Are you still shooting 35mm film?

[bensonga]

A recent post by Jorgen Udvang got me to thinking about the reasons why I am still shooting (now and then) with a variety of 35mm film cameras. Kinda wondering how many others are still shooting 35mm film, given 1) the advances in DLSR image quality and 2) the drop in prices for medium format film cameras and lenses over the past several years.

How many of you are still shooting 35mm film? What cameras and why?

Guess I'd better get things started. Nikon F3HP (because I already had a collection of Nikkor lenses), Canon EOS 1V (because I had a collection of EOS lenses for my DSLRs) and Leica R8, because I always wanted a Leica, didn't care much for rangefinders and the price of Leica gear was finally affordable.

Ok, so that answers what I using. Now for the question of why? Hmmm....I don't have any good reasons, other than the fact that I just enjoy using this gear. As far as I'm concerned, 35mm film generally sucks and I'd much rather be looking at and scanning the 6x7, 6x6 or even 6x4.5 negs/transparencies from my medium format cameras.

How about you? Other than the fun of using these cameras and perhaps the joy of manual focusing (a definite plus for me), why bother?

Gary

 

[Maggie O]

For black and white, I think film looks better and I've come to prefer shooting my film Leicas over my M8. They're just a wee bit smaller and that seems to make a big difference. Also, a scanned negative produces a .tiff file that is easily the equal of anything out of the M8. It's more time consuming, but I'm not on the clock anymore, so I can take my time.

 

[PeterA]

I shoot with a Hasselblad XPan11 a lot ( which I bought from Woody) - it is my favourite film camera - I also use a film back on my Hasselblad 200 and 500 series bodies - I use TRX because I love the grain and a love B&W.

 

[mathomas]

I added an M2 to my all-digital lineup because I felt a bit "inauthentic" converting digital files to look like B&W film (my hangup, not a judgement).

However, I found 35mm to be a bit uninspiring when looking at the results (as opposed to actually using the M2, which is a joy). I bought a Fuji 690 and prefer that for most subjects these days, when I'm shooting film, anyway. Those 6x9cm negs are amazing!

 

[Cindy Flood]

I love film. I think it always looks better than digital. I have a Mamiya 7 and a 7II, but I don't process my own film, so it is a PITA to get it developed. That is why I still use 35mm film a lot. Right now my favorite rangefinder is the Contax G2 and I have a Rollei 35s that gets used regularly. I can drop the film off at my local lab and an hour later I can be scanning it. It is the best of both worlds, since I don't have a darkroom.

 

[woodyspedden]

I shoot with a Hasselblad XPan11 a lot ( which I bought from Woody) - it is my favourite film camera - I also use a film back on my Hasselblad 200 and 500 series bodies - I use TRX because I love the grain and a love B&W.

Yeah Peter and I wish I had kept it! LOL. Enjoy it and show us some results

Woody

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

I'm partly returning to film these days, and just bought two mint Contax RX, for a string of reasons. Here are the most important ones:

• I feel that the current breed of DSLR cameras are overloaded with gadgetry that often detracts from rather than add to the photographic process.

• I have missed using cameras that are designed for manual focus ever since I went digital 5 years ago.

• When I started using digital cameras, I treated them very much as if there was film inside, taking one or a couple of photos of each motive. That has changed, and like many other digital shooters, I fire off a few shots extra just to be sure, instead of concentrating on getting it right the first time. I would like to force myself into concentrating more before each shot.

• The build quality of most current DSLRs isn't nearly as good as the best film cameras. The feeling of using a quality tool like the Contax is a sensation in itself.

• Black & white photography is still best on film.

• When using film, and can choose the film that reflects the mood I want in my photos. Digital cameras and Photoshop obviously offer endless possibilities in that area, but since each camera has only one sensor, anything "off standard" has to be created on a computer.

• The whole process of loading a film, knowing that I have only 36 chances of success, and that I won't know if I succeeded until the film has been developed, fills me with joy. It's a much more absolute way of making photos.

Obviously, I won't give up digital. Most commercial work will still be done with my Nikons and the GH1, but for pleasure, I hope to use film most of the time, at least for the foreseeable future. I did consider medium format, but I feel more at home with 35mm, and I like the relatively compact size. Still, I might buy MF in the future, film or digital.

I have an extra bathroom that I don't use for anything in particular. Hopefully, I can find a darkroom setup within a couple of months. I would like to play around with that part of the process as well, and if there's sufficient monies available, I will invest in a scanner as well. I have a Coolscan 2000, but it's SCSI and in no way state of the art.

Edit: It does help that film cameras are dirt cheap these days. The total cost for the two bodies with Zeiss 50 and an 85mm f/1.4 was around $1,000.

 

[bruin]

Lots of reasons for me... #1 is I enjoy using 35mm film cameras, RFs in particular.

I like the feel, sounds, the "mechanicalness," of shooting this way. I like having only the essential controls to work with, and limitation of 24/36 frames to work with, the little dance of changing a roll of film. I like the variety of people's reactions when they find out I'm shooting film. The whole thing is an experience for me.

I like how 35mm film imposes it's own character on the image, grain and all.

 

[monza]

I shoot 35mm for simplicity. Yes the neg is tiny but I don't always want to carry medium format. All my 35s are about as small as they can get for their category...Contax Aria, Contax T3. Lastly, a 70 year old Leica IIIc.

I'm with Jorgen, too many bells and whistles on modern DSLRs; going back to basics is refreshing. Manual focus SLR with a big bright viewfinder so I can nail focus exactly where I want it. I'd rather have this over AF speed.

And of course, the film 'look.' I prefer it.

Contax Aria, 85/2.8 Sonnar

 

[tokengirl]

I started shooting film again because I missed the film advance lever when using my dSLR. 35mm because it is convenient.

Certainly, I can make a "more perfect" image with my dSLR than I can with 35mm film. But "more perfect" does not necessarily mean "more important" or "more significant", does it?

 

[jonoslack]

• When I started using digital cameras, I treated them very much as if there was film inside, taking one or a couple of photos of each motive. That has changed, and like many other digital shooters, I fire off a few shots extra just to be sure, instead of concentrating on getting it right the first time. I would like to force myself into concentrating more before each shot.

The more shots I shoot of a motif the worse it gets . . . it's always the first one which is the good one . . . . but digital is my friend here, Thinking more about that first shot kills whatever it is that it has (maybe one day I'll understand it).

I've made two serious attempts to go back to film in the last two years, and although, like others, I really love black and white film, both attempts have been unsatisfactory.

Mind you, I agree completely with you about the over-complication of modern cameras, which is why I love my M9 so much, it really is simple and limited (and of course it's only manual focus).

 

[R. Bowman]

Yes, I still shoot 35mm film, mainly Fujichrome Provia 100, with a mechanical Canon F1 or a Zeiss-Ikon Contessa. I also shoot some medium format with an old Pentax 6x7. It takes me back to what I first loved about photography.

 

[sinwen]

I shot 35 with a M6 or M3, one loaded with slide the other with B&W, the old fashion way. I develop & scan myself.
The reasons are quality & compactness of the gear but mostly the simplicty of use and no failure. Prefocus is much faster than AF, used to reading the light make you see differently, it's easy to become a "press button", film reminds it to you once you throw all your slides or neg.

Then an Hasselblad 501 for MF, both color and B & W when I don't mind to carry weight the basic reasons being the same, simplicity and reliability.

 

[Valentin]

Not for my work. There is nothing to stop somebody from working on a dSLR as you do on a film camera.

I have my LCD turned off when I shoot. If you want 16 shots, put a 512Mb card in it . Any look can be replicated in the digital world.

I would never shoot film again for work (I photograph weddings). With digital I can switch from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 in a few seconds (and anywhere in between); I don't spend a ton of money in processing.

For personal projects or small scale photography (portraits..) it's not a problem since the environment doesn't change as much.

I recently was able to get my very first camera back. I ran a film through it and it didn't do anything for me.

I think people are shooting film because old gear is cheap now and they can shoot something different (RF, MF ...) and not necessary film. Of course, there are always exceptions.

 

[gmanp]

I recently purchased a DMR which has made it difficult to finish up my remaining rolls of Kodachrome
I will shoot film occasionally when those rolls are gone in order to use my much loved Leicaflex SL [probably with Portra 160 or 400]

 

[Lars]

In 35 mm rollfilm, only in my Xpan these days and only in the 24x65 mm format.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

There's one more absolutely great thing shooting film:
There won't be another, cooler, better, must-have-now model at the camera shop in six months. Except for the odd Voigtländer or Fuji model, what is available now, is what you'll get next year as well. Good for whatever is left of my peace of mind

 

[kweide]

From time to time a take my old Rollei 35, plug in old film material and enjoy the traditional way. What a joy.

 

[Godfrey]

I still have a few film cameras. 35mm, Minox, and APS format. I shoot with them occasionally, purely for the entertainment value.

For me, digital capture is superior in every possible way (cost, quality, flexibility in rendering, etc etc). But I've a fondness for some of my old cameras and enjoy remembering them through use.

And then there's the fact that a film image simply looks different from a digital capture. It's fun to play with that difference from an aesthetic point of view.

 

[photoSmart42]

I definitely shoot 35mm film (and 120)! I'm currently working through my inventory of Kodachrome so I can get it sent out for developing before the end of the year. I love it, and I'm blessed to be in a community that still has a fair amount of professional services geared at film shooters.