Film Is anyone here shooting exclusively film?

Amin

Hall of Famer
I'm enjoying my new Olympus OM-4T a lot and was thinking about buying a film Leica to use my Leica lenses on. I asked my brother whether I should get an M7 or an MP, and as it turns out, he has an extra MP that I can borrow for an extended period of time.

Now I'm having crazy thoughts about selling my M240, Micro 4/3 gear, Sony E-Mount gear, LX100, etc

Why? Simplify. Cut down on time spent processing. Have more money for film, film processing. Plus I appreciate the images more when I have to wait a while to see what I got.

Someone talk me out of this?
 
I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying film.

I would keep one digital system on hand for two reasons:

1. even though i'm 95% film these days, there are times when i need digital. kids school functions, sports, etc.
2. you may change your mind :)

xoxo.
 
I'm happy to hear that you are enjoying film.

I would keep one digital system on hand for two reasons:

1. even though i'm 95% film these days, there are times when i need digital. kids school functions, sports, etc.
2. you may change your mind :)

xoxo.

Maybe just the M240? I don't care about sports...
 
I've thought of doing that myself for awhile now but there are situations that I find myself in that I really need the high ISO (i.e. low light). There seems to be a lack of film options in terms of 3200 and above (as far as B&W anyway) and while pushing is always an option, the resulting grain isn't welcome in certain situations. I also find that when printing a negative that's been pushed or pulled, it takes a little more work and experimentation. I've found that high speed B&W film isn't acceptable for certain images (b/c of the grain) and I always regret it when I use it in the wrong situations simply b/c I need the extra stops.

FWIW - I find the high ISO with digital much easier to work with then a film that's been pushed more than one or two stops. If I were you I'd consider trading some of your digital gear and getting a Monochrom (if your okay with B&W only). I absolutely love the combo of B&W film and the MM, I use film when conditions allow and the MM for everything else. IMO, the MM is as close to fim as you can get with digital which is why it compliments my MP so well. There are other times that I'll chose digital over film (i.e. no time to develope / print myself, don't have money for film / paper, etc.).
 
Yep, almost exclusively.

I can't say absolutely exclusively, as I still use my EP2 for digitising film sometimes, and for the odd colour snapshot like the recent eclipse. But I can't remember the last time I left the house with it.
 
I had the thought back in november/december… i kept a m43 kit then added to it… Now I am back to that thought of selling off my m43s and lenses and going film only. I have really been enjoying the process. This past week I only shot film with the family… This is where I would normally shoot digital, but I wanted to see if how the experience was. I should have the results back in a week or 2.. at that point I will decided if it is a film life for me… Of course I will still have the iPhone :) I will let you know how it goes :)
 
I like my digital kit - M43's & Nikon FF. I'll be hanging onto it as it compliments my film stuff - I get to use my old film lenses on my digital kit and maximise my investment in each system. Oly OM mount macros and fast teles, Nikon AI macros & AF zooms - it all plays nicely together.

I try to run a roll through each of my film cameras at least once a year to keep them ticking over. The process of slowing down and having a more thoughtful approach to shooting film also helps my digital shooting.

As per a recent Eric Kim post - My Experiences Shooting Medium-Format Film in Street Photography; the last section of which compares his mobile-phone shots to his film shots - they end up looking very similar. Proving once again that its not about the gear or the medium - you just need to get out and take pictures you enjoy with tools that are fun to use.
 
for how little I shoot, I really should just shoot film. But I like to look at my shots right away.

I think it's just a phase you're going through. Although you could certainly pare down your digital kit.
 
I find digital takes care of all my color needs. Except for the late, great Kodachrome, I probably am happier shooting color in digital. But a fair amount of my black and white, which is the medium I feel most comfortable with, is still on film. I'm not ready to get rid of any digital kit yet, but if I do get a large format camera again, which I think about constantly, I will probably shoot digital less.

Since I'm devoted to doing my own film processing, digital is less time consuming, despite the significant hours devoted to working in Lightroom and Photoshop. And I just got the Leica X1 I've been lusting after since it came out! I won't stop shooting film, though, and at times it takes over.
 
for how little I shoot, I really should just shoot film. But I like to look at my shots right away.

I think it's just a phase you're going through. Although you could certainly pare down your digital kit.

I'm looking at my digital kit, and I'm having a really hard time deciding which camera or lens to part with first :coco:.
 
I think the question you'd have to answer is "If I lost this camera/lens, would I replace it?" If the answer is no, then there is a candidate for the for sale add. I used this technique recently and pared down my digital kit. So now I use a Fuji X100T and a Sony RX100II, both of these I would replace if they were lost.

-Thomas
 
Thanks @trisberg - that's a helpful way to look at it. I kept the stuff I'd replace, plus the stuff I'm 95% sure I'd buy back within 1-2 years and the stuff that isn't worth much. Sold the rest.

Now I have the money for a bunch of film and processing, plus a nice telephoto for my OM-4T :).
 
Thanks @trisberg - that's a helpful way to look at it. I kept the stuff I'd replace, plus the stuff I'm 95% sure I'd buy back within 1-2 years and the stuff that isn't worth much. Sold the rest.

Now I have the money for a bunch of film and processing, plus a nice telephoto for my OM-4T :).

Bit late to this thread, but just curious what did you end up keeping, Amin?

I have had crazy thoughts lately about massively downsizing and shooting a lot more film myself, but I'm still in a bit of a honeymoon phase with analog so I worry this is just a phase and I'd regret making any major changes.
 
I just sold one of my GX7s… Now I have a Silver/black GX7 & Olympus E-P5… I will probably keep the one that doesn't sell for those times I need a digital and the iPhone won't cut it! Won't be completely out of the digi game, but keep a small kit around. My guess the GX7 will go before the EP5 which i am find with… I really like my EP5.. :) Owell I am shipping off 15 rolls of Color film to the lab tomorrow… Shot them all last week on vacation.. I didn't take any digital with me.. so hence the high number of rolls.. A good mix of expired & non-expired 35mm film.. along with some 120 rolls I shot with my Rollei & borrowed Debonair!
 
I think 35mm film and mirrorless digital cameras are the perfect combo. Share lenses across both :)
I'm sort of tardy in joining the discussion, but I agree with jai. I very much like the Sony A7 I recently purchased, as well as the OM-D E-M5 I'm keeping as a back-up. I also have a handful of film cameras on display, and a couple actually work. Lenses are swapped among digital and film. Right now, I'm running through a roll of expired Kodak Gold 200 in an early edition Pen F with a 38/1.8 lens. I like that little camera! My next camera to receive a roll of film will be a Konica Autoreflex T (which has a broken light meter). The lack of TTL metering definitely makes one slow down and think.

I had a handful of exposed but unprocessed film rolls that had accumulated over the past couple of decades, and I just sent off a couple of rolls to see how they look. Might be junk, but who knows? I intend to stay with digital as my primary, but I do want to learn more about film. Back when I was shooting only film in my 20s and 30s, I knew very little about photography in general and film processing in particular. I just knew how to follow the light meter and focusing screen on my Praktica, and 9/10 times, I ended up with pretty good photos.

TT
 
Hey it is Tony from the other forum we are both on!

I am jealous of A7 owners, but I spent a bunch of money on a metabones speed booster so I'm going to stick with my NEX 5R for a while longer.

I find that I'm getting more and more into film anyway, and shooting less and less digital. Mainly because I love black and white, and I think that is the one niche that film still has the edge over digital. Only when the light is right, and only when you have time to set up the shot. But if you do, black and white film looks better than any digital colour to b&w conversion I have ever seen.
 
I've thought about it, but I don't think I could make it work for everything that I do. So right now film is just a hobby project--developing my own B&W and, eventually, transparency film.
 
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