What Will Happen To Our Film Cameras?

[funtasy]

More and more are using digital cameras. Many even start off photography with a digital camera. I am wondering what will be the future for film cameras. Will there come a time where they become obsolete. Will there be a situation where they no longer produce film cameras and 35mm films? .. and colour labs no longer develop and print 35mm film. If that really happens, what is going to happen to the film cameras that we are having now? as a show piece?
Looking at the prices of used equipment in the market today, I can see that the value of many used manual SLRs and lenses have dropped. Again will it come a time when people will not want to buy a used manual SLR?

 

[Pro-New]

More and more are using digital cameras. Many even start off photography with a digital camera. I am wondering what will be the future for film cameras. Will there come a time where they become obsolete. Will there be a situation where they longer produce film camera and 35mm films? .. and colour labs no longer develop and print 35mm film. If that really happens, what is going to happen to the film cameras that we are having now? as a show piece?
Looking at the prices of used equipment in the market today, I can see that the value of many used manual SLRs and lenses have dropped. Again will it come a time when people will not want to buy a used manual SLR?

the day will come. call it evolution.

 

[Astin]

What has happened to your Cassette Tape Player?
What has happened to your VCR?
What has happened to your Laser Disc Player?
What has happened to my hair?

 

[zig]

honestly i feel film photography will go into the direction of esotericism if you ask me, it will become increasingly rare and expensive....developing and printing will become rare and much sought after skills...probably the medium will become exclusively fine art?..

we use to say that cds willl eventually make vinyls extinct, but look at the clubs and top flight djs around the world.. they are still using vinyls to spin.
one vinyl cost at least $15 now at most with 4 tracks its not cheap but people still buy it cuz of what it represents and the warm tonality of the medium.
generally i feel the world has changed quite a bit now...its no longer out with the old and in with the new any more...

 

[LimCB]

Ya, I worry about the demise of film cameras every day, every hour and every second of my life.

 

[alvin]

Use it till its dead? I for one just bought another film camera *just yesterday*. Duh.

Alvin <- digital to slide film convert.

 

[Stoned]

What has happened to your Cassette Tape Player?
What has happened to your VCR?
What has happened to your Laser Disc Player?
What has happened to my hair?

I actually still own and use all these :bsmilie:

 

[Francis Lee]

Photography Invented! What will happen to painting?

Coloured Film Introduced! What will happen to B&W?

Digital Photography Arrived & Conquered! What happen to Films?

Kodak & Fuji retrenched staff worldwide since 2002!
Kodak & Fuji R&D & introduce newer negative & positive films!

There will always be a place for both medium. I'm keeping my darkroom while having a Digital 'darkroom'.

 

[alvin]

I've been carrying my cameras virtually everywhere I go (ok not to the market or when I go swimming but u get the point) and when I meet people, most non-photogs are surprised I am using an archiac, dated, dead medium like film, and not digital. From what I gather, most people have NO IDEA what slide film is, only negatives.

I showed them slide film and they were pondering, hey, why is the negative in *full colour*? DUH! Is there such a thing? Yes I said. This is the film used in projectors! Sigh. I am thankful I happened upon slides halfway through my digital escapade (I have 4 digital cams in my home, wanted to get DSLR actually, till i shot 1 roll of slides). I do not think any of my digital images on my monitor will beat viewing a good exposed slide on a lightbox + loupe. I rarely print.

Enough ranting. Here's hoping Velvia and XP2 will never go. Honestly, if someone gives me a KM 7D or C 1D, I will probably return it to them. Unless of course they give me, I sell it haha! No slide output, and as a hobbyist, I don't see the point of such cameras.

Alvin

 

[ortega]

The tonal of file (negative or trans) is still much better that digital, and if you want to enlarge to it poster size, the grains are still acceptable while square pixels are not. in fact I think that the grains actually add a certain mood to the picture. Remember reticulation.

 

[student]

the day will come. call it evolution.

The day will never come. Call it certainty.

 

[student]

Ya, I worry about the demise of film cameras every day, every hour and every second of my life.

Take some Prozac. Your worries are unfounded!

 

[zaren]

I actually still own and use all these :bsmilie:

what possible use do you have for astin's hair????!!!! :bigeyes:

 

[zaren]

anyone still using APS?

 

[yowch]

what possible use do you have for astin's hair????!!!! :bigeyes:

Weaving into a high strength fibre camera strap!

 

[smallaperture]

I've been carrying my cameras virtually everywhere I go (ok not to the market or when I go swimming but u get the point) and when I meet people, most non-photogs are surprised I am using an archiac, dated, dead medium like film, and not digital. From what I gather, most people have NO IDEA what slide film is, only negatives.

I showed them slide film and they were pondering, hey, why is the negative in *full colour*? DUH! Is there such a thing? Yes I said. This is the film used in projectors! Sigh. I am thankful I happened upon slides halfway through my digital escapade (I have 4 digital cams in my home, wanted to get DSLR actually, till i shot 1 roll of slides). I do not think any of my digital images on my monitor will beat viewing a good exposed slide on a lightbox + loupe. I rarely print.

Enough ranting. Here's hoping Velvia and XP2 will never go. Honestly, if someone gives me a KM 7D or C 1D, I will probably return it to them. Unless of course they give me, I sell it haha! No slide output, and as a hobbyist, I don't see the point of such cameras.

Alvin

Yeah, anyone who has seen the same pic taken with a digicam and slide or even negative and then scanned and compare the image would straight away see the huge difference. The trouble is that few has seen such comparo.

Also, digital is so sexy in many ways. It's a matter of time that digital might be able to match film.

 

[jsbn]

Film, whilst it may not die out completely, will probably go the way of B&W where it'll be more of a fine arts medium instead.

Shld the day my skills reached an unparalleled height, I might juz get a film body. Right now, I have to concentrate on getting my shots right. If I can't even do it properly on my DSLR, how can I even do it properly on a film SLR?

 

[Amekaze]

I certainly don't think that film will be phased out. I feel that digital is just a cheaper and faster way to pick up the neccessary skills especially with those compacts packing so many manual controls in them.

I read from somewhere before that most digital users don't print their photos and they just keep it in the hard disk... then what happens to all your memories in the photos when your hard disk crashes?

For me, after digital it will definitely be back to film. Anywayz it's also so cool if you know darkroom and wash your own photos.

 

[Laurie G]

What has happened to your Cassette Tape Player?
What has happened to your VCR?
What has happened to your Laser Disc Player?
What has happened to my hair?

It fell out because you were too worried about what happened to you casette player, vcr and laser disc

 

[Francis Lee]

Yeah, anyone who has seen the same pic taken with a digicam and slide or even negative and then scanned and compare the image would straight away see the huge difference. The trouble is that few has seen such comparo.

Also, digital is so sexy in many ways. It's a matter of time that digital might be able to match film.

Images from films that went thru' scanning becomes 'digitalised', thus inheriting some 'bad' qualities of being digitalised where contrasty scenes appears to be 'cut & paste'.