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Are you still shooting 35mm film?

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Billy_Walker

Guest
If you shoot 35mm film, scan it, and then run it through Lightroom/Photoshop do you have the flexibility of a 35mm digital RAW capture? I am an old guy and have used both extensively but have never scanned a 35mm neg and put it through the paces in LR or PS.
 
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wblynch

Guest
Billy, yes you can do that. Not many scanners or scanning software can save as "raw" files but typically they will save as "tif" files, which are uncompressed, or "jpg" if you wish. (I always save as "tif" and keep a master copy)

Scanning is a bit of an art but the results can be more satisfying than usual digital pictures. Film has an organic quality to it with more dynamic range than digital but the challenge is getting good scans.

There are few new film scanners anymore so your choices are limited but still good. Most people are now using flat-bed scanners like the Epson V600. Those are not as good as dedicated film scanners but are very flexible and give great color rendition.

Make sure, whatever scanner you get, that it has "digital ice" or equivalent since dust is the biggest problem with scanning.

Most of your PS work will be picking out dust. It takes me about 1 to 3 minutes per picture to clean them up. The results are very well worth it.

I don't even use my digital cameras any more since film is so much more fun and interesting to me.

-Bill
 

dmeckert

New member
on rare occasion i'll shoot 35mm film in an old russian rangefinder i picked up on ebay...just for ****s and giggles. or perhaps the AE-1p, or EOS650...just to blow the dust off 'em. if it were cheaper to dev + scan, i'd probably take 'em out for a spin more often.

my father still shoots 35mm occasionally, velvia 50. either through his mother's A-1, or the F3hp he always wanted and recently acquired. this is when not using the D2X.
 
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Dbooker

Guest
Late to the thread but I do still shoot film. Medium format I shoot a Bronica ETR and for 35mm I took the cheap but very satisfying route of a Yashica Fx3/2000. Like many have said, not only are the results satisfying but the overall experience of planning, executing and anticipating cant be matched in the digital world (which I also embrace).
 

mawz

New member
I still shoot 35mm myself, 4 rolls today in fact. I do it for a few reasons, mostly I just like the look and the process. Also good kit is inexpensive in comparison and you can get compact full-frame kit that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and batteries last months, not hours.

I've got two 35mm kits, one is a pair of Minolta Maxxum 7's with a 17-35D, DT50/1.8 (yep, it covers FF) and the cheap and excellent Sony 85/2.8, the other is a Nikon FM2 and F801s with 28/3.5, long-nose 50/1.8 and a 100/2.8 E for when I want to go manual focus.
 

biglouis

Well-known member
I dipped my toe in the water with film last year when I was intrigued enough to purchase a Hasselblad SWC.

It was a slippery slope. I've now sold my entire Leica M8 kit and lenses and my only link to digital it through my m43rds system - which incidentally is very good.

I thought I would tire of film eventually - but I have also been engaged in a long term project which I have only shot on film, using my SWC, a 500CM and more recently the amazing Fuji GSW690III.

I am fortunate to live in central London where I have identified two (and I am sure there are loads more) reliable processors. One is part of a high street chain and the other a specialist shop run by enthusiasts.

I keeping waiting for my patience or interest to be exhausted but at present I've lost interest in trying to create compelling photographs with my digital camera (except for birding and event type work).

And incidentally, all the evidence I have seen is that film is far from dead in terms of supply of film or processors.

LouisB
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I started a return to film less than a year ago with an OM-2. That soon led to the old OM-3 being serviced and then the purchase of an F6, a fantastic camera in every way. The latest purchase is a GX680 with all bells and whistles. I'm currently trying to figure out the ins and outs of that beast.

Film will in no way replace digital for all applications for me, but the F6 is seeing increased use, and I won't rule out buying a second body, just to be on the safe side :)
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Jorgen

I too am tempted by either an FM3A or a F6 - probably the former to keep it as light as possible. One attraction is that this kit, which is professional level equipment, is so ridiculously cheap. I'm sure what goes around will come around but film equipment is mostly at the bottom of its cycle at present.

LouisB
 

redrockcoulee

New member
An old thread renewed. As is my shooting 35mm as in the past few years most has been medium and a little bit of large format. Now I am shooting a Pentax digital and since my 135 is also a Pentax I can now take a single system with me. The film camera adds little weight and no additional lenses so why not. If I am going out with the plan to shoot black and white I most likely will take the Hasselblad as it just seems like the right camera for me. The MZ5n is only slight lighter than the GX680, like 99% lighter :)
 

Hausen

Active member
For me I seem to be less and less 35mm and more 120 through my Rolleiflex. Just love the process of looking through the WLF. Am going to Switzerland for 2 weeks starting this weekend and will take M9 + Rolleiflex (and maybe Rollei35) But never thought I would go on a photo holiday without my M6 and/or Xpan. Rolleiflex is just that good.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Had coffee with a couple of photo friends this evening and got to talking about shooting film. One of the guys is all digital, all the time and after trying a Hasselblad V, quickly decided film was not his thing. My other friend shoots mostly digital, but also now and then with a Hasselblad and Rolleiflex, definitely not 35mm film. Which got me to thinking.....when was the last time I pulled one of my 35mm film cameras out of the closet? It's been awhile, for sure. Just seems that if I'm going to shoot film, I go with medium format now. Been adding quite a few new lenses to my Pentax 645/67 systems, but nothing new for the Canon, Nikon and Leica 35mm systems. I won't sell them, but I'm sure not using them. Maybe it's just a case of too many cameras, too little time, I don't know. I certainly enjoy using them, but to tell you the truth, I'm always a little disappointed when I see those small 35mm negs/transparencies and think how much better they would look at 6x4.5, 6x6 or 6x7cm.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Yesterday I confirmed beyond any doubt that my brain isn't working properly :)
When I use the F6, which I do quite a lot and much more than I expected when I bought it, I sometimes miss a second body with a faster or slower film or simply a lighter, smaller AF film body. Another F6 would be too big, too heavy and too expensive. I was considering an F100, since they are cheap now, but it's almost as big as the F6. I've even considered switching to Pentax for film, since they made some very nice compact bodies until around 2004, and I've seen them go for as little as $7 in "like new" shape on the auction site.

For some reason, I decided to visit a very local camera shop at the basement floor of a local shopping mall yesterday, a place I haven't been in years. Maybe it was because somewhere deep down in my memory, I remembered that they had an F80 on display many years ago, for a very optimistic price. I believe it was around $350. What met my eyes in the shop window other than the same, brand new in box, silver, with the battery grip, now for a total of $100.

The people in the shop asked me repeatedly if I understood that this was not a digital camera and that I had to buy film, something they didn't have. In the end, I had to show them the F6 that I had with me to remove any trace of doubt.

$100 for a brand new Nikon full frame camera! Not bad, eh?
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Well I'm glad to see that someone is still out there shooting 35mm film Jorgen. Congratulations on scoring that brand new F80 for a truly bargain price! I'm not familiar with that model, but it sounds like a sweet deal.

You would have to mention the F6! It's the one 35mm camera I still think about buying. Every so often I check KEH for one and whenever they've got an EX+ or LN- condition F6, I really have to smack myself a few times to keep from hitting the Checkout button. They've been in my shopping cart a few times. It was easier to resist when I didn't have any Nikon AF lenses....but now, after buying the D2x, D700 and D800e, I've accumulated a nice little collection of Nikon AF glass, to go with my AI/AIS lenses, so the F6 is more tempting than ever. Another camera I would rarely use.....exactly what I don't need.

Unfortunately, this article is always lurking in the back of my mind and I think, "It would be neat to have all three." I have the Canon 1V, the Leica R8 (close enough to an R9)....now I just "need" that F6. :loco:

http://www.iconicphoto.com/pdf/nikon_f6_vs_canon_vs_leica_0405.pdf

Gary
 
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Godfrey

Well-known member
I've been using film cameras more again, lately. I picked up a Leica M4-2 last year and a CL this year, and my Rollei 35S is out having the shutter cleaned and lubed. A few rolls a year in 35mm.

What I've really fallen back into sync with is 6x6 film. Two classic folders led me to acquire a Bessa III this year, I love what 6x6 film images look like.

And, of course, I'm having a ball shooting with the Polaroid SX-70 that my uncle gave me last March. It's just a wonderful, unpredictable, unique and fun camera with the Impossible Project films.

So ... not too much 35mm film, but plenty of film work in the mix. Picking up the CL with M-Rokkor 40mm lens on it was like going home again for me. :)
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Unfortunately, this article is always lurking in the back of my mind and I think, "It would be neat to have all three." I have the Canon 1V, the Leica R8 (close enough to an R9)....now I just "need" that F6. :loco:

http://www.iconicphoto.com/pdf/nikon_f6_vs_canon_vs_leica_0405.pdf

Gary
Only after you get the F6, you'll realise that you should have the RTS III as well :ROTFL:
I have the RX, so not quite the top model. That is really a camera I don't need, but it's such a sweet design, with the quietest shutter ever. Yeah, I know... :loco:
At least, the Contax was a relatively healthy investment. Camera and lenses (50 and 85mm f/1.4 and a Yashica 28mm f/2.8) sell for more now than when I bought it :)

Back to the F6: It's the best Nikon ever and the best SLR of any brand. Fantastic ergonomics and faultless operation. And beautiful too :p
In addition; when I mount an AI or AIS lens, aperture works with the aperture ring. No need to set the smallest aperture and operate it with the command wheel. The camera also figures out the correct aperture without me having to enter a menu to tell it what I mounted and what's the max aperture. Why on earth couldn't Nikon implement the same on their DSLR cameras :confused:
 

GregMO

Member
Aside from shooting 35mm film as a kid when the family went on vacation, I really have never considered it.
Basically, I started photography about 3.5 years ago, so of course it was digital (Canon). After a year or 2 into it and searching for better IQ, I began stitching. That helps with increasing print size, but still has pluses & minuses compared to 1 image captures.
I started researching medium format film. Last march, I picked up a 645AFD and some lenses. Impressed with the results from slide film, shortly afterwards I added a Fuji 690. With my love for panoramas, I bought a Gaeorsi 617 over the summer.And jumped to 4x5 a few months ago.
For me, I find film to be much more rewarding and has taught be to pay attention to more of the small details with in a scene that I might not have bothered with from digital. I also feel like I am part of the image making process much more regarding capture. I make every decision and with the exception of my Mamiya, my other cameras are completely manual.
35mm format didn't have the film real estate for what I was interested in.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I really should stay away from KEH. I resisted buying an F6 (although if they'd had one in LN- condition, I might have taken the plunge).....but I bought a F100 with a MB-15 vertical battery grip in LN/LN- condition. :D

Maybe I'll actually run a roll of film thru it in the next few months.
 

Lars

Active member
That's a beauty. I keep staring at my F5 and XPan, wondering if I will ever use them again. The Xpan is more interesting due to its 24x65 format, but that also means it would fetch a pretty penny.

Saving up for a D800 (or whatever comes next), I think in the end I might only keep my dad's old Kodak Retina IIa from about 1952. It's still working fine. Dad used it when he visited India in 1952, the Kodachromes still look great - I should post them here somewhere.

Of course, for medium/large format it's a different situation altogether - 8x10 is still my preferred format (although my back sometimes disagrees).
 
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