Old Film Cameras

[anotherbob]

1. When I was in film, I did not get the techniques mastered, but was doing great on compositions
2. When I went digital my techniques became quite good, treatments were improving but laziness started to creep in, specifically on compositions and histogram corrections on GIMP
3. When I went to iPhone, I lost interest, technique, composition, creativity - everything became snapshots and no one can tell that I was an okay ish amateur once

never too late to turn it around. Just think about it like a marriage that just needs some attention.

 

[cshubhra]

That’s a good advice! Some day!

never too late to turn it around. Just think about it like a marriage that just needs some attention.

 

[anotherbob]

That’s a good advice! Some day!

I give advice like a broken analog clock.

 

[johng99]

I resisted going to the dark side of the force until I was satisfied that the quality of digital imagery was sufficiently developed as to offer an acceptable alternative.

In the course of doing my work I've shot with a wide range of cameras of various sizes and configurations, Graphflex, Speed Graphic, Sinar, Rollie, Hasselblad, Contax, Leica, Olympus, Pentax, Nikon, and Canon. All great picture takers.

That traditional experience has been completely relevant to working digitally. I often turn off the auto functions and work manually. I like to have control of depth of focus, depth of field, and the like.

I still enjoy shooting with my Leica M8 and M9. Yes there are better, easier cameras to work with but they make me engage with the process rather than being a spectator. And I have several Leica lenses which aren't too bad.

 

[sablebrush52]

I still enjoy shooting with my Leica M8 and M9. Yes there are better, easier cameras to work with but they make me engage with the process rather than being a spectator. And I have several Leica lenses which aren't too bad.

Leicas are wonderful cameras and the lenses are particularly fine for situations where you have to shoot wide open or nearly so. I'd love to own one, but I'd have to win the lottery to afford those lenses.
When I was at Disney, heading the matte painting department, our department camera was a Leica R3MOT. It came with a complement of lenses, all in a fitted case. I loved working with that camera, so smooth.

 

[warren]

With film cameras things were simple. Light tight box, a flat film plane, and good glass made photography simple ... capture the image the best way possible with the tools at hand, two controls married together to capture as best as possible what you wanted, aperture and shutter speed. Now, the digital provides all sorts of options which one can utilize or, simply go manual and you're shooting with the equivalent of a totally manual camera. The options available for "in camera" manipulation are phenomenal. It's a whole different world from film and darkroom manipulation. And, you aren't waiting 10 days for Kodak to process and return your "chrome."

I don't miss the darkroom a bit, the chemicals, odors, test prints, the wasted time and material ... Now, it's all in front me, in real time, without the smells and wasteful test prints. I sit in front of the computer, slide sliders, mark areas for change, check the result, reload a pipe, sit back and print quality enlargements and ... tomorrow take to the frame shop for mounting. Now, if I want a metal print or, glass, the file I send to the printer dictates the result not, the eye of the technician. I've come to love digital over film. There simply isn't a down side I can find. It's different from film. Neither better nor worse just, different.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Oh, it's better! (naturally IMO)

I slightly miss the moment the paper starts showing what you've projected. But clean up and length of process was a chore, since I didn't have a dedicated dark room.

 

[sablebrush52]

Neither better nor worse just, different.

That sums it up nicely. Still a bit of magic, just employing different incantations.

 

[johng99]

Leicas are wonderful cameras and the lenses are particularly fine for situations where you have to shoot wide open or nearly so. I'd love to own one, but I'd have to win the lottery to afford those lenses.
When I was at Disney, heading the matte painting department, our department camera was a Leica R3MOT. It came with a complement of lenses, all in a fitted case. I loved working with that camera, so smooth.

I shoot mostly desert landscape so the Leicas work well. I was lucky and bought my lenses quite a while ago and kept them. I really can't imagine buying them now. I remember the R3. I had the Minolta version (I think an XE-7) - couldn't afford a Leica back then (and couldn't afford a new one now).