Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

All of you: Thanks for the memories! My Dad was a professional photographer. He had a darkroom at home, first in the attic, then when we moved to an apartment elsewhere in the city, he took one of the bedrooms to be his darkroom.
As kids (about 4 or 5 years old), one of us was allowed to sit on a stool beside him, and oh, the miracle we saw then. Dad took a piece of thin white card, let the light shine a picture on this piece of card, then put it in a tray of "water" and oh the miracle when slowly that same picture appeared on the card while it was in that water. Then there were two or three more trays the picture had to go through. I had no idea of what these liquids were, but it sure was fascinating.
Dad always kept his darkroom, but a few years later he got a job with a steady income, I started school, and so the sessions in the dk were finished, for me at least. I must ask my brother, but I believe that he still has some of Dad's equipment, if nothing else, at least the enlarger.
But the times in the dk with Dad were precious, because only one of us (I had five siblings) was allowed into the dk at a time, and it meant that for a little while I had Dad all to myself, didn't have to share him with my brothers or sister!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I like to say that when someone says, "Film is dead," they simply mean that *it no longer serves a role for them.*

Film is a viable medium and will continue to be, so long as the manufacturers can make money selling it. It has its niches and its loyal and dedicated users. Many are hobbyists and art photographers with a life-long habit of film photography. It is unlikely they will give it up entirely, although many use digital equipment as well as film. Still others capture on film, scan it, and use the digital images digitally, or print them with digital printers.

There are still some high end commercial applications better served by film than digital, but most commercial workflows are mostly digital for the efficiency and immediacy and control digital affords.

I learned photography from a very young age. I'd had four cameras by the time I was ten, when I got my first darkroom. I was very prolific with photography in junior high and high school, less so in college. I had a lengthy career in the school portrait and yearbook industries, starting as a multi-image AV producer. Later, after other roles, I ran the digital side of the portrait lab as we transitioned from full film/optical printing, to film capture/digital printing, to digital capture/digital printing. At that point, it was off to creating training content required as we changed the business rapidly.

I learned from that experience that "digital bits generally beat film atoms" for most professional applications. But I also learned that digital means can extract more information from film than optical printing can. That has helped me to digitize my slides and negatives and make prints I never would have been able to make in a wet darkroom. And it has helped me extract fantasies from old negatives and slides that I never would have conceived when I first pressed the shutter decades ago.

BartHx

That would be true for those of us who are old enough to remember when a CRT was just too big to put into something you would carry in your pocket. However, as a professional educator, I can tell you that the younger crowd is leaning heavily toward their cell phones which, if allowed, they would tend to use to stay on-line 24/7. Many prefer to put their money into the latest and greatest cell phone and use a computer only if it is provided to them or required of them. Personally, I would prefer to not try to edit a photo on a cell phone screen -- my eyes are just getting too old. I even find my lap top marginal for editing but I will stay with it because it is more than adequate for my other computer needs. I was simply trying to point out (perhaps awkwardly) that film and digital are both perfectly valid media for expression and that it is difficult to effectively generalize comparative costs for any given individual in a concise package. I have no interest in relinquishing either film or digital.

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

This is all very interesting to me. I still have my old Canon T-70 and a couple of extra lenses for it. It needs some repair, for which the part is on order, but still works well. That camera went around the world (literally) with me and took thousands of memories...er, photos...for me. I have 20 or so albums filled with the best of those. I am planning to do a minimal amount of photography with it, partly for the nostalgia and partly for the sheer fun of it. I do not have a darkroom nor do I have a place in my house that would be suitable so outsourcing is my only option, but it will be fun to wait until my prints arrive (pun intended) and see what I did.

I love digital and will never give it up, but I also enjoy film and will never give it up, either. The cost comparison means nothing to me as that is not even close to the point.

I think any debate as to which is better is pointless and an unwinnable argument. Both have their pluses and minuses, both are legitimate mediums and both will always have their place in the world of photography.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Many college students have multiple devices now. One of my twins has a MacBook Pro with two 27" monitors, and a Windows desktop gaming PC with a 24" and 27" monitor (gaming is a team sport at his school). His iPhone gets less use than the computers. The other twin has an iPhone, a MacBook Air, and a gaming workstation. He also has a dumb phone he uses at work, to avoid distraction.

I was at my 45th Davidson College reunion back in June. For about 20 years, the college has required all students to come to school with computers. Since the pandemic began, every classroom has been set up for virtual learning, as well. There are dual boot iMacs (Windows and MacOS) all over campus. Contrast that with 1973, when I was a freshman. We had one NCR Century 100 with 64K of memory, punch card input, and line printer output! Most of us had electric typewriters, a pen and pencil set, and maybe a calculator.

ELNikkor

I don't shoot a lot of film, but am dismayed that the cost of a roll has tripled in one year. (And some common films from last year are not even available any more!)

stanikon Loc: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Interesting. When I was in college in the early 70s I asked a math prof if I could bring an electronic calculator to use during the final exam. He said OK as long as it was silent. Mine was, but it had to be plugged into the wall (no battery). I got there early to get a seat by the wall. It was magic - I was the first one to finish and did not get a single answer wrong. It was a real eye-opener for the prof.

The same semester I took a programming course. The input was all punch card, which we had to do ourselves, then we had to have the password of the day to get them processed because computer time was so expensive.

As an aside...the computer in the first lunar lander used by Neil Armstrong had 5K of memory but without it they would have crashed on the moon.

User ID

The writing on the wall.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

There is a really cool video on YouTube about that computer. https://youtu.be/B1J2RMorJXM

It's long, but difficult NOT to watch. The story is fascinating.

anotherview Loc: California

Your personal concern of pollution from film chemicals adds to the discussion. One can argue that the reduction of chemical releases from switching to digital speaks for itself.

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

I use to work in a darkroom when I was a kid. Great feeling when that image comes up after dodging, etc.

bebop22 Loc: New York City

Ah gentlemen the battle goes on. Just use what you have at hand and make it work for you. Most of us film buffs grew up using and developing film or did it professionally.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

If I use some of the umbers presented here and I shoot @ 50,000 COLOR images per year, many more in previous years, I would spend @ $ 7,500 for purchasing and processing B&W and likely at least 2x as much for color. That's without making any prints or scans. In the old days, I spent between $ 1,250 and $2,000 per month on film processing and printing at a local pro lab for a lot fewer film images. Digital has saved me a fortune over time, even when I consider the time I spend on Post Processing. Yes, I still love film, still have some film cameras, and am very familiar with the film processing/printing process having spent many hours in a darkroom. Digital is my thing for the moment. Best of luck.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I was a photography major 40-some years ago and got away from it after I decided I didn’t want to do the kind of stuff that paid the rent. Then I had to move and lost my darkroom and other interests and needs took precedence. I resisted digital for a while. I really enjoyed the craft of the darkroom and didn’t think I’d enjoy it without that kind of control. I finally relented and I’ve loved working in digital ever since. Especially once I learned I can have the same kind of control and more with processing. I doubt I’ll shoot film again although there’s still a slight yearning for an 8x10 view camera, but I really don’t have room for a darkroom and I’d only shoot film if I’m processing it.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yes, those of us with a background in volume portraiture and event photography will certainly sing the praises of digital workflows. In 1979 when I joined Delmar Studios and Delmar Printing Company as an AV Producer, we used thousands of MILES of silver halide films and photographic papers every year at our school portrait lab and offset printing facilities. That continued until 2007, when we ripped out the film scanners and film processors (we still printed silver halide paper, but digitally).

Of course, now, a comparatively few images are printed. Most are viewed on digital devices of some sort. The beauty of digital is that you can start with film (analog) or digital, and wind up with digital or print (a digital simulation of analog), OR a video.