Please comment on your predictions and thoughts on the future of film as a recording medium.

Please comment on your predictions and thoughts on the future of film as a recording medium.
I never shot film and all my photo work is digital.
20% (45 votes)
I still shoot primarily with film.
32% (70 votes)
I shoot film, but rarely.
48% (106 votes)
Total votes: 221

COMMENTS
David Parker's picture

I don't own a digital camera and don't want one. 35 & 120 are what I love. If I could afford to get started in 4x5 I would add it to my team.

Ron Baker's picture

While digital photography has advanced to a degree that makes film a thing of the past, I still can't think of anything more beautiful than a well done color film tranparency projected on a screen in a darkened room.

Bob Pfrimmer's picture

My Nikpn system is too extensive to discard. My shooting is a bit more than rarely, but too many processors are quitting. I pack a digital point & shoot for church requirements, but prefer my Nikons. Will be looking into a good mail order processor. I am afraid film is going, but hopeful. LSU's Fine Art photo classes still use Black & White.

Jon Patrick Krantz's picture

I still use film for about 40% of my work, so I'd say I use it more then rarely. For me its an issue of deadlines. If there is no rush I'll most likely shoot with film.

Gary Carson's picture

I shoot 35mm and have 2 DSLRs that produce very good images. I have thought about getting my file camera out, but the inconvenience of processing and scanning is a negative factor. However, I may get a roll of Portra 160.

Wally Lubzik's picture

I don't see the need for film. It still has to be scanned to get into the computer for retouching etc.

Mark Brown's picture

I did shoot film, but no since 2003. Don't miss it at all.

Byron Buermele's picture

Have no desire to go digital. I use both color and black and white and make 4x6 prints and sometimes 8x10s. My wife has a digital and has never made a print.

Clive's picture

I still use my Nikon F5's and my Mamiya 6x7 for film but my Nikon digital gets preference most of the time.

Charlie C.'s picture

It has become too difficult to find a good photo processor and I do not have the equipment or area to do it myself.

Lesllie B.  Jacobs's picture

I love B&W and sometimes shoot with film in my Pentax 646=5. Film of coice is Acros. Some programs give you the same effects digitally but nothing digital compares to a well exposed B&W neg. I do put it into the computer ... having said that some of the new programs ( Nik) come very close. As the gap narrows so will my use of B&W film. Woking in the darkroom with chemicals does not do my one lung any good.

Russ Meyers's picture

Film will never die - there will always be a professional market for it.

George Hrnjak's picture

I think that there will always be a need for film and in some cases it's a better choice than digital.

Fred Forster's picture

I still love to squirt slides on a screen. Although I have one digital camera I would hate to see my collection of film cameras made unusable for lack of film (35mm and 120) .

Jay Ward's picture

Film is a classic look, but quality wise it can't touch digital.

D.  B.  Stovall's picture

I use 4x5 transparency and am very concerned about obtaining it in the future. I am currently stockpiling it and hope that E-6 processing will still be available for several more years.

Robert LeHew's picture

It has become nearly impossible to process E-6 slide film locally. The cost of sending it out is getting prohibitive. I have gone back to color negative and B&W film but worry that will also become an expensive, mail order processing option. If the cost of processing continues to grow my film cameras will be moth-balled in favor of the digital models.

Jerry Stephen Carroll's picture

Yes, I still shoot film mostly negative film. I am fascinated by all the possibilities that have been opened by digital photography but I am also a traditionalist. I don't think I want to see the demise of film altogether from the market. The only digital camera I have now is on my cell phone but I have been researching to purchase a good digital camera.

Omar Durant's picture

I still shoot film. I use more medium format than 35mm film but film is still important to me in my personal shooting. My photographic business shooting is almost all digital now. I would most certainly miss transparency film in particular if it were no longer available.

Ronnie W.  Clayton, Ph.D.'s picture

I have invested in film equipment; I know how to shoot using film; I belong to APUG and there are many who do throughout the world. I think if publications were fair and honest, they would stop making film and film users sound like they are from a time past. They are very much present and it is not fair to constantly refer to film in the past tense. I suspect that advertisement dollars do more to dictate editorial policy than editorial honesty. If matters pertaining to film were given more attention, publishers would do less to drive a stake in the heart of film. So, please, be objective for gosh sakes and uphold the proud tradition of objective writing. I think there is a future for film, a bright but limited future.

William Locker's picture

I guess I'm one of the hold-outs for film. I know too many new "pros" who set their digital camera on auto, take hundreds of photos, do hours of post production to get a handful of good photos. Don't get me wrong; I know many great photographers who use digital but I sill love the challenge of putting all my knowledge on the line and getting it right: on the film. I know eventually I'll have to go digital, but for now, I'm still holding out.

John W.  Mantha's picture

It will be a sad day when film is gone. I am just discovering slide film, MF and 35mm and love the depth and color.

Gws68's picture

I shoot both film and digital, but am yet to see a digital print with the tonal depth and contrast of a film print. Sorry, as convenient as digital is, film still produces better results. Film has character, digital is too pristine. Taking pictures with a handheld computer is a different experience from shooting with film. Thinking that film is just going to vanish is suicidal. If it happened I think many -- like many thousands -- people would not make the transition. I think it's silly to take a picture with a $1500 body, $1000 lens and print it on a $200 inkjet. It's about the finished product and high quality printing in the home is a very expensive proposition. The market has definitely shrunk, but when there were 8 shops in town that developed, now there is 1-2 doing all the business. And there are many online companies doing it and doing it well with lots of great finishing options. I've been shooting with my F3 lately because it makes me feel connected to the hobby that I love.

oldtimeshooter's picture

I shoot about 50/50. Digital is convenient but I don't like the cameras or affordable quality. I prefer traditional cameras with manual focus, manual exposure and a good size ground glass for composition. My preferred method is scanned medium or large format film. Equivalent digital cameras are unaffordable for anyone but a high volume working pro. I started my working life as a trained professional photographer but am now an amateur and can not justify $30-50K worth of camera and lenses. I would love to shoot B/W film and print in the darkroom. I still have the equipment but not the room. And as others have pointed out a tangible product will be around for a long time, Digital may turn out to be ephemeral.

vikk studio's picture

Iam Vikk , Founder Vikk Studio ,35 years of age and for almost 7 years shot film and had my own darkroom. Now I shoot digital and make my own prints. Digital is beautiful!
My album collection : http://www.vikkstudio.com

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