Is Film Really Dead?

[PapaBob]

Last Saturday I dove the Eagle as a part of the Invade the Keys Scubaboard trip. The boat was packed so I packed my Nikonos III to save space. With some great advice from James, Mike and Chris, I also loaded the camera with B&W, my choice being T-Max in 400iso. I wanted the extra two stops, but I think 100 (the advice of my mentors) may have been a better choice. At any rate, you can see some of the pics in THIS POST which also has a link to the photobucket album with some more shots.

I took the roll to a local photo store and had it sent out for processing. I skipped the prints and just had them burn a disk with the imgages. The cost was about $14.00. I was in my local Costco today and checked their prices. Processing and a disk with no prints, about $7.00. According to the tech the res is about 2400 x 3600. Far cry from the “old days” when you had to pay a buck a frame or ...ugh... scan negatives yourself.

So, I am not ready to pitch my film gear yet (I really could not get much for it on ebay anyway). Yes, I know you have to take the stuff to be developed and yes I know you don’t have the advantages of camera raw, but at these prices the Nikonos Neanderthal could afford to revert. I think it was Chris that mentioned hanging the Nikonos around my neck while shooting with my 20D rig and having the best of both worlds. I think I may give it a go although I will have to figure out how to rig it first.

So....is film really dead?

—Bob

 

[Tom Winters]

Yeppers. It died for me long ago when I got rid of my Nikonos II, the last one of my V's, SB-102, 20mm UW/Nikkor, and extension tubes.

 

[Gilligan]

Yup, especially at the amateur level.

 

[parabolic]

It is dead for me. I haven't jettisoned any of my film equipment yet (packrat genes), but I doubt it will every be used again. The quality of digital is just too good, and it is simply too much fun. The idea of being able to see every frame immediately after you make the photo, the ability to take 100 frames of a good subject when you find one, not having to worry about running out of film, all MAJOR advantages of digital. Now I can run out of air on a dive instead of invariably having to end each dive by running out of film . There are still pockets of very fine u/w film photographers. Last Feb I did a trip with Chris Newbert on the Febrina in Papua New Guinea. I was the only diver using digital. I took a lot of abuse on that trip from this hardcore group of film photographers. However I did notice a lot of them carefully inspecting my rig every night .

 

[Diver Dennis]

I agree with the rest of the posters. There will always be people shooting film U/W but digital lets me work on my images right after the dive if I like and I really like the "instant gratification" angle.

 

[Mariozi]

Nooooooooo...
I still have some film on the fridge!!!
My wifes took my N80 and NX80 housing for her, and for fluorescent pics I still think my Nikonos V is the BEST!

 

[_Bella_]

No, there are still quite a few pro's shooting film only. I have a freezer full of provia and velvia that I'll continue using though mostly for land.

 

[fdog]

Nice stuff, Bob! I really like the tones in the first image you posted. Sux about your Sekonic.

Amazingly, I've found that demand for fine-art B+W has gone up...for example, when I offered to take photos at a friends' wedding, as soon as they found out I could shoot film B+W, they were all over that. Didn't even want digital.

<shrugs> Even in today's hurry-up, quick-give-me-the-images-they're-digital-aren't-they newsroom atmosphere, there's just something relaxing and satisfying about a craftsmanshiply session in the darkroom.

All the best, James

PS: to answer the question, no, I don't think film is dead.

 

[SCOOBA PHAN]

It Died For Me When I Got Back From Bonaire Last Sept. And Spent $180 Getting My Pics Developed And They Sucked For The Most Part Compared To My Dive Buddies Who Also Could Take All He Wanted On Each Dive Cause He Had Digital. Already Bought Mine. Now I Need A Strobe. Tom

 

[Cacia]

Like James says, I have a few Black and White images shot by Mauricio handler of David Doubiletshooting a whale shark...there is a niche of people who appreciate the nuances of film. It is just so much easier to shoot and manipulate digital.

I thought your wreck shots were great. I prefer the Highs and Lows to be a bit more distinct and you could easily do that on Picasa or Photoshop. Tuning and contrast would make the second one stellar, IMO. And I do not know much..only what I like on the wall! It would be a little more crisp.

Funny, the photo-editing programs have a function called "film grain" for the look of film.