ranger
Established
after all these years... I'm gonna go digital.. I spend so much time processing and scanning negatives. it's just taking too much time. Oh well, someone will be gettng some cameras. Tomorrow I will post with pictures my Bessa R, Nikon Fe M2 (needs repair) and a couple of lenses. Just wanted to let people know. Rob
photogdave
Shops local
Wait until you see how much time it takes to look at all the hundreds of thumbnails you just unloaded off your memory card!
Since digital is "free" we tend to shoot multiple frames of the same subject, which just leads to endless hours squinting in front of the monitor trying to figure out if the subtle differences make on file better than the next.
After six months you'll be back to film.
dazedgonebye
Mentor
after all these years... I'm gonna go digital.. I spend so much time processing and scanning negatives. it's just taking too much time. Oh well, someone will be gettng some cameras. Tomorrow I will post with pictures my Bessa R, Nikon Fe M2 (needs repair) and a couple of lenses. Just wanted to let people know. Rob
Wuss.
Seriously, I understand where you're coming from on this. Sometimes I think it's only the lack of time I have to shoot more frames that keeps me in film.
On the other hand, although I keep plotting some digital future, I can never figure out how I'll give up film.
You know, I always figure that if you're not doing this photography thing for a living, than it's really about the experience. If you're not enjoying the experience, then it's time for a change.
Hopefully, you'll enjoy digital more.
ranger
Established
Ha Ha! I am a Wuss! I do enjoy the whole process. But I find myself getting backlogged when I don't frequently process my negs. If the M8 wasnt so d--- expensive, I might have bought one. (I know I'm gonna miss the rangefinder experience) You guys taught me all about them. Ahhg! I hate that digital has come along and ruinned it for me.
shimo-kitasnap
everything is temporary..
you'll be amazed how long it takes to watch the printer print and image and then you realized the monitor wasn't calibrated to the printer.....and then you'll run out of photo black and be shocked at how expensive it is to replace all the different types of gray ink let alone magenta, cyan and yellow.
You'll also waste even more time in post processing as you take 100% crops to spot heal all the imperfections. You'll wish your computer was faster, you'll love the expense of paying for photoshop.
oh you're in for a real treat........Just thought I might try to keep you on the dark side
I see it like this:
how much do you actually shoot?
If you're like me then maybe 30-40 rolls a year of 35mm, about half color and half B+W.
I only print the good ones, which isn't very many, scan the rest that are good, and archive the rest of the negatives.
B+W is cheap, bulk load, developing 2 rolls takes about a half hour.
The plustek 7200i was just shy of $200 and works fast with my 4 year old laptop.
Making chemical prints takes next to no time really. Enlarge, focus, test strip. 2mins later you have an exposure time. 4 mins. later you've got a print.
Line up a couple of enlargers (they're cheap too) and you'll have plenty of nice prints in under 20mins.
Then again, you gotta like smelling like fixer, and old photo-flo smells like s@#*!
You know what, I think I'll quit with you since during the time it took me to write this post, I could have downloaded an entire days worth of shooting from the SD card port and already be drooling at the pictures on the screen!
You'll also waste even more time in post processing as you take 100% crops to spot heal all the imperfections. You'll wish your computer was faster, you'll love the expense of paying for photoshop.
oh you're in for a real treat........Just thought I might try to keep you on the dark side
I see it like this:
how much do you actually shoot?
If you're like me then maybe 30-40 rolls a year of 35mm, about half color and half B+W.
I only print the good ones, which isn't very many, scan the rest that are good, and archive the rest of the negatives.
B+W is cheap, bulk load, developing 2 rolls takes about a half hour.
The plustek 7200i was just shy of $200 and works fast with my 4 year old laptop.
Making chemical prints takes next to no time really. Enlarge, focus, test strip. 2mins later you have an exposure time. 4 mins. later you've got a print.
Line up a couple of enlargers (they're cheap too) and you'll have plenty of nice prints in under 20mins.
Then again, you gotta like smelling like fixer, and old photo-flo smells like s@#*!
You know what, I think I'll quit with you since during the time it took me to write this post, I could have downloaded an entire days worth of shooting from the SD card port and already be drooling at the pictures on the screen!
Tuolumne
Mentor
I don't know what kind of digital developing and post processing you guys do, but digital really is a fraction of the time of film to handle. Just walking into a dark room and setting it up takes more time that processing and selecting a recent shoot of digital jpgs. If digital takes you that long, you need a different work flow.
/T
/T
mh2000
Well-known
well, that is why I basically went to BW400CN, get machine proofs and only scan the good ones that I want to make enlargements from... for low volume b&w fineart stuff I think it's a wash... and I prefer looking at proof prints over thumbnail images on the computer anyday... so do my kids.
I'm sure I'll go back to digital sometime... just doesn't make my b&w work easier or better... so I stick to film and cameras I love... new DSLRs are well, thick and nasty... and don't get started on how I hate dealing with a crop... but have fun... and don't sell your film cameras (I'm glad I didn't)...
I'm sure I'll go back to digital sometime... just doesn't make my b&w work easier or better... so I stick to film and cameras I love... new DSLRs are well, thick and nasty... and don't get started on how I hate dealing with a crop... but have fun... and don't sell your film cameras (I'm glad I didn't)...
DEcevR
Member
I would keep your gear at least 2 more years! I shoot mostly color slides and found that it took far too much time and effort in PS with digital shots to try and get the look that slides give my shots.
I left film back when the AGFA 1280 camera was first introduced at a price that consumers could afford. Ran the gammit with various digitals up to dSLR's but I came back to the look that film afford me. I use digital for shots that don't matter but for those shots that do it's my Contax G2 system and Velvia 100F that gets it done for me.
Digital has it's place but not for me when it counts.
You'll be back!
I left film back when the AGFA 1280 camera was first introduced at a price that consumers could afford. Ran the gammit with various digitals up to dSLR's but I came back to the look that film afford me. I use digital for shots that don't matter but for those shots that do it's my Contax G2 system and Velvia 100F that gets it done for me.
Digital has it's place but not for me when it counts.
You'll be back!
Jamie Pillers
Skeptic
Rob,
Have you tried using the Costco for your film work? I live in Oakland and use the Richmond Costco for processing and scanning. It saves me a ton of time and the scans are excellent for anything up to an 8x10 print. $5 for the processing and the CD! When I find an image I think I want to print bigger I use my film scanner.
PM me if you want to talk about moving over to digital. I went there... and came back.
Have you tried using the Costco for your film work? I live in Oakland and use the Richmond Costco for processing and scanning. It saves me a ton of time and the scans are excellent for anything up to an 8x10 print. $5 for the processing and the CD! When I find an image I think I want to print bigger I use my film scanner.
PM me if you want to talk about moving over to digital. I went there... and came back.
jan normandale
Film is the other way
Go digital, then there are more good cameras for me to consider purchasing.
Bon voyage and have fun!
Bon voyage and have fun!
Tuolumne
Mentor
Actually, getting a large envelope loaded with undeveloped film canisters, filling out Dwayne's forms, addressing it, going to the post office to mail it, takes more time than processing about a weeks worth of digital images.
/T
P.S. Then they loose some of your rolls. How long does that count into processing time?
/T
P.S. Then they loose some of your rolls. How long does that count into processing time?
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mfogiel
Mentor
Rob,
If you only shoot colour, then it could be a sensible decision, if on the other hand you shoot prevalently B&W, then this is certainly a premature move which you will certainly regret. Either way, I suggest that before buying expensive digital and selling your film gear, you could borrow a digital camera for a week and see if you are happy with what you get - maybe even shooting the same subject on digital and film for comparing the results.
If you only shoot colour, then it could be a sensible decision, if on the other hand you shoot prevalently B&W, then this is certainly a premature move which you will certainly regret. Either way, I suggest that before buying expensive digital and selling your film gear, you could borrow a digital camera for a week and see if you are happy with what you get - maybe even shooting the same subject on digital and film for comparing the results.
stephaneb
Established
after all these years... I'm gonna go digital.. I spend so much time processing and scanning negatives. it's just taking too much time. Oh well, someone will be gettng some cameras. Tomorrow I will post with pictures my Bessa R, Nikon Fe M2 (needs repair) and a couple of lenses. Just wanted to let people know. Rob
Well, I have just spent 2 years shooting 100% digital. Then I recently got some Diafine, HC-110 ad some films again. I have run two in my M6, scanned on my Epson V-750, printed and I am so glad I kept my M6. So glad. It does not take that much time and it is a different aesthetic. Keep the Leica. There is and will never again be anything like it.
Roger Hicks
Mentor
The time spent downloading and processing Raw files is non-trivial, even before you get into Photoshop.
Cheers,
R.
Cheers,
R.
Harrejesus
Established
Six months ago I did exactly what you're doing now, and for the same reasons. And here I am, back shooting film again, with a very expensive digital set-up in the wardrobe. Film, now more than ever.
Rick Waldroup
Well-known
Rob, after you make the switch to digital, you will wonder why it ever took you so long to do it.
As others have mentioned, simply set up an easy workflow for yourself and the rest is a piece of cake. Have fun.
As others have mentioned, simply set up an easy workflow for yourself and the rest is a piece of cake. Have fun.
Vickko
Mentor
Hey, Hey - I have an M8 kit for sale .....
I feel for you.
I tried digital, I like it, but find I'm not shooting enough to warrant how much money I've invested in the M8 kit.
For my style, there isn't any reason to not return to film.
...Vick
I feel for you.
I tried digital, I like it, but find I'm not shooting enough to warrant how much money I've invested in the M8 kit.
For my style, there isn't any reason to not return to film.
...Vick
user237428934
User deletion pending
I left film behind in 2006. 100% digital at the moment. Some month ago I loaded my m6 with a film and tried it again. After that I was even more convinced that digital is the right way for me. I just hate waiting for the processed film. The quality of the scans on the CD you can order with a processed film is so lousy (excpet you go to a really good lab and pay a fortune). Then scanning at home. It's so sloooooooow and boring.
No thanks. No more film and scanning.
No thanks. No more film and scanning.
Solinar
Analog Preferred
It would be easier to do if all I only shot 35 mm color film. However, I like the look of 35mm B/W when it is printed with an optical enlarger on photographic paper. Better yet - I like shooting with a 6x9 medium format in B/W that uses a classic Tessar or Heliar - which compared to my digital output offers a unique photographic look.
That said - I do have a two roll film back log on developing and printing.
TEZillman
Well-known
This may well be a rhetorical question, but why does it need to be one or the other? I rather enjoy both film and digital processes.