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Kodak Phasing Out Film

Ken Tanaka

pro member
Film has just about lasted long enough to become perpetually sustained as a "difference" market niche. Newcomers to photography, far too young to remember a film-only photo world --much less a world without the Internet or even personal computers-- are being attracted to film because it's "awesome". Interpreted in practical adult terms, many see film offering different visual style opportunities in a style-dominated photo world. Some will find their creative nirvana in emulsion but most will eventually vacate the film niche for a buffet menu of good reasons. But not before donating a few thousand dollars to help sustain film.

I do still shoot 35mm and mf film but mostly for variety.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
What film are you stocking up on for fear of stopped production?

Film has just about lasted long enough to become perpetually sustained as a "difference" market niche. Newcomers to photography, far too young to remember a film-only photo world --much less a world without the Internet or even personal computers-- are being attracted to film because it's "awesome". Interpreted in practical adult terms, many see film offering different visual style opportunities in a style-dominated photo world. Some will find their creative nirvana in emulsion but most will eventually vacate the film niche for a buffet menu of good reasons. But not before donating a few thousand dollars to help sustain film.

I do still shoot 35mm and mf film but mostly for variety.
Hi Ken, Ian, David, Reginald et al,

I've only seriously returned to film photography and am not set to any film types, as yet. I just would love to have decided what I need and make sure I store that. I was far too slow with Polaroid. Their were ample warnings. Now I regret not buying more! I just have a few boxes.....I'm saving them for a great model.

What film if any are you stocking up on because you fear they'll be discontinued?

Asher
 

Ian L. Sitren

pro member
Hi Ken, Ian, David, Reginald et al,

I've only seriously returned to film photography and am not set to any film types, as yet. I just would love to have decided what I need and make sure I store that. I was far too slow with Polaroid. Their were ample warnings. Now I regret not buying more! I just have a few boxes.....I'm saving them for a great model.

What film if any are you stocking up on because you fear they'll be discontinued?

Asher

I am pretty comfortable with the film types I am using in regards to any being discontinued. Probably the only film I am using that is "older" is Tri-X and I believe it will be around for a long time. With that said I also like the new Kodak T-Max 400 and would be pleased to shoot that all the time too.

My color work is currently all on Kodak Porta, I do seem to be having a current Kodak love affair for some reason.

With that said there are Fuji films I very much like too. I guess I'm easy or fickle or both. LOL
 

Kathy Rappaport

pro member
Tempting

I have a few shoots this coming weekend. Since I have got my 5d and done work in studio, I haven't pulled our the old Elan7E...something to contemplate. never shot film in a studio. Maybe the beach shoot would be terrific with film for the backup camera...
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I have a few shoots this coming weekend. Since I have got my 5d and done work in studio, I haven't pulled our the old Elan7E...something to contemplate. never shot film in a studio. Maybe the beach shoot would be terrific with film for the backup camera...

Be a sport, Kathy, live vicariously without committing adultery! Film add the artistic physicality of the medium and the contemplative nature of the shoot, much more like art itsefl.

So do it andlet's see it there's an esthetic difference in what you choose to photograph.

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I will stop and pick up some film and some batteries for the old analog camera. I've been thinking about it anyway.
Kathy,

Clean the battery contacts in the camera withy an eraser tip to get rid of invisible corrosion! If there is crut, use 100 grt sandpaper or an emery cloth.

Asher
 
What film if any are you stocking up on because you fear they'll be discontinued?

Asher

I'm trying to stock up less and just keep a fresh supply, and if things are discontinued, I'll use something else. Films I'm shooting lately are Tri-X (both kinds), Delta 400 in 120, and FP-4+, and Astia and Provia 100F and 400F. I picked up some Kodachrome 64 recently too for the APUG Kodachrome slide exchange that's currently in progress. I haven't shot much of it for a while, so maybe this will bring me back to Kodachrome, while we still have it.
 
Hi,

Here in France, there are more and more 'amateur' photographers who are returning to film, because they want to experiment real medium and to stop consumerism around all digital stuff.

Personnally, i sold out my K10D and its lenses, to use only analog cameras (RF and compacts as Minox) with films like Tri-X, Velvia, Neopan and Portra NC. I bought a good digital compact (Lumix LX3) for family and holidays pictures.

Why do i use film ? Many reasons... I like to choose a specific film to get a specific rendering, i think that analog pictures contain more field to work them, colors and grain offer alive sensations, etc... Digital pictures became so cold for my perception ! Too much perfection kill the art... I like also the limited shots of a film roll : no more hundreds of RAW files on my card when i came back from a walk in Paris ! ;o)
 

Mike Shimwell

New member
Hi,

Here in France, there are more and more 'amateur' photographers who are returning to film, because they want to experiment real medium and to stop consumerism around all digital stuff.

Personnally, i sold out my K10D and its lenses, to use only analog cameras (RF and compacts as Minox) with films like Tri-X, Velvia, Neopan and Portra NC. I bought a good digital compact (Lumix LX3) for family and holidays pictures.

Why do i use film ? Many reasons... I like to choose a specific film to get a specific rendering, i think that analog pictures contain more field to work them, colors and grain offer alive sensations, etc... Digital pictures became so cold for my perception ! Too much perfection kill the art... I like also the limited shots of a film roll : no more hundreds of RAW files on my card when i came back from a walk in Paris ! ;o)

Very quickly...

Sometimes I even feel that 36 on a roll of 35mm is too many. The ability to shoot 10 6 by 7 frames has great appeal - although I've not committed to medium format yet as I'm still exploring 35mm again. Unlike you Cedric I've kept a dslr and still use it for some purposes, but there is a clear difference in what and how I work with each.

Mike
 

Kathy Rappaport

pro member
Film Benefit

One of the benefits of film of course is that there are no digital copies. A lot of wedding photographers do at least part of the wedding via film. Of course there is the artistic but also, you have to nail it in the camera the first time so I think to have the skill makes you a better photographer all around.

Will Thompson is a huge proponent of getting it right in the camera the first time and not relying on photoshop to fix mistakes - only to enhance an image that is good to start with. I resisted PS because I too feel that to get a good image, you have to be a good photographer and not so much a digital artist.
 

Ian L. Sitren

pro member
Very quickly...

Sometimes I even feel that 36 on a roll of 35mm is too many. The ability to shoot 10 6 by 7 frames has great appeal - although I've not committed to medium format yet as I'm still exploring 35mm again. Unlike you Cedric I've kept a dslr and still use it for some purposes, but there is a clear difference in what and how I work with each.

Mike

You might look at a Mamiya 7II which in 6x7 will give you about 7 or 8 frames on a roll of 120 and about 15 on 220.
 

Ian L. Sitren

pro member
One of the benefits of film of course is that there are no digital copies. A lot of wedding photographers do at least part of the wedding via film. Of course there is the artistic but also, you have to nail it in the camera the first time so I think to have the skill makes you a better photographer all around.

Will Thompson is a huge proponent of getting it right in the camera the first time and not relying on photoshop to fix mistakes - only to enhance an image that is good to start with. I resisted PS because I too feel that to get a good image, you have to be a good photographer and not so much a digital artist.

Another advantage is that you don't have everyone else with an image on the LCD of their 5D or D300 running up to you and saying 'let's see yours'.
 
You might look at a Mamiya 7II which in 6x7 will give you about 7 or 8 frames on a roll of 120 and about 15 on 220.

6x7 gives 10 frames on 120 and 20 frames on 220. The 10th frame on 120, though, requires an extra proof sheet, so sometimes I just shoot 9, so that I can proof three rows of 3 horizontally on an 8x10" sheet.
 

Jim Galli

Member
I always offer the same analogy in these discussions. There are more new parts for Model A Fords now than there were in 1955. Supply / Demand. Of course those parts are made by mom and pop shops in the Czech republic and cost far more than their higher quality original counterpart, but if you want to drive your Model A, you can.
 

Mike Shimwell

New member
Ian, David

I keep looking at the Mamiya 7ii. It does seem that it would work in many ways I like. At present I'd need to sell something to pay for it though - either the Ikon or 5D I suppose - and need to buy a suitable scanner as well. On the other hand, I can scan 35mm and make nice 8 by 12s that show grain (more than I remember from my darkroom days, although I couldn't afford 20 by 16 paper back then)

The other potential downside to a Mamiya compared to the Ikon is that the lenses tend to be slower. Ian and David, perhaps you can comment on the option of using faster film. I suppose there are two scenarios - going up from 100asa to 400, or more likely from 400/1600 to 1600/6400? How does this usually work out?

Oh, and here's one for the road


Gateshead Roadworks - FP4 in Rodinal. It loses something at a small size, but C&C is appreciated. I was surprised that my wife liked the print I made of this.

3006893294_a7d83e1391_o.jpg


Mike
 

Ian L. Sitren

pro member
Ian, David

I keep looking at the Mamiya 7ii. It does seem that it would work in many ways I like. At present I'd need to sell something to pay for it though - either the Ikon or 5D I suppose - and need to buy a suitable scanner as well. On the other hand, I can scan 35mm and make nice 8 by 12s that show grain (more than I remember from my darkroom days, although I couldn't afford 20 by 16 paper back then)

The other potential downside to a Mamiya compared to the Ikon is that the lenses tend to be slower. Ian and David, perhaps you can comment on the option of using faster film. I suppose there are two scenarios - going up from 100asa to 400, or more likely from 400/1600 to 1600/6400? How does this usually work out?
Mike

You might want to consider that film grain has improved in the last year. Kodak has reduced grain in the new T-Max 400 to be better than it was in 100. And grain characteristics have been improved in their Portra color films as well.

My typical prints are on 17x22 with the images in the 16x20 range. At typical viewing distance with T-Max I really don't even consider grain. Tri-X has a different grain characteristic again but I like it for that.

I have not tried the T-Max pushed so I don't have an answer as to what it looks like. The specs say it is good for up to 1600. I do routinely shoot Portra 400 and 800 and again grain is not an issue for me.

Now with that said it is a matter of your choice and the look you want to achieve. Also my subject matter is typically different from landscapes. For street photography and my work, grain is not an issue and often part of the look. Helmut Newton routinely printed his work at life size and larger, remember the "Big Nudes" series? If not, Google it. And that was with films not near what we have now.

As far as losing the faster lenses on the Mamiya, it is a decision. I don't so much mind losing one stop but when you can get to a 1.4 lens that can be an issue. I think in the last year I have needed the faster lenses twice and both times went with my 5D. However in both cases I might very well could have shot a 3200 film on my Mamiya and been just fine.

Again, at least in my thinking, it is what do you shoot and where do you get the most benefit?
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I think in the last year I have needed the faster lenses twice and both times went with my 5D. However in both cases I might very well could have shot a 3200 film on my Mamiya and been just fine.

Ian is that native 3200 and which do you use or is this pushed to 3200? Also is this just B&W?


Asher
 

Ian L. Sitren

pro member
Ian is that native 3200 and which do you use or is this pushed to 3200? Also is this just B&W

Asher

I think the only film I have shot lately at 3200 was Ilford B&W 3200. And at the time I was really just interested in seeing the "look".

There is a very well known high end wedding photographer, Joe Buissink who built his "look" of his work shooting almost entirely 3200 B&W film on Nikon F6 camera systems. His work is astoundingly beautiful and has it's own very special characteristics.

That is what really peaked my interest in 3200 film. Sadly Kodak only has T-Max 3200 in 35mm. And I think Fuji may have dropped out of the B&W film business as I don't see any on their website any longer.

Sometimes with film I think we just need to take some time to experiment with different films, push it, shoot under different circumstances, and see what we like. That is part of the creative process that I think we miss in digital.
 
I find I can usually shoot medium format or 4x5" satisfactorily with Tri-X 320 or 400, depending on how much light I have, anywhere from EI 320-800. I don't usually feel that I need more speed than that, but I also like short DOF. If I'm in a really dark space, like a dimly lit restaurant, better to bring a smaller camera and a faster lens, but I'll still stick to TX400 in Acufine for an EI of 800.

Here's a typical 6x7 image from TX400/Acufine, EI 800, duped from an 8x10" print, shot with a 105/2.8 Xenotar on my Linhof Tech V 23b. The print wasn't perfectly flat, so there a bit of surface reflection and some noise from my little CP990, but on the print the fish has a gloss and the eye has a kind of translucency you only get with a larger neg, and it's hard to get that kind of separation of the subject from the background on a small format, even with a very fast lens (for this shot on 35mm or equivalent you would need an 85/1.2 or thereabouts, or maybe a 300/4 or faster from a greater subject distance for this kind of effect).

CapnClay,Ulua,HaleOLono,Ansco130,final.jpg


By way of comparison, here is Delta 400 6x6 at EI 800 in Acufine, shot with my little Voigtlander Perkeo II, digitized with the same camera, but directly from the neg--

HipstersandHolgas,Freestyle,Photoplus2008.jpg


That's the Freestyle Sales counter at Photoplus Expo. The camera all the way on the right is the new Holga 6x12 pinhole, which looks like a really neat camera for $50.
 

Ian L. Sitren

pro member
Kodak: Film Is Far From Dead

Thursday 6th November 2008

Film is far from dead and is making a 'significant' comeback this year, especially among 'young professionals', according to Kodak's US HQ headquarters.

After several years of 'double-digit decline', Kodak tells us that certain black & white films are bucking the downward trend in demand among professional photographers in Western Europe and the US.

Speaking exclusively to Amateur Photographer, Eastman Kodak's Professional Film marketing manager Scott DiSabato said that film is far from dead and has a 'bright' and 'sustainable' future.

http://tinyurl.com/3lc25k
 

fahim mohammed

Well-known member
No way is film going away in our times. I mostly shoot digital, but when I want to gain the utmost
pleasure, film is the only way to go for me...

p977562203.jpg


pure film, pure grain, sheer pleasure, smooth as a baby's bottom.
 
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