The Future of Film

[The Kraken]

Just a quick question.

I'm wondering if there is any logic in buying a film camera nowadays.

I have a basic point and shoot film camera, but I want to move on up to something with more capability.

I've shot professionally in a past career and am quite happy with film.

But seeing the movement in the digital photography arena makes me question whether or not I should purchase a camera such as a Nikonos or Motor Marine.

Thanx . . .

the K

 

[HowardE]

Personally... I would say go digital, and I'm sure that's the consensus you'll hear here on SB. I dive on a regular basis with a guy who still shoots film.

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme/leukoplakia/
and more of his pictures http://www.splashdowndivers.com/photo_gallery/montages/steven_kovacs/

His photos are GREAT! But for a 2 tank dive... he brings 2 cameras. He was even telling me last week, that he may go digital.

The quality of printers has come a long way, and even with large enlargements, it is difficult to tell the difference between a digital photo and an enlargement from a slide.

Additionally, the RAW feature allows SO MUCH in the post process. Something that film doesn't offer you at all.

Most people I know in the camera business say the same thing. There is a camera store below my store in Colorado, and we talk cameras all the time. If you walked into his store... He would point you towards digital as well.

 

[Kim]

There will probably be varying opinions on this one. Nikon has recently stopped making any consumer film cameras - they still make 4 of their top level professional ones. Digital has basically taken over the market. With the advent of digital SLRs and the pixel count that is now being achieved most of the real advantages that still existed with film are being eroded as digital can replicate them - increasingly more faithfully. For anyone except a top pro photographer I would guess it's becoming a no-brainer - you have to be VERY good to get more out of film than you can out of digital - although I bet there are certainly those professionals who still can, and therefore stick with film.
For the U/W photographer though I believe that the most important thing is that with digital you can immediately see what you did, and adjust if required. That's not possible with film, you have to wait for it to be developed. For a beginning photographer there are also considerable 'automatic' advantages in digital cameras which help the end-user - although using full manual mode still gives one complete control over speed/aperture/focus and will produce the best results in the hands of the experienced photographer.
I imagine that some of our professional photographers will chime in on this one and who knows...take issue with my comments! I would have to say though that I wouldn't consider film anymore myself (not a pro or good enough!!) although I do posses a MotorMarine 2. The Nikonos system might be a consideration but for the same money you could buy a REALLY good digital setup.

For me it's a no-brainer - it's digital.

 

[The Kraken]

Howarde,

Thanks for your response.

The reason I post the question is that I absolutely hate the lag time present in digital cameras.

My thought was to go film, since the U/W cameras are so much cheaper now, and wait for the digital evolution to go through its natural progression and buy a digital at a future date.

Perhaps by then the image lag time issue will have been resolved and the prices of the cameras reduced due to advances in technology.

the K

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Howarde,

Thanks for your response.

The reason I post the question is that I absolutely hate the lag time present in digital cameras.

My thought was to go film, since the U/W cameras are so much cheaper now, and wait for the digital evolution to go through its natural progression and buy a digital at a future date.

Perhaps by then the image lag time issue will have been resolved and the prices of the cameras reduced due to advances in technology.

the K

That's my problem with digital too, K. I just scored an MX-10 with all the bells and whistles, on eBay, for $152.50. It'll be here next Monday and I'm stoked!

 

[HowardE]

Howarde,

Thanks for your response.

The reason I post the question is that I absolutely hate the lag time present in digital cameras.

My thought was to go film, since the U/W cameras are so much cheaper now, and wait for the digital evolution to go through its natural progression and buy a digital at a future date.

Perhaps by then the image lag time issue will have been resolved and the prices of the cameras reduced due to advances in technology.

the K

I would also point out that Kim's point about "seeing your work immediately" can make a HUGE difference in the amount of pictures that "come out" - When we were in Roatan last summer... 3 people in our group shot slides with a Nikonos V. My wife shot with her digital P&S - She took about 2000 photos during the week. Our friends with Nikonos shot about 10 rolls of film each. So that's about 1000 photos between the 3 of them. My wife got about 30 or so "keepers" you know... really good ones.

Of the film people... they collectively had about 5 great shots. 1 of them had a film malfunction, and got practically nothing at all.

While neither I nor my wife shoot with the DSLR - from what I hear, the "lag" is not much of an issue with them. Even with her P&S - she's adjusted to the "lag" and at least you get to see the image, and adjust your settings and try again (in most cases) - of course, the lag can be annoying when you spot a hammerhead or something fast.

 

[Kim]

Lag time is primarily an auto focus problem - this is solved with DSLR cameras. There is also the lag with fast frame repetitive shots because of the time required to write to the card, but in all seriousness U/W this isn't a real problem. Unless you can remain absolutely still in the same position you really need to recompose every shot. i admit though that it takes a few seconds to write a RAW shot to the card before you can shoot again.

 

[Damselfish]

I'm mostly an observer, my occasional photo attempts usually result in fish butts and headless creatures.

My husband used to shoot slide film (Nikonos V) and has moved to a housed digital DSLR. He's been into photography since forever and this is a serious hobby for him (he actually has an exhibit of his photos up someplace right now.) I still think the best of the film are better than the best of the digital. But doing well with film seems to take more skill (and maybe luck) than doing well with digital. There are so many advantages to digital for UW - being able to see results right away and correct problems, not being limited to 36 shots. You're just likely to get more keepers.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

What are DSLR cameras?

 

[Jamdiver]

I'd also like to point out a common work around to the 'lag issue' in digital point & shoot cameras.

And that is simply half-pressing the shutter button so the camera can calculate the appropriate exposure and shutter settings (if shooting in auto mode) and then recompose the shot and press the shutter down fully.

Kraken there's a wealth of information in these forums and others about how to get around issues such as shutter lag.
Think you'll also find that with the latest generation of point & shoot cameras that the shutter lag has become very very minimal and I speak from personal experience here.

EDIT - Kraken what sort of digital camera are you looking at, how far do you want to go into underwater photography?
You mentioned having been a photographer in a past career so I imagine that you're comfortable with manual settings, various lenses and so forth.

FISH, DSLR stands for Digital Single Lens Reflex.
Hold on let me find a better definition for you.
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=DSLR&i=42047,00.asp

Definition of: DSLR

(Digital Single Lens Reflex) A digital still image camera that uses a single lens reflex (SLR) mechanism. Most professional cameras have always been single lens reflex cameras, although analog. Today, digital SLRs have become very popular. There are two major differences between DSLR cameras and standard digital cameras.

Removable Lenses
No single lens can accommodate every photographic requirement, and single lens reflex cameras have always used removable lenses. A wide variety of lenses are available for each camera system, and many lenses that fit 35mm analog SLRs also fit digital SLRs. However, the CCD or CMOS sensor in a digital SLR is generally not as large as a 35mm film frame, and there is typically a 1.5x multiplier in focal length. The 100mm lens for the 35mm camera becomes a 150mm lens when attached to the digital SLR.

Through the Lens
The viewer sees the image through the actual picture lens. A mirror reflects the light from the lens to the viewfinder. When the picture is taken, the mirror momentarily flips out of the way to allow the light to pass through a shutter to the CCD or CMOS sensor. Through-the-lens viewing is necessary for precise manual focusing, because the tiny electronic viewfinders and screens on digital cameras do not have sufficient resolution.

Because the mirror reflects the light to the viewfinder, the LCD screen in a digital SLR is not used to preview and compose the image, only to see the results after the picture is taken. See digital camera and Four Thirds system.