Film remained the dominant form of photography until the early 21st century, when advances in digital photography drew consumers to the digital format. Film did not completely disappear and sales of photographic film have been on a steady upward trend. Kodak (which was under bankruptcy protection from January 2012 to September 2013) and other companies have noticed this upward trend. Research by UK-based Ilford Photo has found that 60% of current film users started using film only in the past five years and that 30% of current film users are under 35 years old.
Panchromatic B&W film records all colors of light in the same tones of gray. The light intensity (the number of photons per square inch) is what determines what shade of gray gets produced on film. The black and white images presented in this post do not use colored filters to show the basic results and representative grain of a few popular film types.
Sunflower
Chicago, IL
August 2013Body - Canon EOS 1v
Lens - EF 200mm f/2.8L USM
Film - Kodak TMAX 400
Sunflower on film by
Paul Sager, on Flickr
A panchromatic emulsion produces a realistic reproduction of a scene as it appears to the human eye, although with no colors. Almost all modern photographic film is panchromatic.
Cloud Gate
aka The Bean
Chicago, IL
January 2014Body - Canon EOS 1v
Lens - EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM
Film - Fuji NeoPan 400
Cloudgate The Eastman Kodak Company was found by George Eastman in 1888, Kodak followed the razor and blades strategy of selling inexpensive cameras and making large margins from consumables -- film, chemicals, and paper. As late as 1976, Kodak commanded 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the U.S. market.
Santa Fe, NM
January 2015Body - Canon EOS 1v
Lens - EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM
Film - Ilford Delta 100
Santa Fe on film Ilford Photo was founded in 1879 by Alfred Hugh Harman as the Britannia Works Company. Initially making photographic plates, the company grew to occupy a large site in the center of Ilford, a large town in east London, England. In 1902, the company took the name of the town to become Ilford Limited, despite the objections of the local council.
Mr. Red for the Cincinnati Reds
Great American Ball Park
Cincinnati, OH
July 2014Body - Canon AE-1
Lens - FD 50 f/1.2L
Film - Kodak TMAX 100
Mr. Red Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. was established in 1934 as the first Japanese producer of photographic films. Like its rival Eastman Kodak which dominated in the US, Fuji Photo enjoyed a longtime near-monopoly on camera film in Japan. After becoming one of the title sponsors of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics (an opportunity that Kodak passed on), Fuji gained considerable market share in the US, while Kodak had little success in penetrating Japan. Even as early as the 1980s, Fuji had foreseen the switch from film to digital, and developed a corporate strategy to prepare for that switch. While both film manufacturers recognized the fundamental change, Fuji Photo adapted to this shift much more successfully and Eastman Kodak filed for bankruptcy in January 2012.
Sean D. Tucker
Cleveland National Air Show
Cleveland, OH
September 2017Body - Canon EOS 1v
Lens - EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM + 1.4x III
Film - Ilford FP4+
Sean D. Tucker - Team Oracle Earlier posts in the series
Comparing film to digital - part I
Comparing film to digital - part II
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