Digital to Film

[shanghaishah]

I have a D70...Love it...except I also like taking B&W pictures...post processing color digital images into B&W just doesn't cut for me..so I went and got myself an F80. BOY! What a differance in work and composition flow when moving across platforms.

The biggest differance was in having to think about the photo composition - with digital it was just Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!. I know some members would say : this guy doesn't get it - its the quality that counts! Believe me, I understand, but from a learning curve perspective, you shoot as many pictures as you want in digital format and you learn from your mistakes - sometime as many as 9 out of 10 bad pictures, sometimes ten out of ten (in the beginning) , until you get comfortable with aperture and shutter settings, DOF, the quirks of your lenses and camera controls...till you're finally happy with the way your picture finally turns out, hopefully most of the time. With film SLRs its a different ball game because it can get really expensive! So I find myself having to think things through before committing the release of the shutter. And this is something that I'd highly recommend to anyone else that started out with digital - beg or borrow a film SLR and take it for a spin over a weekend. It will really open your eyes.

That being said, moving across to the F80 was easy as the camera controls are very similiar to the D70. A few differances, but a quick flip of the manual or talking to someone that knows the F80, and you're ready to shoot in 15 minutes.

Two things really stood out - the view finder ( Oh My Gosh! - where did all that space come from in the F80!! ) and not having to fiddle with white balance and custom curves. I never realised how much of a differance the crop factor makes in the field of view of the D70 - I am going to be griping about this everytime I pick up my DSLR up! Ouch!

The digital vs film issue had been argued to death ( and some more ) in many forums and articles. I love my DSLR, but I'm looking thorugh new eyes from my film SLR. You've got to try it to really understand!

Note: I'm just a weekend amatuer photographer with a regular 9-5 job. I don't even take good pictures most of time...well at least some are good enough to have my wife say " wow!, that's nice... where are we going for dinner!" , and my views expressed are from a layman's perspective. I know many intermediate and advanced amatuer photographers would perhaps laugh when reading the above - I got interested in photography when I picked up a D70 having graduated from an old Minolta P&S idiot proof film camera. I smile and shake my head when thinking about the initial learning curve!

[student]

Originally Posted by shanghaishah What a differance in work and composition flow when moving across platforms. The biggest differance was in having to think about the photo composition - with digital it was just Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!. So I find myself having to think things through before committing the release of the shutter.

I am also a "weekend" photographer (OK, I also shoot during the weekday!).

I do not shoot digital at all (Actually I bought a canon D30 when it first came out. Decided I did not like it and got rid of it!). I shoot only black & white, and use the most primitive of camera. Your F80 looks like a technological marvel compared to my beat up old manual everything camera.

You brought an important point, regarding mindset. Actually there is NO reason why you cannot use the D70 just like a manual camera - with discipline. In fact, you can probably learn much faster and cheaply! The problem is actually the USER, and TEMPTATION.

"Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil". The problem is the inherrant nature of man to submit to temptation. It is easy to just, as you said, shoot, shoot, shoot with the digital medium. And if you shoot enough, there is a good chance one good picture can result. So why do you have to agonise? Then the question is, who takes the picture, you? or the camera?
There is a certain satisfaction that with manual camera, you can say, this is MINE effort!

So welcome!

And also "progress" to developing your negatives and making your own prints! Hope you won't regret it!

[swhyge]

Oh Boy! do you own a vacuum tube amplifier and with vinly album for the home theater set? I have heard people swear by their sound quality.

I would think that most people move the other round - film or p/s or nothing to digital.

Originally Posted by shanghaishah I have a D70...Love it...except I also like taking B&W pictures...post processing color digital images into B&W just doesn't cut for me..so I went and got myself an F80. BOY! What a differance in work and composition flow when moving across platforms. The biggest differance was in having to think about the photo composition - with digital it was just Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!. I know some members would say : this guy doesn't get it - its the quality that counts! Believe me, I understand, but from a learning curve perspective, you shoot as many pictures as you want in digital format and you learn from your mistakes - sometime as many as 9 out of 10 bad pictures, sometimes ten out of ten (in the beginning) , until you get comfortable with aperture and shutter settings, DOF, the quirks of your lenses and camera controls...till you're finally happy with the way your picture finally turns out, hopefully most of the time. With film SLRs its a different ball game because it can get really expensive! So I find myself having to think things through before committing the release of the shutter. And this is something that I'd highly recommend to anyone else that started out with digital - beg or borrow a film SLR and take it for a spin over a weekend. It will really open your eyes. That being said, moving across to the F80 was easy as the camera controls are very similiar to the D70. A few differances, but a quick flip of the manual or talking to someone that knows the F80, and you're ready to shoot in 15 minutes. Two things really stood out - the view finder ( Oh My Gosh! - where did all that space come from in the F80!! ) and not having to fiddle with white balance and custom curves. I never realised how much of a differance the crop factor makes in the field of view of the D70 - I am going to be griping about this everytime I pick up my DSLR up! Ouch! The digital vs film issue had been argued to death ( and some more ) in many forums and articles. I love my DSLR, but I'm looking thorugh new eyes from my film SLR. You've got to try it to really understand! Note: I'm just a weekend amatuer photographer with a regular 9-5 job. I don't even take good pictures most of time...well at least some are good enough to have my wife say " wow!, that's nice... where are we going for dinner!" , and my views expressed are from a layman's perspective. I know many intermediate and advanced amatuer photographers would perhaps laugh when reading the above - I got interested in photography when I picked up a D70 having graduated from an old Minolta P&S idiot proof film camera. I smile and shake my head when thinking about the initial learning curve!

[2100]

If you say until like that, get hold of a FM2 or FM3a. Split screen focusing etc......... even more shiok.

PS. Actually i do use MF, manual mode and if it's auto, it means AF and aperture priority. No auto WB, auto ISO, blah...

[foxtwo]

It would be great if you can bring the F80 mindset to when shooting with your d70. Compose through your d70 and if you think you don't like it, don't shoot it. Move on! It's always the case of me shooting 10+- frames on my fm2n and someone else shooting 30 to 40+- frames with their digital during a single outing! (never fails to amaze me on what were they shooting at. )

The cost of film photography should not be stopping you from shooting, rather it should be that you fail to make a composition that stops you from shooting.

Here's to your journey into film photography
Give you more time and maybe it's possible to make a total film convert out of you!

[shanghaishah]

Originally Posted by swhyge Oh Boy! do you own a vacuum tube amplifier and with vinly album for the home theater set? I have heard people swear by their sound quality. I would think that most people move the other round - film or p/s or nothing to digital.

Sorry no home theater system, though I wish that could afford some of the high end tube amplifiers /sound systems I've seen . Vinyl or CD, digital or film, its highly subjective - what matters in the end I guess, is what works for each individual.

Actually I'm rather glad that I discovered film SLRs after digital. The learning curve I think was easier and more forgiving. f-stop, shutter seed, ISO, DOF, exposure compensation, white balance, histogram, composition - heck all I wanted to do was to take pictures! The digital platform allowed almost instantaneous correction of errors, which in turn helped me understand the meaning behind all the jargon I had read up on and their relationship in capturing a story; gratification in being able to correct my mistake immediayely and being able to reconfirm by replicating the error at no additional costs on top of the initial outlay for body, lenses, software and CF cards ( if my wife were reading this, she would be shaking her head ).

Crossing across to another platform was the eye opener. It made me realise that even though I understood the technical terms, I was complacent because shoot! shoot! shoot! - no problem what, sure tiok at least one or two! Having to rethink the approach and procedures was cool as it presented a prespective useen before, and applying the same mindset each time I pick up my DSLR would I think make me a better photographer.

All things being said - we're all in this cos' its fun, and BOY, I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS EARLIER! ( but then again, I wouldn't have been able to justify the cost of a DSLR a couple years back before the Rebel and the D70 came along! )

Student, 2100 and Foxtwo -thanks for the encouragement! Bros, if you're into manuals, your jaw will drop if your ever make it up to Shanghai and visit the camera market here. They've got loads of hole in the wall shops that carry old bodies and lenses. Haven't seen anything like this in Singapore.

Shah

[2100]

Originally Posted by shanghaishah Bros, if you're into manuals, your jaw will drop if your ever make it up to Shanghai and visit the camera market here.

Nah...just played played with FM2, that's all. I am still into digital. Will try to visit Shanghai one day, it's on my list. Heard lots of good stuff to take pic of too..... Maybe go for honeymoon....

[student]

I really think the ULTIMATE manual system is the view camera.

Here, nothing works and everything works. It is only as good as the photographer!

[Silverelf]

Originally Posted by student I really think the ULTIMATE manual system is the view camera. Here, nothing works and everything works. It is only as good as the photographer!

Agreed, though I love my FM2 instead. I can't blame it for any lousy shots that comes out. cos it never did anything!! On my D70 though.. I can finds LOADS of excuses...