RTCreed Loc: Forest Park, IL

I shoot both and enjoy digital for family gatherings and other informal shots on vacation and the like. I always carry a film camera with me, either 35MM or 120 when I want to take serious, composed pictures in B&W. While I no longer have a formal darkroom, most of that stuff has been in the attic for over 20 years, I still enjoy developing the film and then scanning it to see the finished image. There is a cost associated with film, and I think it makes you more aware of your composition and exposure, even filtration, when creating an image.

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Uhhhmmmnnn cuz no reason to
assume slowing down simplifies
the "creative process" ... cuz no
creativity can be expressed until
at least minimal craft skills have
been acquired.

The craft is photography, which
has left chemistry behind and is
currently fully digital. Dabbling
in chemical photo is a hands-on
lesson in art history, and maybe
sparks an interest in pursuing it
further, but no currently useful
craft is acquired. You won't get
any better grasp of physics by
learning to use a slide rule. It's
kinda fun, but only amusement.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I can't imagine a bigger waste of time and money in 2020 than to suggest a beginner start their photography journey alone in film. Because alone is what they would be, even with the world's knowledge available from the internet. Sure, there's likely the 1 in a million prodigy who could succeed against the odds, but I'd look for a higher probability in this week's lotto.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

I was about to post my thoughts when I came to your post K, but you have stated my thoughts, perhaps with a few diff words, but the essence is the same.

Beils

I agree. It is about understanding the management of light. Film or digital.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Exactly.
it's just as easy to restrict your usage of bells and whistles as to start with film, and a whole lot cheaper and quicker.

There is nothing preventing a newbie from learning the basics of composition, focus, and exposure using digital except unwillingness to abandon all the automatic bells and whistles to concentrate on skill building. Start with auto mode if you want to work on "seeing", but then work on the fundamentals using digital to learn what you need to learn.

I say this as a photographer who still generally prefers film to bytes.

Andy

ramarsh

Film forced us to be "real" photographers.
The last step in crafting an image included the
mechanics of chemistry and light. We had to slog through the limitations of the craft.
Digital is so liberating that we almost cannot appreciate, or incorporate all the powers of erasing as quickly commirting our intent.

MichaelMcGrath Loc: Ireland

Though I use pro digital cameras, I still much prefer the Black and White results I get from film, especially in medium format for enlargement. But you can even see the difference in 35mm.

MichaelMcGrath Loc: Ireland

Galleries in London and Paris, I found, also prefer prints from film, especially so in Black and White. So if you want to make your name that appears to be the way to go. David Bailey much prefers film and excoriates digital, though he uses it too.

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A buck i$ a buck.

kenArchi Loc: Seal Beach, CA

It isnt about saving money or time, with digital I tend to be more SLOPPY.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

I think probably those who first learned with film have an advantage because they have an analog understanding that serves as a basis for digital. My husband used to be an electronics technician and when he switched to newer equipment and started programming he could visualize the bits and bytes at a very basic level of switches being on or off. This made him more intuitive than those programmers who only learned code.

Not to say you have to learn film or can't do digital. I think artists who paint can probably understand digital better because if their experience with color values and design elements.

Dean37 Loc: Fresno, CA

I learned with film, and it caused me to be super stingy with my film. I have a lot of difficulty using the freedom of digital to just let it rip, and shoot. It was too ingrained in me to be sure you really want or need that photo before you shoot.

I used to shoot maybe two 36 film rolls to ten 36 film rolls and worry until it was developed. I still sometimes only shoot 100 to 200 shots in an outing. Had I started with digital, I would probably shoot 1,000 to 2,000 shots every outing.

I still break out one of my film cameras occasionally to amaze myself that I still can use them and not waste film. Mostly the Nikon F3HP or the F4 because they are, or can be, manual on almost all settings.

I would suggest digital for learning. I think it is great for being able to see what you have taken, immediately and can make changes to settings, framing, lenses, . . .

MichaelMcGrath Loc: Ireland

In reality crop or full frame digital can't compete with medium format film. There's no point in quoting digital medium format as that's not available to most of the world's shooters due to price mainly, and even then medium format digital is not as big as medium format film but is only approx 4mm X 4mm at most as against 6X6 and 6X7.

For large wall photos medium format film is yer man and is most of the photos hung in the top galleries still today. 35mm film is still also seen on top gallery walls, especially black and white film that's definitely superior to digital black and white having much better tone and richer contrast.

I use pro digital cameras all the time, but I know when medium format film is needed too! And usually for exhibition work you don't need to shoot off at ten frames a second. In fact it's better to be slow and deliberate as we are with film.

With daylight tanks you can develop your films straightaway. You can then digitise your shoot , if you wish, whilst retaining your negs for the enlarger for the prints you want to send forward for exhibition.
The best of both worlds!