Digital cameras forum: Poll: Do you still use a film camera?

Everything is now digital. Both motion and still. There are things I can't do
with digital still that were easy on film. I shot a lot of sports in college a half century ago.
Basket ball with four players off the floor fighting for a ball for example. Before that I
was stationed in Germany and got to Nurburgring for both motorcycle and car races. Lots of action.
It would be difficult to overcome the lag of picture in digital. Same for a trip to Le Mans 24 hours
race. I got shots of many cars at speed. All on ASA 10 Kodachrome!

Now most of our pictures are not fast action, and the ability to take hundreds of images on one chip
is great! Editing is so much easier on a screen rather than enlarging in a darkroom. (I still remember
the smell of hypo!) Sharing is now nearly instantaneous between computers.

I still have four film cameras on the shelf, and they still work.

jbaviera,
Ansel Adams had film and a very old camera back in the '40s. Never stopped him from producing the greatest nature photography we may ever see in our lifetime.
I do like film. I also like the ease of digital.

My wife and I visited a fishing port in the Western part of Turkey in 2005.
My wife had an Olympus Stylist 35mm pocket camera. I had a Canon S400 digital pocket camera.
We both took shots of the harbor. And guess what?
My shot was good and I like it. (Snap Shot on Vacation)
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/1760/nicefishingvillagephotokv0.jpg

My wife's 35mm film shot came out superior!!! It was wonderful to view. (Snap Shot also on vacation)
http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/795/fishingportcesmejudith9ew.jpg

Nice photo by an executive secretary dont you think?

I have a Nikon 6006 35mm with a nice Nikor 1.3.3 lens. I still think that my 35mm film shots are superior to my SD500 Canon. I have better control of the film camera than my Canon.
On the other side of the coin is the fact that I have not mastered all that a digital camera can do.
I am better at it after two years, yet the learning curve is high with digital.

jbaviera, I can produce a double and trippple exposure with digital imaging using Adobe Photoshot. :)
Not quite the same as film. Just as good and at times superior. Superior control with Photoshop
I use Photoshop every day in my work.

You did not mention what kind of camera that you have. If it is a Nikon, the new D300 will accept all lenses manufactured from 1997 and on. Quite a feature and one that I am looking at also.

-Kevin

Nikon SLR cameras were legendary. Previously, the film camera provides the better dynamic range than the old-day DSLR cameras. But, recently, I could hardly tell the different when comparing pictures shooting in RAW and that of film shooting. The better sensor, improved engine, and light sensitivity have put DSLR camera a great deal of improvement. However, not every old-day lenses are good for new DSLR, since the sensitivity of sensor has somewhat shifted. I'd say that it has much to do with the lense's coating and design. Just a precaution. Good luck with your new DSLR soon, Kevin. Life will be so much easier, I guarantee you.

higher end Canons like the 20, 30, or 40D. Two things are important. The size of the camera's internal buffer, and the speed of the memory card. The larger size of raw fills the buffer faster, but you can shoot for about 3-5 seconds at a time.

The 1D Mark III has two parallel processors, so it can handle the data stream even better.

I own a 35mm camera and a digital. I love my film camera because my pictures of plants and wildlife are so much better for color and detail. My digital is used for everyday use but my film camera is used more for pictures to be framed and used as notecards.
My digital was bought many years ago and therefore it is heavy when I go out to explore nature. My printer is supposed to be one of the best but my pictures do not turn out with proper lighting or clarity.

RolliePJ,
You have to shoot your kind of photography in RAW only. Not in JPEG at all. Jpg is compression and in RAW, nothing is lost.
Take a look at digital shooting in raw.

Here is an example: I take an image in jpg and save it in Adobe Photoshop, or any imaging software, every time you do that the imaging gets compressed even more.

Make sure you set your digital camera on Superfine and large.
That way, you can start with a huge image, say a 36x24. Not a 5x7.

Try a Canon G7. The cost is about $560. That camera is the next best camera to a DSR. Super lens also.

As to color resolution. Digital really is accurate. So is film.
Depends on the lens and your camera settings.
Want to really improve your photos? Go to Adobe Photoshop.
Not cheap, yet a great darkroom!!!

-Kevin

I mostly use a digital, but sometimes use one of my antiques. You can still get film and processing for many of these, it's professional-size medium and large format.

I know what you mean! I shopped long and hard for a digital camera that didn't have the problems you noted. One of my 35 mm cameras requires batteries, the other is completely mechanical. The digital I have (Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W55) does not have a noticeable time difference from the time I pull it out of my bag until I have taken the picture. Messing with the lens cap and all that always slowed me down on a 35 mm anyway, not to mention realizing too late I was out of film. And I had to try about 20 cameras before I found on that had minimal lag time and was not outrageously priced (about $160 for mine, plus about $35 for a 2Gb memory card; extra memory is required if you plan on taking more than about 8 pictures. With my current setup I have space for ~3000 photos or a video ~1.5 hours long). I found the best bet on batteries is to go with a camera that has a battery included. If you are using something like AA or AAA batteries cameras seem to kill them pretty fast, even lithium batteries that are supposed to last longer in electronics. One of my friends has the same problem with her camera, and it was the principle reason I steered away from Kodak Easy Share. However, my sister really likes her Kodak, so ya never know...

(My puter doesn't like this forum, it freezes, then it send messages before they're done).

I solved the dead battery problem by removing batteries as soon as I've finished shooting (not a good idea to store batteries inside any camera, anyway). I put the batteries in a "snack size" zipper bag (or put batteries and camera inside a larger bag). Batteries stay fresh, and if in a larger bag the camera is protected from dust.

And buy those AA and AAA cells in the 24-packs...

nancycollier,
Your tip of charging the batteries every night is right on!!!
The only thing worse than loosing power is running out of film!

With a good lithium battery and a good 2GBSD memory card, one can shoot about 750 images set on large and superfine with JPG.
Not sure about shooting in RAW and how many images you can take on a 2GB card.
Nancy, I like your post. It is interesting that you cited that that your camera fits into your pocket while on vacation. I love that feature also. Out of sightout of the theives and pick-pockets vision.
That's how I carry my Canon camera also in Europe and Turkey. Right in my right-hand pocket jeans. Out of sightout of mimd!

Nancy, Good thinking on your part! :)

Kevin

I occasionally use my old 35mm. There's something about it that I really like, something like nostalgia. However I've been using it less and less as the cost of film and processing continues to climb. Plus I admit I just love the instant gratification of taking a digital picture and seeing immediately how it turned out. I know if it worked, if I should take it again, if there was something on the subject's face or a tree appearing to grow out of their ear.

I can put my photos on my computer or online that very day so no worries about losing a roll of film or double-exposing it, and if my friends are interested they can drop in and see how my trip is going.

Only about 5-1/2 years ago I studied in Europe for a summer and the most tech-savvy and well-moneyed member of my group had a 35mm camera. Now it is getting progressively more difficult to find a film camera. How time flies!

The main reason I'm still shooting film is because I like the freedom of control and versatility of my Canon SLR. We have several digital point-and-shoots around the house which are fine for everyday use, but I'll use the SLR for my own creative shooting. I really do like the quality of images I get with my 35mm.

Digital will be the way to go for me in the future, but I think the current technology in today's DSLRs is still in its early stages. I'm waiting for DSLRs that are lighter and have better battery life. I'd also like to see a better crop of cameras with full-frame sensors, and right now the price for those are a little out of my reach.

I still own a couple of film cameras: Nikon F-1 35mm SLR and a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Rapid 35mm SLR (full manual) with which I use a Gossen N100 light meter. With my father passing away last December, I'll probably end up with his newer model Zeiss Ikon Contaflex as well as his Nikon F-1 and Rolleiflex 4x4 format cameras. I also inherited an original Kodak box camera (early 1900's), a 2D I believe (8x10 film).

Back when I had time, I used to develop my own film and did my own prints. That was a great deal of fun.

I do not own a digital camera, but I occasionally borrow one. The problem I have is the expense of a digital that equals my F-1 and telephoto lens. I have both an f1.4 50mm and f1.8 70-210mm macro zoom. Duplicating that capability in a digital run big $$$.

That said, I like the Canon S3 IS, but I'd rather have more than 6MP for the price. They do take very nice photos.

If I had my own digital camera, I suspect I'd use it just a little more than my conventional cameras... at least until film disappears.

For almost all my photographic needs, professional and home, I use a high-end Fujifilm digital camera. But in my line of work I run across a lot of 'paranormal investigators' who insist ghosts don't like digital but will appear on film. Real scientific, huh? Anyway, when I research an old site I'll bring my aging Pentax K1000 35mm SLR along and snap a few shots. Needless to say, I've never ended up with a picture of a ghost, film or not.