anyone believe that?

[cliffmanley]

<p>Are they eliminating film, YES. There will come a time when the Cross of the Rose will bear so heavily on the world, that the only photography will be the surveillance cameras watching you! That is if the custodians of the plan "The Great Work" have not already sent your soul into the spirit state to rethink your attitude, and replaced you with those of the new root race. Some of you know what I'm talking about, most of you don't. All I can say is get ready, there will be no film. </p>

[silverscape]

I don't really follow what you mean on that one, Cliff. But you might be right that they're trying to dumb people down. Have you ever actually read the directions for a digital point and shoot camera? Holy cow. They might as well be written for a 4 year old.

 

I don't think film will ever really disappear. But if it does, there will be entire generations of people who only got a camera to take pictures for MySpace. THIS will be the future of photography:

 

http://s.bebo.com/app-image/7925323425/5411656627/PROFILE/i.quizzaz.com/img/q/u/08/03/20/girls-emo-haircut.jpg

 

I'm really starting to think that people who try to claim that they NEVER used film before is because they only wanted to get a camera to post pictures on MySpace (usually blurry, pixelated pictures of themselves, in front of a bathroom mirror). MySpace started in 2003...and that's around the time when digital point and shoot cameras really became popular. Coincidence? I don't think so.

[cliffmanley]

<p>I guess what I'm trying to say is that in the future, only the truly adept, with the wisdom and knowledge to make their own plates and printout paper will have the chance to capture an image of the Maitreya. But be advised the Morning Star is false and not a Star at all, it has no light, and is merely a dark planet reflecting light from another source, so you may need a flash. I would sure like to see a responce from at least one person that says" I know what you mean"</p>