Will film cameras make a comeback like vinyl?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Ghostworld, Jun 5, 2017.

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  1. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Just because digital makes it easy for bad photographers to take thousands of bad shots, it still makes it possible for great photographers to make a few really great ones.

    I frequently run into David Kindler at shows we're both shooting - me shooting video, him shooting stills. I have no idea what his shot to kept ratio is like, but he gets some amazing shots. Here's some from a School of Rock showcase in Milwaukee:

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2017
  2. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    You don't need to make a comeback if you never went away.

    For me, digital is the way to go, but film photography is still the choice of many professionals and committed amateurs.
     
  3. Gary7704

    Gary7704 Chasing that sound….

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I purchased a 16mm film camera, circa the 1950’s as a present for my step son who is a budding writer out in LA. He loves it and is using it to make his films.
    He found a shop in LA that sells the fim and has development services. He take the thing every where he travels to. He even filmed some of our wedding with it.
     
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  4. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    I'm waiting for slides to make a comeback.
     
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  5. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    I know half a dozen pros, and while all of them still have a collection of film cameras, none are doing their professional work with them - they just don't have the time. One shoots an NFL team, one shoots art works, one celebrities, one rock concerts, one models, one food - and all are fully digital and have been for years. People like the late Bill Cunningham were the exception, and he was running out of places to get his film developed.
     
  6. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
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  7. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Vinyl is making a comeback???
     
  8. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Only in kinky clothing.
     
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  9. feinstei9415

    feinstei9415 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    They need to bring back the ability to manufacture and process Kodachrome. That would spark a film camera revival since I don't believe that anything can duplicate the look of a Kodachrome print.
     
  10. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    All I hear is nostalgia talking about the good old days (with a few exceptions).
     
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  11. Jay_Z

    Jay_Z Forum Resident

    500 years ago their ancestors probably complained about the "sterility" of the printing press. :laugh:

    I mostly take pictures of my kids now. It's nice to have the phone, to be able to take multiple copies and keep the nice one. To capture the spontaneity. All of that is just so much easier.

    I've never taken a perfect photo, not back in the day or now. So I'm not going to be rebelling against some sort of perfection that has never existed anyway.

    As others have said, photo lovers should be glad that getting into the hobby is so much easier. Get people to take pictures, maybe they start noticing lighting, framing, doing a better job and caring more. But no, let's pine away for the days when it was so much harder to do all of this. Just makes me shake my head.
     
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  12. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    US
    Slides weren't that cool. Especially if you got stuck at some relative's house for three hours viewing his recent trip to Iceland.
     
  13. Dave Garrett

    Dave Garrett Senior Member

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Kodak has talked about taking a look at what would be required to resurrect Kodachrome, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it, as the chemicals are quite toxic, and the process is expensive and very, very complicated. Also, I'm not sure if any of the processing equipment is still extant. But you'd think that Kodak would have enough remaining institutional knowledge to get things up and running again if they really put some effort into doing so.

    IIRC, since the last processing line shut down, there have been at least a couple of dedicated amateurs who have been able to replicate the chemistry close enough to manually process Kodachrome film with fairly successful results.
     
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  14. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Well, I think you have to just take them for yourself and enjoy it to that end. I take photos of kids in theater and it's fun to see their reaction when they are shown on a screen later (parents buy a photo disc). There is interest, you just have to find things people are interested in.
     
  15. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    That's the truth! Totally different thing. And watching home movies. I remember the I Love Lucy episode about that...was hilarious. Lets face it...we are far more interested in things we take photos of than most anyone else will be. Has always been that way. So, if you love doing it you have to find a niche and fill it. Then, peopleWILL want to see your work and it's a blast!
     
  16. Khaki F

    Khaki F Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kenosha, WI. USA
    Technicolor needs to make a comeback though. Nothing else like it.
     
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  17. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Movable type just has no soul compared to the beauty of a woodcut.
     
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  18. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    The look of Technicolor can be duplicated by a skilled colorist. Look at Todd Haynes' Away From Here, which managed it.
     
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  19. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Just wait until internal combustion cars become obsolete in a decade or two, there will the usual brigade opining about the lack of vroom-vroom noises and the sweet smell of gasoline, oil and hydrocarbons!
     
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  20. MichaelXX2

    MichaelXX2 Dictator perpetuo

    Location:
    United States
    I use my Nikon FE and Fuji Provia to take casual pictures of everything, and people always tell me my pictures stand out. I always shoot brightly lit and loudly-colored scenes of candid moments, right out in the sunlight. I've never liked how digital cameras render bright colors. Shooting black and white is fun as well. I disagree with the notion that digital sensors have exceeded film's capabilities. I've seen some good results from digital cameras when you apply hours of tedious processing, but I prefer to just get it right in the camera, scan it, and look at a nice chemical print a few weeks later. It's just fun!
     
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  21. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Oh, that is already happening! Internal combustion hot rods are regularly getting their doors blown off by Teslas, and the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments is a wonder to behold. Elon Musk just Tweeted about the new car with a 0-60 of less than two seconds (0-100 kph in 1.9 sec.)
     
  22. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Yep, the new roadster, with over 600 miles of range on a single charge. He's also just unveiled a new electric semi truck for goods transportation and a mass market Model 3 passenger vehicle. All the major world car companies are now committed to electrification, including the biggest market of all, China (and very aggressively so). Some major cities across the world have announced the banning of IC vehicles inside their borders within 15 - 20 years. Definitely happening, but we digress...
     
  23. Khaki F

    Khaki F Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kenosha, WI. USA
    I've looked at some clips from Away From Here, and it's good coloration... but does not have the lavish, saturated look of something like Rear Window. Now I know Window was Hitchcock, but it was a claustrophobic setting, and despite that, the tone of every surface mattered. Other films using the same process achieved a similar result. It's the "bringing every object to life" effect that I love about the original Technicolor works. Michael Mann's Manhunter came very close to achieving that effect, so I imagine it is possible outside of using the actual process. The look isn't gone for very often, and I miss that. Maybe that's what I'm trying to say.
     
  24. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    I've been extremely excited about this. Like I said in another post, they're tweaking the formula to deal with environmental regulations but are in the coating and testing phase right now.

    Italy's Film Ferrania (marketed as 3M and Scotch in the U.S. back in the day) is in the long process of reviving a small part of their old factory and coating machine. I've been following them online for a few years now, and it's been an incredibly difficult process. I always knew film manufacturing was complicated, but I had no clue how complicated it is! Anyway, they just released a B&W film based on their 1960s-era emulsion and they're planning a reissue of their old positive film (ScotchChrome back in the day...) soon.

    I'm shocked at color film being reissued. A few years ago I'd say that best case scenario is one or two B&W factories carrying on indefinitely, but that all color film and processing would die off. Fingers crossed this doesn't seem to be the case.

    dan c
     
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  25. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
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