Comments on: Do You Still Shoot With Film?

By: Roy Hakala

Roy Hakala — Thu, 12 May 2011 00:04:55 +0000

I really enjoy shooting film with my fully manual Canon AT1 and my Olympus XA. I always was skeptical of advice that was essentially ” if you take enough pictures, one or two is/are bound to be good,” which seems a little like the hundred monkeys typing at random in the hopes that they will recreate Shakespeare. It takes imagination, planning, skill, and patience to produce a painting or pretty much any other kind of art. I do a better job of all these things, and I believe I produce better photos, when I am working at making each of the 24 frames in my film camera worth the time and expense of processing it.

By: Art

Art — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:49:59 +0000

I still shoot with film, but only B&W now. The mix today is about 70% digital and 30% B&W, most of the film shot is with a Holga and my last remaining F4s on select night shots and landscapes. I last made a wet print about 3 years ago, now its Film and direct to scanner.

There is no question Digital is immediate, but there are certain qualities of film and film grain that you just can’t fake in Digital even with filters.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:41:40 +0000

Haven’t shot film in 5 years but I still have my Leica M6 on display on top of my bureau! There was something magical about my B/W darkroom but digital is immediate, cheap and portable.

By: Walter

Walter — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:41:55 +0000

I shoot digital to compose, and determine if the shot is worth keeping, if it is, I shoot it on film or slide depending on my usage. I shoot digital also if it is a quick, one time chance , on the street. This is also the only time I shoot full auto, other wise I always shoot manual. Haveing both film and digital is a good choice for me.

By: Andrea McLaughlin

Andrea McLaughlin — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:29:16 +0000

I still shoot Tri-X in my Nikon F3, side by side with by DSLR. To me there is a difference between film and digital capture and I like the look of B&W film. But I’m also a digital geek who started with Photoshop back in the late 1980s. For me it’s a matter of choosing the medium that suits my vision.

Now I own a pro photo lab in Berkeley CA that does film and digital. We definitely see more and more digital but every day we receive film from local photographers and from all over the US. There’s a whole niche of modern wedding and portrait photographers who shoot film and do very very well. Toy cameras are very big now too. Lots of photographers in their teens and 20s seem fascinated with the look and feel of film.

So, from someone who sees the work of dozens of photographers every day, I’d say do what you like and don’t worry about what other people think.

By: Gusto

Gusto — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:25:57 +0000

I shoot both, digital for when i need it and film for when i need it.

Digital is a business format for todays pro photographer, but film is for the purist and there are sometimes when a client will still ask me to use film for the grain and tonality it offers, especially b&w when compared to digital.

I shoot digital mostly..and when i use film it’s always in medium format, or normal slr film for winter scenes… i find digital cannot handle highlights of most high key outdoor scenes aswell as fillm.

I also find it amusing that, todays plugins ( exposure ) for photoshop give you the look and feel of film ” apparently” …so.. suck up the cash and shoot film..if you want it to look like film.

Long live digital, and long live film.

By: David Barto

David Barto — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:26:21 +0000

Digital (Canon 10D) about 99% of the time. Sometimes I take the Elan IIe out and run a roll through it to remind me how taking the time to slow down and compose makes a difference. When I do that, I notice that my work overall improves.

By: John

John — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:57:33 +0000

90% digital, 10% film.

I shoot film because I want to be a better photographer. Shooting film makes you think. The masses of digital users are moving towards the shotgun approach to photography. Don’t think, just hold down the button. Pick out the good ones later. They will have no idea how they made the shot or what they were thinking. Quite simply, lottery based photography. Create something. Have a plan, a vision, attempt it, looks at the results, and learn from them.

By: David

David — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:09:48 +0000

Whenever I decide to do a “shoot,” I always try and mix up film and digital. Film always . . . looks better to me. Digital is good in so many ways, but there is something I have yet to see in digital that I love about film.

By: CheGordito

CheGordito — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:54:37 +0000

I use film all the time. I don’t have a fancy digital camera, so I only use the digital for parties and quick shots. For ‘serious’ photography (including family pictures), I’ve found my old-school SLR is unbeatable. That’s generally true of pictures taken by SLR vs. compact cameras – maybe one day I’ll plonk down a (few) thousand dollars for a good enough digital camera.