I admit it: I miss film

I have an M9 and an MP

I like the process..(and the look!) I love the work I have to do before seeing the result.. Quite the opposite of those who crave immediate feedback..

I am in no rush to see the result, I like the process getting there... If I add some effort to the picture taking, which you do using film, the satisfaction of getting a good picture is immense..

I'm not a "spray-and-pray" person taking a couple of hundred pictures in a weekend. Love my M9!!. But for me.

Just my USD 0.02
 
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mabelsound said:
I never could hold all that stuff in my head--what agitation at certain times would do, what films liked which developers. I rarely have a whole day to devote to psyching myself up, getting the sink and thermometers ready, and going for it.
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That pretty much sums up where I`m at.
Love film and started bulk loading and dev twelve months ago. My feeling is that it introduced additional steps where things can go wrong and I frankly don`t enjoy the process.
I`m not very good at it and can`t as you say psych myself up to do it.
The result is I have found myself shooting more digital but still missing film.
So I`m going back to C41 and back to enjoying my hobby.
If I want E6 I`ll pay to have that developed at Ilford.
They do a better job than I can and I haven`t the time or patience to play catch up.
 
Jamie123 said:
Am I not getting something here? From what you're saying it seems that for you the achilles heel of film is the processing and scanning process, right? So it seems clear to me that your best option would be to have processing and scans done by a lab.
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Yeah, that's right. It was something of a pleasure to do occasionally, sometimes a deep one, in fact. But it eventually became more of a burden. I will start out with a lab for sure. I know that I can achieve the best IQ myself at home, but IQ is not the most important thing for me, after a point.

I bought an M4-P on eBay! It was finding a nice one, which has been serviced for years by Gerry Smith (who worked on my old film M's), that made me think it was worth diving back in, and made me post this thread. As the day wore on I decided to pull the trigger. We'll see how it pans out.
 
Hey John

Congrats on your name camera mate!
I admire people who jump right in.
Makes me feel less like the big id that I am :p
 
Ohh very nice on the m4-p! its a great camera. As i said, im not sure which i prefer between the 6 and that one. Glad your back on the film
 
Just send stuff to NCPS for BW or Precision for color. Precision is a little cheaper if you use C41, so you could consider a C41 BW film or even using Portra and converting to BW in post. Not real traditional I admit, but BW400CN is basically Portra 400 without the color. Another nice thing about C41 is that it is totally standardized, you don't have to think about what developer to use or how the lab is doing the developing. Just go shoot. The scans are awesome -- the Noritsu scanners they use cost about $25000 each. It costs some coin but especially if you don't plan to do more than 50 rolls a year or so it is OK. Precision's $12 develop and scan (at 25 megapixels!) deal is a must. Heck, it costs you $10 just to get a lab to develop and make an old-fashioned proof sheet. If you were to develop at home and use a half-decent scanner that can't touch a Noritsu, you'll spend $1000 on gear alone, and you will still have to spend all that time dinking around with it.
 
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But I think it would be nice to shoot film now and then, as a treat.
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With this as your intent, then I think it makes very good sense to send your film for dev and scan.
I have only good things to say about Precision Camera and their work. North Coast also has a good reputation--I've not used them so I can't offer any opinion about their work.
I am shooting basically two films [Ektar 100 for color and BW400CN for B&W] and sending my film to Precision for dev and scan.
Not the cheapest way to go, certainly, but I am willing to pay for their expertise and good handling of my negatives.
And by shooting C-41 and only the two types, that has eliminated a lot of other variables and my photos are better for it, I think.
While I was living in Cortland, there was no "pro" labs there so I thought I'd try the labs that were then in Ithaca. I was not impressed, frankly, and so went mail order. First to Dwaynes' but got tired of dust, scratches, and water marks on my negs. So I was very happy to try Precision and am still happy with that choice.
Rob
 
Edgar Praus in Rochester will process 35mm C41 and have Scott's make three resolution and price levels of Norita scans onto CD. I cut way back on my 35mm film usage but I find it a good solution when I want 35mm, the scans have been clean and decent, probably as good as what I would do myself in most cases.

Otherwise I would get another Konica Minolta DualScan IV for under $300 rather than an expensive Coolscan. Flatbeds and 35mm are pretty awful.

I too miss the handling of an M-body, I wish Leica made a 6x9 version ;-) I pretty much think 35mm is now a special effect, something to turn to when I want grit and grain. I don't see the point of using 100ISO fine-grained 35mm film when digital does color and larger formats do B&W so much better.

As nice as the M8 and M9 are, if you really think about it, spending $1000 on an X100 or a D7000 or whatever Canon-Sony-Pentax is in that range may be the best value, then flip them every other generation as they improve. You don't get hit with the massive depreciation and you seem get the best technology bang for the buck at that prosumer price point.

Next minor windfall I will probably spring for another M-body myself, I just like fondling them. And they might as well be CDs, since you can always get your money out of them.
 
Rob, as I'm sure you're aware, the pro labs in Ithaca are long, long gone. Ithaca Photo closed soon after I moved here.

I have used Edgar Praus for E6, and he did great work. He's nearby, too--I may rely on him. Gotta do some price comparison.

I kind of forgot about slide film when I went to digi, but of course...maybe I will try again.

Frank, you are right that the M9 is not cost effective. But I can't help it--it's twue wuv.
 
Well I could be happy with an M9 and a film M with TXP, a wide and a long lens and DONE....

And you can get an 8x10 when you really want to nerd out.
 
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I know what you mean about advancing film. I used to do it fast, just slap the lever. Now a savor the movement and advance slowly so I can enjoy every second of it.
 
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I still struggle a bit with this, I do often prefer the look of my C41 stuff to my LX5 output, but not enough to go through the process of doing it myself-and I shot enough film last year to pay for several cameras.

So my film usage will pretty much be E6 for color, TriX for B&W, and use the LX5 for all the silly stuff I used to do on C41.

I don't think I'll ever sell my IIIf. I may sell my TLR and go with a DSLR.
 
Congrats on the M4-P. I've liked the look of that model since I saw it on The Midnight Meat Train, and it's yet another camera on the 'that would be nice one day' list.

While I love the M9's output, I loooove the way the M7 shoots. You're right, there is nothing like the sound of the shutter, the way it feels to wind on another shot. I wish the M9 had this feeling!

I have dev tank, developer and fixer at the ready. I've had them, oh, since last year some time. I bought them on the same day I bought my M7! But I just haven't psyched myself up to do it, even though I've read a lot of posts by people who say that developing black and white film is easier than cooking dinner.

I don't think I'll ever shoot film in such bulk that it would be a chore to do my own development and scanning. Dirk Steffen's solution of using a DSLR and macro lens is something else I've been considering for a while. But I do have to start that some time!
 
Seems kind of silly to bemoan the loss of filmic quality with digital and then... shoot the negs with a bloody DSLR. I guess it is good to offer the option in case a an academic or government committee is ever tasked with determining photographic workflows though, because it is exactly what they would come up with.

If you simply want the Leica fondling experience, the silky winding and exquisite shutter release... then shoot the bodies without loading any film at all. Believe me, they wind on super smooth that way, it causes less wear and tear, it's the best of all worlds!
 
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Frank Version Two said:
If you simply want the Leica fondling experience, the silky winding and exquisite shutter release... then shoot the bodies without loading any film at all. Believe me, they wind on super smooth that way, it causes less wear and tear, it's the best of all worlds!
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Believe it or not Frank, that's the funniest thing I have ever heard..and it's so true. :)
 
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