Film cameras live on among urban hipsters

[StuartMoxham]

<p>Nice to hear about young people interested in film. Shame they seem to want to use plastic toy cameras though. Time for a film shot I think.</p><div></div>

[Robin Smith]

<p>Film will not mean photographic film one day, it will suggest "algal or bacterial film or plastic wrapping film", then you may not find the term analog camera so irritating. I am not driven apoplectic by its use as film is already a word with many meanings. A "film" in British-English is a "movie" in the US.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Some of my "better educated" acquaintances pronounce "film" in two syllables, "fil-im", along with "often", as "off-ten". Both affectations drive me nuts... At least they can't mess around with "analog".</p>

[john_h.1]

<blockquote>

<p>At least they can't mess around with "analog".</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Actually, it could be terribly perverted. Fortunately, they don't sound given to such humor.</p>

[User_4525289]

<p>Who are that hipsters guys anyway? Anyone who proclaim themselves as such? Film shooting is a prerequisite to joint a hipsters club? </p>

[gnashings]

<p>Who am I kidding, I'd take her into the dark and see what develops...</p>

[bob_miller4]

<p>We view any kind of picture through our analog eyeballs.</p>

[m_m3]

<p>I'm for anyone who uses film in their analogue light boxes.</p>

[seth_.]

<p>Not hipsters.</p>

<p>Watch Portlandia and you'll see some hipsters. *smirk*</p>

[dan_b.4]

<p>JDM, I'm interested in where to get a battery-powered record player.</p>

[User_4525289]

<p>Have not seen battery power record player. However I have seen a Victrola and a compact version of one called *patephon* both mechanical ;)) </p>

[vince-p]

<p>They call it analog because they think analog is cool. They like it. Like button front jeans. (Some of us liked those 40 years ago and some like them now-- crossover!) Or, the way we think Ford Galaxy 500s are cool. Or bakelite rotary dial phones.</p>

<p>By the way I have a whole new chapter on the film v digital discussion: the other day I was shooting my boy with my F100 loaded with Velvia 100 chrome.... but normally I shoot him -- a speedy little two year old -- with my D300, which happens to be almost identical in shape, weight, size and feel to the F100, and both are mostly loaded with AF 70/75 - 245/300s etc -- so I start bouncing the ISO up to like 1250 eventually cause he's crawling under the table and then I realize -- oh oh -- FILM. Ooops. Like four shots gone.</p>

<p>This auto-mated stuff is not meant for the senile. When I have an F2 or a Leica IIIf I am not at all confused. </p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>Ah well, what's not 'next' but current - is not 8-track tape, my friends, but shellac and vinyl 33.3 and 78 records.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Then I've been an <em>urban hipster</em> for many years!</p>

[john_layton]

<p>I chair the fine art and photography departments at a private, community based college...and our photo A.A. program requires that all students take at least some film and darkroom based classes. Truth is, once my students get behind a film camera and into a darkroom, they inevitably become completely hooked...to the point where I'm thinking that the "industry" needs to do a serious re-think of its manufacturing, R+D, and marketing strategies.</p>

[rich_stokes]

<p>I got into film purely because I didn't really have hundreds of pounds (if not more) to spend on a half decent camera. An old 35mm or 120mm camera just seemed more affordable (at least to begin photography with) and infinitely more fun to learn and use. <br>

Now, after a year or so of playing around with them I think, for me, it boils down to: digital cams are so cold, calculated and soulless, its just 'turn on>press button>next' - I just couldn't ever imagine myself getting attached to one, whereas my old, battered 1929 Zeiss Brownie-looking thing or the relatively high-tech OM-10 mean the world to me.<br>

So, whilst I'm quite happy for people to presume I'm just some trendy young thing (I'm not, on either case alas), I love the baffled looks when they can't see the picture I've just taken, or the instinctive winding on and re-focussing, or even just the sometimes surprising pictures that come out at the end when I forget to check the settings before shooting. Photography is fun and opens your mind to colours and shapes and light and perspectives; I don't want my camera to do all the fun stuff for me!<br>

and to the people who had access to darkrooms at school - you don't know how lucky you were!</p>

<p> </p>

[john_robison3]

<p>My reasons for sticking with my film cameras are varied and probably overlap many of you here. I'm 62, have had 35mm SLR's since my first, a Miranda D, purchased used in 1971. The next year a chance purchase of an original Olympus Pen, the first one lug model, all manual with seperate shutter speed, aperture, and focus started a lifelong interest in half frame. When the OM-1 came out I waited about a year and bought a used one I still own. Along the way I accumulated a brace of Zuikos from 24 to 200 and another OM-1 body. The OM's are just perfect for me. Their simple direct controls afford all I need with nothing extraneous. I do have a DSLR, an E-410 and with adapters I can use all my OM lenses on it. It's fine for color snaps of vacations, family and the grandkids but.....</p>

<p>....well, it's the only camera I've ever purchased new,(discontinued, with the kit lens for silly cheap). It does it's job but engenders no feeling of joy of use. When I bought my first OM-1 I was 24 and shaking with excitement. A 100 feet of Tri-X, box of snap caps, carton of Diafine and I was in heaven. Today that feeling, picking up my battered, brassed OM-1, dropping a extra lens and roll of film into a cargo pocket and heading out, has scarcely diminished in almost 40 years. The E-410 offers fine utility but so does my coffee grinder and I'm not enraptured by either. I've learned, mostly, how to work around it's quirky, menu driven controls but "it" will never take the place of my film gear. In fact, the micro 4:3 E-PL2 with an electronic VF looks more and more appealing due to it's compact form factor and I can also mount my newly accquired Voigtlander 21 and 35mm lenses from my Leica M.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I wish I could tell you where to find one of the turntables in question. all I know is that it was a aluminum-looking square which mostly enclosed the vinyl record, and the guy was literally playing records on it on the spot with no power cord and listening on a set of ear-buds. It seemed to be playable at different angles and such, so the stylus head was somehow anchored while playing.<br>

You might try Googling™ battery turntable or some such.</p>

[silverscape]

Well, I actually learned something new from this topic too. So that's what that part on a record player is called? The "stylus?" I had no idea. LOL...I always just called it the "arm."

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>So that's what that part on a record player is called? The "stylus?" I had no idea. LOL...I always just called it the "arm."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The arm is the big swingy thing which pivots on a point near the back. The stylus is the sharp pointy thing which translates helical mountains and valleys in a piece of plastic into beautiful music.</p>

[bob_miller4]

<p>The arm was the tone arm, holding a cartridge which included the stylus. Before the stylus got fancy, it was the needle.</p>

<p>As a college freshman in 1966, I had two roommates (one a sound system dealer with a store next to the campus) who obsessed over high-end turntables, especially about minimizing wear of the precious vinyl record grooves by the stylus. At one point, they each bought a Marantz turntable with special linear tracking tone arm, as shown here:<br>

http://www.thevintageknob.org/marantz-SLT-12.html</p>

[kris-bochenek]

<p>at least they didn't call it a "real camera" "wow dude it this a real camera?" no it's just a figment of our imagination</p>

[starvy]

<p>As a latecomer to photography as a hobby I don't care much about any distinction between film and analog. I call it film and haven't met any one who calls film photography anything else. Perhaps it might be a US thing for teenagers to be more alienated as a result of affluence?<br>

I also started out with film in 2006 and even the purchase of a low end dslr in 2008 did not keep me away from film. I just find film, especially 120 more satisfying.</p>

[jack_lo_..._t_o]

<p>Seems to be happening. A bit. My 23 year old stepson wanted a film camera & I got him a K 1000. Across the continent, on the west coast, a friend's daughter specifically asked for one for her birthday. Both are talented artistic kids. I see young arty types on Queen St. in Toronto (the cool street) occasionally wearing one. It's at least partly a fashion accessory, but they do use them.</p>

[silverscape]

Actually, it seems like the "analog" thing is a strictly internet phenomenon. I have NEVER heard anyone actually call a film camera that in real life. Even when I was talking to my friend's little brother who is only 15 years old, he didn't call it "analog." I was showing him my Minolta SRT-101 camera a while back. He had never seen an old camera like that before, but he knew it was a film camera. He even asked me "oh, is there film in it right now? Can we take a picture?" This kid doesn't know anything at all about photography, but he didn't act like a film camera was some kind of weird alien thing that he had never seen before. He knew exactly what it was. He just called it "film." Period. I think if someone had said "analog" it would have just confused him. So why do people even bother making up a new term when the original one works just fine?

 

I don't know where these "analog" hipsters come from anyway. I've never seen one in real life. Maybe it's because we don't have an Urban Outfitters anywhere nearby where I live.

 

And about the record player thing again...okay, now you guys are really confusing me! Okay, so the "stylus" is the needle, then? I've always just called that the needle.

 

I'm a bit rusty in the terminology of phonographs :)

 

hmm...I wonder since hipsters can't say "film" and insist on saying "analog"....will they also start calling record players a "phonographic listening device" or something?

[john_spurs]

<p>An interesting article in yesterday's "Daily Telegraph".<br>

<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8525839/Traditional-camera-film-makes-a-come-back.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8525839/Traditional-camera-film-makes-a-come-back.html</a><br>

John Spurs</p>