Hi, guys I am new in photography and just got a 2nd hand Minolta 800si and in addition I bought couple of lens and I believe if I chip in a bit more I can get a 350d but I didn't cause some told me that if you really want to learn the art of photography a SLR will be the best and I did try out the DSLR to my personal point of view I still prefer the weight and the mechanical touch of the SLR and to me I dont really relied on electronic stuff cause some time they fail without waning just like my computer and as far as I believe when there still a demand there be a value there. Just like those people till today they still keeping those mini car and the voxwagon bug
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Film SLR dying.... sad...
- Thread starter Halfmoon
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Well there are plenty of EOS1n in great condition around. I paid over 3K at its peak more than 10 years ago and there are so many can be had for <1K. It is still a work horse, reliable camera. Though I've moved to digital, I don't think there are many more technologies you could add to the camera. EOS3 was the last "great" enthusiast camera that also died natural cause 
diediealsomustdive
Senior Member
Actually this is a great time for guys who love film to have a whale of a time. Film cameras dirt cheap, and manual lenses go for a song. Buy buy buy and shoot shoot shoot.
When it's time to process, ask for processing only. Then squint under a loupe and or get a nice flat bed with film scanner or better still one of those minolta or nikon film scanner, and have another whale of a time. Cheap and very good.
Me? Too lazy. Shooting with D70 or S70 now.
Do as I say, not as I do, ok?
When it's time to process, ask for processing only. Then squint under a loupe and or get a nice flat bed with film scanner or better still one of those minolta or nikon film scanner, and have another whale of a time. Cheap and very good.
Me? Too lazy. Shooting with D70 or S70 now.
Do as I say, not as I do, ok?
wrx_sti_22b
Senior Member
W.Kwai said:
It will become niche & collector loh...
diediealsomustdive
Senior Member
He he then you should get yourself a true mechanical camera, you know, like the still current Nikon FM3a, the not-to-long passed Pentax K1000, or scrounge the second hand market for the FM, FT3, F2A, F, or Minolta SRT-101, 101b, 202, 303, Pentax MX, Canon FTbN (good luck finding one), Olympus OM-1n, OM-3. These are true mechanical marvels, only thing you need battery for is the meter.
I still have a few of these in my dry cabinet, keeping for sentimental reasons.
Seriously, using film SLR you must internalize the learning, and then execute it. Then you find out if you goof or not, a few hours later at the earliest, a few weeks later sometimes. Maybe that's why some say you'll learn better shooting film. Internalizing the learning is the key.
DLSR you get instant feedback, and if you have big GB card, reshoot, change setting like mad, go back and analyze to your hearts' content.
Move on with the times, bro. If a dinasour like me have moved, you should too. I started shooting when electronic SLR (at least 3 generations before the Minolta Si SLR) was the then brain-wasting beast. Canon AE-1 was the SLR.
Stay with film if you want the quality of full frame film, velvia, or whatever film you like.
If you want to learn, you can cut short the learning curve by using a DSLR. Just be disciplined, move that dial away from P or Auto or whatever picture symbol you have (even in your Si SLR). Shoot at least in aperture priority or shutter priority mode, better still, manual mode, spotmeter.
Read and understand the principles of aperture and shutter speed, white balance, depth-of-field, composition, focal length, study other's photos, go out and shot. Look for alternative angles, see if this works better in black and white, change the look by shooting higher ISO, add noise in photoshop, tweak contrast by curves, play with colour by layers, etc.
Then you'll find that you learn very quickly. Much quicker than using film. I took years to internalize some learning on film, and there were learning only internalized only after switching to digital (underwater stuff, since I did not dive too often, what I learn on film I forget the next time I dived).
well said:thumbsup: good lesson for me too
I started with DSLR and now bought film SLR to discover the wonders of film quality. They are different. You tend to be more disciplined with film shooting. With digital, instant review is a convenience but not necc better. Most of the time you end up shooting at least 5-10 times more photos then if you use film and shoot carefully.
Just hope that film photgraphy will be alive forever:thumbsup:
well said:thumbsup: good lesson for me too
I started with DSLR and now bought film SLR to discover the wonders of film quality. They are different. You tend to be more disciplined with film shooting. With digital, instant review is a convenience but not necc better. Most of the time you end up shooting at least 5-10 times more photos then if you use film and shoot carefully.
Just hope that film photgraphy will be alive forever:thumbsup:
Shoot good pictures. Period. ;p
Ansel
Senior Member
well said:thumbsup: good lesson for me too
.....Just hope that film photgraphy will be alive forever:thumbsup:
It will, just like oil, watercolour painting, pencil sketching, etc. Film photography will definitely still exist decades from now, just that it will not be the mainstream process for the masses, but a niche art form for the diehards.
I love film because nothing beats the wonderful colours captured in slides. I also welcome DSLR for its instantaneous review and hence greatly aids in learning from mistakes.
Film is processed by labs, shots taken on digital, you yourself are the "lab" to post-process them. Hence I would say that the equipment and tools costs for DSLR is much more than film but it's a 1-time cost versus film which is continually exhausted.
I tend to try to converse when I shoot film versus digital but I believe that one still needs to get exposure right and composition is still challenging. So whether film or digital, the art of imaging capturing, showing your perception is still there.
Film is processed by labs, shots taken on digital, you yourself are the "lab" to post-process them. Hence I would say that the equipment and tools costs for DSLR is much more than film but it's a 1-time cost versus film which is continually exhausted.
I tend to try to converse when I shoot film versus digital but I believe that one still needs to get exposure right and composition is still challenging. So whether film or digital, the art of imaging capturing, showing your perception is still there.
chanxj
New Member
I personally love to shoot on film as highlighted above the risk factor. More thought is give when taking the shot using film then digital. Constantly, i see digital photographers clicking like a madman without much thought of composition. Some even tell me just shoot at the widest angle then crop to ur liking(i listen in disgust). The digital system has it virtues and i respect it(and use it) but to a certain extent, it is also a curse as many photographers are not able to relate to the photos they took properly as many photos are now by chance......
I tink u got swayed over by listening to older/traditional folks who refuse to change their more rigid or even false mindset. Ok what I say below are my personal opinions. Take only what u feel useful and find out the truths about what I'm saying if it helps clarify issues.
It's a myth that u need film cameras to learn about photography. U can learn photography whether u are using a cheap point and shoot, whether u use film SLR or digital SLR, or whether u use color or b/w films. But what I can say about digital is that it is more fun and quicker for you to learn about photography than the old film cameras. The overall satisfaction is also more favorable, shown by the fact that so many are using digital compared to films, be it super amateurs or professionals.
Sad to say, your 800si is also an electronic cam. Prone to failure too. There is no "mechanical feel" difference between that cam and a DSLR. And no, your 800si is definitely not as high in demand as a 350D!
Anyway, enjoy shooting. Whatever it is, sooner or later, u might be hit by the digital bug. Keep an open mind, read more about digital, and I guarantee u, you might wonder why u haven't considered digital for all its worth over film cams.
-- A digital lover! :lovegrin:
I seriously doubt that film is going to die out, at least not in the near future. There are still a few applications where professionals worldwide stick with slide film, such as landscape and wildlife. The colours and resolution are amazing. Professional landscape photographers use medium and large format cameras, where only slide film is available anyway. Having said that it is quite a specialised feel.
I've always been a fan of film SLRs having started out with one.. it's that feeling of loading the film, sending it to the lab and getting them back, not knowing what's in store...
And yup I agree that with film I'm definitely more picky and choosy and careful about how I choose my shots.. that can be an advantage, makes me really think about how to compose etc.
But yes the learning curve for DSLR is definitely much steeper and faster. I bought a DSLR for this purpose, but I really intend to continue shooting film for years to come :bsmilie:
I've always been a fan of film SLRs having started out with one.. it's that feeling of loading the film, sending it to the lab and getting them back, not knowing what's in store...
And yup I agree that with film I'm definitely more picky and choosy and careful about how I choose my shots.. that can be an advantage, makes me really think about how to compose etc.
But yes the learning curve for DSLR is definitely much steeper and faster. I bought a DSLR for this purpose, but I really intend to continue shooting film for years to come :bsmilie:
Good to hear that. Though you might wanna note that for medium and large format, negatives are available too.
clubgrit
Senior Member
That is what I see too, on MF film, incredible colours and resolution, and superb B&W too, quality embedded on film. Film is now my main medium for my personal satisfaction due to its outstanding high-quality output (even if processed or printed by labs), or for work where utmost quality is demanded. YMMV. For the rest, I just use digital. The convenience of digital cannot be beat.
So, the best of both worlds. Of course, only a few will be inclined to have all the "trouble" that film entails. A personal choice.
This is only referring to the quality of the equipment/medium that one is willing to get into. Great photos in history will be taken in this era with all types of DSLRs and digital P&S, and probably a few on film. I'm sure the judges of the coveted Pulitzer prize won't care at all about what camera was used.
Fellow Clubsnappers,
I think it is quite sad that recently, all SLR release are Digital and no more new film body coming out at all..... I am familar with Canon, but do not recall seeing any new SLR body release even from Nikon and other brand either....
Just feel that it is a bit sad to a certain extend, as I still believe that there is still a market for film SLR...
It will be a market segment that is much more expensive, exclusive.... personnally, still prefer those films and shooting slides.... more.. though I have digital pns... still think SLR film is much more fun.....
Also, I think digital is improving in the image area.... but sometimes, I just feel that when you shoot digital, it is no longer art.. more like mass production, and selecting the better ones... when shooting film, more focus, concentration... much more challenging...
Digital make photography look so easy at times, I think most just photo shop this and that image..... crop it and look nice....
Basically, I shot with DSLR before and SLR... and still prefer SLR better..... I enjoy those challenges and the "RISK Factor".... Just my personal opinion, and sad that SLR film is dying slowly.......
The really sad part here is that the number of shops who process slides and b&w and negatives are slowly disappearing, and development/processing costs are/will getting more expensive. Sometimes I wonder if the shop owners will abandon film and print only digital and there will be nothing left to load my film cameras with.
I guess in the end, all that I can do is to just continue shooting the odd roll of B&W and slide here and there and keep the industry going in my small way.
Actually, I read around the net that film is not really going to disappear so quickly as the film industry still uses 35mm movie film to record their videos. I can't imagine how expensive that would be to shoot movies on 35mm film, but it certainly is keeping Kodak alive.
So no worries
So no worries
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