Is film making a come back?

[bj_larsson]

<p>I think that as long as the demand is sufficient to keep film supplies coming, I don't care too much. Though I have switched to primarily shooting B&W and doing my own developing and scanning. </p>

<p>I know that I had zero interest in film in the early 2000's, but came back to it. And in the photography group where I work, there is more interest as well. I think the 'amateur' and 'pro' film interest level has perhaps swapped places :)</p>

[bob_miller4]

<p>To really know if film is making a comeback, we would have to see aggregate monthly sales data for film from the major producers, including what they make for drugstore brands, etc.</p>

[tomscott]

<p>Is film making a comeback? I never knew it went away.</p>

[james_kennedy9]

<p>I have never bought a film camera or any other camera as an investment. And they won't be. Except maybe the Leica's. They are outside the rational universe.</p>

<p>I hope film lives forever. I am sure it will outlive me.</p>

[tomscott]

<p>I just saw this ad on the tube and thought it might be relevant: <a href="http://www.vivitar35mm.com/">http://www.vivitar35mm.com/</a></p>

[dave_s]

<p>That ad's interesting, because the models in it are in their 60s, talking from the viewpoint that digital cameras are just too darn complicated, 'with all the wires, and the software . . . '. </p>

[tomscott]

<p>Yea Dave, interesting is probably a better word to use than relevant. Kind of took me by surprise though.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>Well, it does show some business seeing a market for new 35mm cameras that's worth advertising to on TV. Even if that market is "people who are scared of computers" it's another factor to keep the film stock at stores rotating. And in my area it's rotating - whenever I buy film the expiration date shows it's newer than the batch I bought the last time.</p>

[kelly_flanigan1]

<p>I have noticed an upward pricing too on new old stock or used USR external dialup modems on Ebay. A year ago new old stock ones peaked at about 140 bucks; now they are at 260 bucks with some models .<br>

<br /> A ebay search of 3CP3453 by title and description has 15 on ebay today from about 35 to 107 bucks with freight. A year ago one could buy them for 15 to 20 with freight and there were many many dozens of them.</p>

<p>The few folks who still use these for backup or odd usages like me have one blow up (die) via a power surge; and you buy another and find they have risen in pricing.<br>

<br /> As the prices rises on this old stuff/crap sometimes folks will place them on ebay because it is worth their time to sell one at 35 bucks; versus say 10 to 15 a few years back.<br>

<br /> One can get a bathtub effect; prices drop as the glut is sold off; then the items get scarcer and the prices firm up and rise.</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>We need a National Photo Day to generate interest. It could be February 8. That way we could call it F 8 for short. ;-) (Hey this strategy works for Mole Day)<br />Interesting commercial, Tom, but at that price I wonder how good the pictures would be. To produce a quality 35mm camera I suspect the price would have to be close to or even more than that of the 8-10 MP digital P&S cameras that are available now.<br />Most of us here at P.N. who use film cameras probably wouldn't go for that camera, but if it gets people to buy film it's probably not a bad thing. OTOH, if it delivers inferior results, then it will just put people off the idea of returning to film. One of the weaknesses about the last inexpensive P&S cameras is that most of them had no exposure system at all. They basically had a singled fixed shutter speed, a fixed apeture (around f5.6 to f8), and either fixed focus or two or three zone autofocus. They relied on the latitude of the film and conpensation of minilabs to deliver acceptable prints.<br />Just curious, though. If Vivitar still sold its V3800 K-mount manual SLR, I wonder what kind of TV commercial would be used to sell it?<br>

To drift somewhat back to the original post: I shoot enough paying jobs with digital that I can buy all the film I want and maintain my black and white darkroom.</p>

[david_johnson52]

<p>I'm glad to see film isn't dead as I decided to take up photography as a hobby two days ago, and I dug up an old Pentax MX with some assorted lenses to get me started. I picked up some Ilford B&W films today and I'm away.<br>

Funnily, it never occurred to me to start with digital: film seems more intuitive, demanding and a better medium to learn in. I've been using a digital point-and-click camera for some time - with really nice results for a casual user - but I want the rigour and discipline forced upon you by not seeing the picture as I take it. Plus I'm really keen to move onto doing my own developing and printing.<br>

Anyway, I'm sure I'll be taking a lot of crap pictures over the next few months as I find my feet. </p>

[brian_m.1]

<p>I see no evidence of a film come back among the young and I work at a college. In fact, I hesitate to use film and camera in the same sentence because I am truly not sure they know what I am talking about. Even among the faithful, I doubt many of us can tell for sure if the pictures posted in this forum did not come from a digital camera. </p>

[dave_s]

<p><em>I doubt many of us can tell for sure if the pictures posted in this forum did not come from a digital camera.</em><br>

<em> </em><br>

Well, yeah, but they're all digital by the time they're posted here. </p>

<p>A better test would be if you could tell a digital print on that trick Ilford Galerie designed for Lightjet, versus an optically enlarged print from film on regular Galerie. It would be a tedious experiment, but it would isolate most of the variables. I'm pretty sure you're right, though, and it doesn't matter-- one or the other might have the edge for certain images.</p>

<p>There is a little film usage among my kid's hippie friends. A film camera is a retro style accessory for a few of them, and I am told they find it incredibly cool that I have a darkroom. I am not making this up.</p>

[antony_glaser]

<p>I use slide and Peak Imaging Sheffield UK give me every confidence there is a stream lined approach to processing and turn over times. Never had it so good</p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>Not correct, unless by 'no', you mean 'less'.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Fuji/Voigtlander 667 and many field camera manufacturers.</p>

<p> </p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p> And in any case, prints from your film camera have been digital for a decade or more.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not from mine.</p>