Film or digital: I have a question for the readers...... How long does everyone think it will be before there is no film such as 35mm or when does everyone feel digital will take over.

Scubie Loc: Brunswick Georgia

I have a question for the readers......
How long does everyone think it will be before there is no film such as 35mm or when does everyone feel digital will take over.
also does everyone feel the end of 35mm will be the end of medium format.
I have heard that the Signa chip being a three layer chip will put an end to film..simply because of the high resolution

Roger Hicks Loc: Aquitaine

Not in my lifetime. Probably not in the lifetime of anyone alive today. Slide film is on its last legs, and colour negative may disappear before black and white, but I'm about as worried about the imminent disappearance of black and white film as I am about the heat death of the universe, or a comet striking Earth.

Different film bases are normally used for 35mm, 120 and large format,so they are less related than you might think. It's also worth knowing that the same technology that is used for coating photographic film and paper is used for many other kinds of films as well.

Cheers,

R.

notnoBuddha

I agree with the other post that very likely none of us will ever see the total end. We as a people - or at least some have a real love affair with what was, rediscovering the past, reliving the "good old days". There also will be those that were never expoused to it will find it attractive just because it will be novel and at least a few will be convinced that it has a feel for it that digital will never duplicate.

EricLPT Loc: Jonesborough TN

Three words: Polaroid Project Impossible.

Eric

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

Donald Green wrote:

I have a question for the readers......
How long does everyone think it will be before there is no film such as 35mm or when does everyone feel digital will take over.
also does everyone feel the end of 35mm will be the end of medium format.
I have heard that the Signa chip being a three layer chip will put an end to film..simply because of the high resolution

Film is already getting very hard to find if you want something specific. My medium format standard E6 has gotten so hard to find I searched for 3 weeks to find 10 rolls last month. Another member here is having a terrible time finding his instant medium format product too. Kodachrome is long gone, as well as many specialty 35mm films. And the prices are going WAY up due to the shrinkage of users. Film will never totally go away so long as there are enough people using it to justify manufacturing. But the shrinking number of processors is pushing the number of users dangerously low so its a downward spiral of death in many ways. The future no doubt holds more digital nails for the film coffin, I am one who hopes it doen't come while I am still shooting.

photocat Loc: Atlanta, Ga

Yes, some types are gone, but this end of film business is madding.

Ilford just came out with a new printing paper and in some parts of the world, including the states there has been a new interest in film and darkroom work, specifically with teenagers. THey have grown up in the digital world and find it boring.

rfbccb Loc: Central Mississippi

Don't know how long film will last but with KODAK getting ready for chapter 7, the ime could be getting close.

I did a post about KODAK earlier but it has not shown up yet.

photocat Loc: Atlanta, Ga

There are other film companies, Kodak stopped supporting black and white film long ago. In the early 80's they shut down their research department. The last developer they came up with was Xtol.

So this journey has been a long time in the making. It is a bit surprising they have lasted this long. George Eastman must be turning over in his grave.

davpal Loc: long island

IT IS SAD THAT KODAK WILL CLOSE AND PEOPLE WILL LOSE THERE JOBS THAT
IS THE WORST PART. BUT DIGITAL IS THE BEST YOU . EVERY PHASE
OF TAKING AND SHOWING THE PICTURE. THE COST IS NOTHING AS COMPARED TO BUYING AND HAVING THE FILM PROCESSED. PLUS WITH ALL THE DIFFRENT
PROGRAMS YOU CAN BE CREATIVE AND CHANGE THE PICTURE

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

davpal wrote:

IT IS SAD THAT KODAK WILL CLOSE AND PEOPLE WILL LOSE THERE JOBS THAT
IS THE WORST PART. BUT DIGITAL IS THE BEST YOU . EVERY PHASE
OF TAKING AND SHOWING THE PICTURE. THE COST IS NOTHING AS COMPARED TO BUYING AND HAVING THE FILM PROCESSED. PLUS WITH ALL THE DIFFRENT
PROGRAMS YOU CAN BE CREATIVE AND CHANGE THE PICTURE

Shooting digital has nothing to do with being able to manipulate a photo in a software program. You can scan ANY film image and manipulate it in exactly the same manner. The difference is you get a smoother rendering of the image when scanning the film as it is not restricted to the size of the cameras sensor. I scan all my old negs and slides. And when it comes to sales? I sell prints of my old film shots at a rate of 8 to one over my newer digital shots, they simply look better when enlarged and displayed. I still shoot film (Nikon F5) and digital (Nikon D7000) side by side in the field. I LOVE digital, but sometimes it just cannot measure up.

rfbccb Loc: Central Mississippi

davpal typed his reply in all caps. Is that like the teacher slapping your hand?

I am using digital but is not change the fact that I still like to shoot film. When I do I think about what I am fixing to shoot, Sometimes with digital I don't stop anf think. I just shoot a bunch.

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

Time marches on. They don't make buggy whips, iron lungs, or manual typewriters much anymore either. When the typewriter came out, did authors say "oh, woe is me, I can't write with a quill pen anymore, life as we know it is ruined...". No. The TALENT is there regardless of the medium used to record it. I can't believe that anyone would seriously argue that Hemingway would have been SOOOOO much better if he hand-written For Whom The Bell Tolls instead of using a typewriter, any more than you could say the Hamlet would have been SOOOOO much better if it had only been written on an IBM Selectric.

Just because you CAN shoot faster with digital doesn't mean you HAVE to. People who 'rush' with digital and then poke along at a snail's pace when they shoot film are just being silly. I can type very slowly on a typewriter, or write very quickly with a pen. The instrument make no difference, in the long run.

To bemoan the death of film because it means that photography is now headed downhill creatively is ridiculous.

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

<dbl click> Sorry.

rfbccb Loc: Central Mississippi

I guess I Like to be silly. However this is why I don't make many comments. Some people with superior attitudes want to take over. I started this thread to post the news about KODAK.

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

rfbccb wrote:

I guess I Like to be silly. However this is why I don't make many comments. Some people with superior attitudes want to take over. I started this thread to post the news about KODAK.

I don't have a 'superior' attitude. I'm not the one saying Film Is Better. Or Digital, for that matter. If you understand my post, all I'm saying is that TALENT is what matters, not the medium used. For someone to propose that they can only make good pictures using film is preposterous. If you have talent, you can use a goddam glass plate to make a picture, it doesn't matter. If you don't have talent, using film to try to make up for it is equally meaningless.

So Kodak dies out. That's what happens when you don't do R&D and instead spend all your time trying to keep competition out of your business. Curtiss-Wright doesn't make fabric biplanes anymore either.