Finally made the transition from digital to analog...

... and it feels strangly comforting <LOL>. Have been gearing towards this moment for a while now. I had only switched to digital some 8 months ago when I bought my Canon 400D (XTi). It has served me well, no complaints at all. A very versatile camera for a very reasonable price. At the beginning, I made the mistake many of us make; i.e. "spray and pray". I kept shooting and shooting. As time passed by, I slowed down but not enough. I started missing the slow(er) pace of shooting analog. Then I started nit-picking on the shortcomings of the camera and whatnot. Nostalgia triumphed! A month ago, I dusted off the good old EOS 3 body. Started shooting Velvia again. Had a few rolls developed. Scanned them with my trusty film scanner. Compared the results. Liked the analog in certain situations better. Ended up selling the 400D, just today! Maybe the wrong decision, who knows?

However, also started remembering the long forgotten inconeniences which have pushed me towards digital at the beginning, such as getting the white balance of the scans right, the time it takes to scan even one frame properly, dusting off the slides, having to use PS in order to get rid of dust and scratches, etc. Started thinking about a nice 5D body instead. Realized that maybe this is what was going on in my subconscious all that time!

Go figure....;-)


Cheers,

Cem Usakligil said:

However, also started remembering the long forgotten inconeniences which have pushed me towards digital at the beginning, such as getting the white balance of the scans right, the time it takes to scan even one frame properly, dusting off the slides, having to use PS in order to get rid of dust and scratches, etc. Started thinking about a nice 5D body instead. Realized that maybe this is what was going on in my subconscious all that time!

Go figure....;-)

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Well, it sounds reasonable. I only kicked the analog habit and really switched to digital with the availability of the 16.7mp EOS-1Ds Mark II (the 5D wasn't on the radar yet at that time). All my prior tests indicated it to roughly equal or better the MTF capabilities of low ISO film and surpass it in workflow benefits and higher ISO situations, which in practice it does. The 5D image quality comes close, so it seems an adequate compromise (although the mild AA-filter would be something to consider, depending on the type of subjects one shoots most).

Bart

Bart_van_der_Wolf said:

Well, it sounds reasonable. I only kicked the analog habit and really switched to digital with the availability of the 16.7mp EOS-1Ds Mark II (the 5D wasn't on the radar yet at that time). All my prior tests indicated it to roughly equal or better the MTF capabilities of low ISO film and surpass it in workflow benefits and higher ISO situations, which in practice it does. The 5D image quality comes close, so it seems an adequate compromise (although the mild AA-filter would be something to consider, depending on the type of subjects one shoots most).

Bart

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Hi Bart,

I am more than convinced that the IQ of the 5D is going to be incredible. Certainly for me, it will be a worthy upgrade. Somehow I have this nagging feeling that I should go ahead and buy one very soon ;-)...

Cheers,

Commercial photographers need not read on here.

I still very occasionally use 35mm as well. Not sure why. But I suspect that there is an underlying reason to "revert". Whereas, technically, in almost all applications, 35mm film is quite dead and has been for some time, but usually the classic 35mm camera itself is as intuitive as it gets. E.g. I don't think when I focus by hand; I set the f-stop intuitively; I don't need to learn to scroll through menues. After all, there are really still only a couple of things technically influencing an image: Aperture, shutter-speed, focal length (and particularly in LF: position of focal to lens-plane) and steadiness. That's it folks...really.
It is true that many purist 35mm users are romantics and some of the "extremists" amongst them may even follow an underlying "gear-fear", superiority, or inferiority complex. If they'd actually used digital a fair bit thay, like me would, I'm sure enjoy doing so, esp. when volume and instant results are a factor. It seems however, that many people are mere gear-driven, rather than thinking about the message, the reason why they're taking photos and what for. These are the magic bullet chasers. Vying for the latest and greatest camera/lens combination seems also an end in itself and there is actually probably not much wrong with that, only it has often little to do with photography, but someting entirely different.
Yes, consumerism drives technology (and vice versa), and cameras have certainly become more complex and designed to help more photographers take technically better images, but OUTPUT quality boundaries in a medium where many want to see themselves as artists rather than craftpersons are de-facto only rarely pushed by more than mere smidgens. Personally, I find it quite liberating to not to think about what camera/lens to get next.

A foot note: My main personal photographic enjoyment comes from using large format film. The nice thing with LF is that I see it as a different medium altogether. The whole process appeals to me, and often the results seem magic (to me at least) . Horses for courses. Really, it's not that important what you use, is it? Photo.....-graphy is just that....

I suggest that in any medium, two things matter most: - One is good technique. That only comes from using the same gear over and over and learning from mistakes and successes, right? - The other is purpose/need/enjoyment/gratification/expression. It is here where the gear choices may come in to a larger degree.

...... But I've digressed, haven't I? Oops ......

Carsten Wolff said:

...A foot note: My main personal photographic enjoyment comes from using large format film. The nice thing with LF is that I see it as a different medium altogether. The whole process appeals to me, and often the results are magic (to me at least) . Horses for courses. Really, it's not that important what you use, is it?

...... But I've digressed, haven't I? Oops ......

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Hi Carsten,

No, you haven't digressed, I was hoping to get more of these kind of reactions to be honest.

Speaking of footnotes, Murray Foote -a dear friend of mine whom I never met in real life- lives in Australia and takes very nice LF pictures with his Gaoersi 617. He almost converted me into the wonderful world of LF in the past but one can keep only so many balls in the air at a time, don't you think? So I rationalized and gave up even before starting <smile>.

Murray is also a member of this forum, but he is not very active here. He has posted lots of valuable info re. the Gaeorsi 617 here:
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/BB/viewforum.php?f=32
Some of his results can be seen here:
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/BB/viewtopic.php?t=1834

Cheers,

Hi Cem,

I would suggest, while you are in a changeable frame of mind, that you go for a large format film camera. For the amount you would spend on a 5d, you could get a lot of film, and a decent scanner. the camera will last for ever, and the scanner will outlive any digital camera - i.e. both have reached the plateau of development, the digital camera has a long way to go. If you don't get on with the lf camera, then you will lose little by ebaying it again. b&W film not too expensive.

I am thinking of getting some lf stuff, but it would be cheaper for me to get you to try it out first ;-).

Best wishes,

Ray

ps. Look at the fun Leonardo is having.

I think that's why many of us hang onto at least one film camera, even though we might rarely use it after turning digital. My 12 YO son has all the latest toys like PS3, MP3, mobile phone etc, but he still occasionally digs out some of his 9 year old WWF wrestler toys and gets as much pleasure out of them as he always did. I guess us bigger kids are no different really.

Ray West said:

...I am thinking of getting some lf stuff, but it would be cheaper for me to get you to try it out first ;-).

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LOL. <Super Nanny Imitation>You are very, very naughty. Go to your naughty corner for 5 minutes and think about what you've done wrong!</Super Nanny Imitation>

Cheers,

Steve Saunders said:

I think that's why many of us hang onto at least one film camera, even though we might rarely use it after turning digital. My 12 YO son has all the latest toys like PS3, MP3, mobile phone etc, but he still occasionally digs out some of his 9 year old WWF wrestler toys and gets as much pleasure out of them as he always did. I guess us bigger kids are no different really.

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Hi Steve,

I am definitely hanging onto my 4 SLR bodies (3 of which are Nikons, BTW). Call me sentimental, call me having separation anxiety, call me anything but a "grown up" in such matters <LOL>

Cheers,