Do you think 35mm film will completely go away? [Archive]

PapaBear

06-18-2008, 08:48 PM

I mentioned in "our kids" thread that my oldest son (now 18) has fallen under the spell of a crazy girl and completely cut off contact with the family. That's not what this is really about, though. Before he met the new girl, his old g/f got him a deal on a Nikon N90s. His school called to tell me they cleaned out the lockers and the camera was still there. I'm guessing he doesn't want it because it came from the old girl (or the new girl doesn't want him to have it). In any case, I've always wanted an N90s, so damn if I'm going to let the thing go to waste.

When I sold cameras 9 years ago, this camera was selling for around $900. I looked on ebay, and these things are going for 50 bucks now. Now don't get me wrong. I love digital. I've been using it almost exclusively for years, but this is such a great camera. It almost makes me sad that they are practically giving them away now.

I went to Wal Mart tonight to get some film to try it out. Nine years ago, Wal Mart's film section was HUGE. When I went tonight, they had about 10-12 pegs with about 3 packs of film each. Some of the pegs were completely empty.

How long do you think it will be before it will be almost impossible to buy film and get it developed?

PS... Anyone here have a good deal on any lenses? The cameras are dirt cheap, but since the lenses still work on digital cameras, they are just as expensive as ever.

JPMNICK

06-19-2008, 05:43 AM

i do not think it will ever go away, just become a niche market. I mean you can still get black and white film, even after color film came out.

MisterSmith

06-19-2008, 05:54 AM

i do not think it will ever go away, just become a niche market. I mean you can still get black and white film, even after color film came out.

Agreed. I think 35mm film will primarily be used by professionals and artists, and the only way to get it will be special order or a camera store.

Think about it like records. You can still get them, but it isn't terribly easy and there aren't many made.

Ritalin

06-19-2008, 06:16 AM

Film will never completely go away, although if you live in certain areas you'll probably have to order it.

The bigger question is, where will you have it processed? You'll have to send that out, too.

Cheap lenses? Try the used departments at B&H and Adorama, and don't be afraid to buy things from ebay. I've bought serious equipment on ebay, and as long as the dealer is reputable you'll have no problem. If you're in or near the city you could check out Craig's list too, but I wouldn't buy anything like that unless I laid eyes on it first.

(quick film tip: if you're sending away for film or going to a pro shop, try Kodak E 100 G, and overexpose it. It's rated at 100 iso, so manually change the setting on your camera to 80, then process the film normally. Beautiful color, great skin tones)

Good times.

Edit: oops. I just noticed that you're not in the city. You can order film from a lot of different places, and keep it refrigerated. PM me if you need some names.

Freitag

06-19-2008, 07:19 AM

I have a film SLR, and it was nice for back in the day, but I couldn't even think of using it now.

The biggest advatange, to me, is taking as many pictures as possible and then cutting through the garbage shots to get the best pics available. You couldn't do that on a film camera.

One of my biggest regrets is dropping out of a photography class because I couldn't see in the darkroom and the chemical smell turned my stomach.

Freitag

06-19-2008, 07:21 AM

BTW, if anyone wants to buy a Sigma SA-300 SLR with 2 lenses, let me know. It's in OK condition, but it's just collecting dust. I hate the fact that I can't use the sigma lenses with my XTI.

JerseyRich

06-19-2008, 07:22 AM

Freitag

06-19-2008, 07:24 AM

It will go away.

Try getting a roll of film developed at Target...it ain't happenin'.

The consumer drives the market, and that market is disappearing. It has happened much faster than anyone ever thought it would...

5 years from now, you won't be able to find a place in your town to develop it.

Polaroid...gone(Fujifilm still makes instant film)
Canon...No more film cameras
Nikon...No more film cameras
Fujifilm...No more film cameras

Huh? My local Target and WalMart and Walgreens all offer film processing. It's still next-day, but it's still available.

The disposable one-click cameras are still very popular with the novice users and kids. I think film still has a 10 year lifespan before getting very specialized.

A.J.

06-19-2008, 07:42 AM

The disposable one-click cameras are still very popular with the novice users and kids.

Until they replace those with disposable digital cameras, they will remain popular at wedding receptions.

Sinestro

06-19-2008, 12:11 PM

I Found Some Old Negatives. I Think It's From C-110 Film (or Whatever The Flim Standard Was In The 70's). Is There Any Place I Can Develop It?

PapaBear

06-19-2008, 05:56 PM

I Found Some Old Negatives. I Think It's From C-110 Film (or Whatever The Flim Standard Was In The 70's). Is There Any Place I Can Develop It?
I think Wal Mart might still do it. If you can't find a place that "officially" prints it, you can try to find a friend who works at a lab. Even if they don't have the 110 carrier for their machine, it's possible to wing it.

Ritalin

06-19-2008, 06:01 PM

I Found Some Old Negatives. I Think It's From C-110 Film (or Whatever The Flim Standard Was In The 70's). Is There Any Place I Can Develop It?

They're processed negatives? Meaning that you can hold them up to the light and see the images on them?

If that's the case, then all you need to do is have them scanned. Anyone with a decent flatbed scanner could do that.

tbagnu

07-02-2008, 05:46 PM

fezident

07-02-2008, 06:17 PM

There are still quite a few wedding photogs that shoot film (medium format) and there are still clients that demand/request it.

There IS a market for 2 1/4" format photography. Guys are still shooting with Hassleblad cams & lenses.

Shooting digital RAW is the new standard but, the same way tube amps and ribbon mics will never be fully extinct, neither will film. As somebody stated earlier... it'll be niche.

ahhdurr

07-04-2008, 08:28 AM

I agree with Fezident. It's going to be a niche market... primarily it'll be digital (or whatever follows it) but if you've ever done dark room work, you know the grain of film dodging and burning and how that affects the finished product. I may be wrong but digital cameras and software (from my experience) are actually really shitty unless you spend a fortune on equipment.

Give me my old Pentax K1000 and a roll of 200 speed b/w 35mm film any day.

I like the analogy to sound equipment a lot. Not too many guitarists will gig with a big old tube amp, but you don't get SRV from solid state.

Fishkin Brothers in Perth Amboy, NJ were fantastic with their selection of used/new lenses back in the day. Don't even know if they're still in business. EDIT: here's a shocker - Fishkin's defunct.

usoilworker

10-04-2008, 03:47 PM

There are advantages with digital that the general consumer thrives on Instant gratification.You get instant access at home print the ones you want and trash the ones you don't virtually unlimited storage. You take a photo and there it is for review your not running through 10 rolls of film just to get 1 mabye two good pic. There is still the digital analog argument. No mater what mega pix you get your still only gettinng little square blocks with sharp edges. you can process out most defects make nice touchups with photo editing software but thers still not the depth of image you can get with film. Personaly i havn't touched film in years but i havn't played a record in probably twice that long it's sad but i believe that film will go the way of record. The benifits of digital outway the quality of a good 35 mm photo.

SatCam

10-04-2008, 04:04 PM

I Found Some Old Negatives. I Think It's From C-110 Film (or Whatever The Flim Standard Was In The 70's). Is There Any Place I Can Develop It?

I would say either scan them, or go to walmart and use their send-out service. I believe they send all film to Dwayne's Photo in Kansas ( which will probably be the last place on earth that will be processing film sometime in the future). I think it may actually be cheaper to use the walmart sendout than it is to send to Dwayne's directly.

Local places like walmart, walgreens, cvs... typically reprint only 135, APS and slide, and only develop C-10, with their minilabs. Smaller places might do more, but it is no longer economical to keep some of the more obscure equipment running.

Personally if I shot film (or took pictures at all) I would use Kodachrome slide film, because it's a picture you can't duplicate with a digital camera

http://www.ushomemovies.com/images/photo_kodachrome.jpg

PapaBear

10-04-2008, 07:59 PM

Dwayne's is also the last place on the planet to process Kodachrome film. (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-BC-TEC--KODACHROME_SDEMI_f0270.State.Edition1.37a107c.html )

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Only one commercial lab in the world, Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kan., still develops Kodachrome, a once-ubiquitous brand that has freeze-framed the world in rich but authentic hues since it was introduced in the Great Depression.

Eastman Kodak Co. now makes the slide and motion-picture film in just one 35 mm format, and production runs – in which a master sheet nearly a mile long is cut up into more than 20,000 rolls – fall at least a year apart.
Kodak won't say when the last one occurred or hint at the film's prospects. Kodachrome stocks currently on sale have a 2009 expiration date. If the machines aren't fired up again, Kodak might just sell out the remaining supplies, and that would be the end.

Ritalin

10-05-2008, 05:53 AM

I would say either scan them, or go to walmart and use their send-out service. I believe they send all film to Dwayne's Photo in Kansas ( which will probably be the last place on earth that will be processing film sometime in the future). I think it may actually be cheaper to use the walmart sendout than it is to send to Dwayne's directly.

Local places like walmart, walgreens, cvs... typically reprint only 135, APS and slide, and only develop C-10, with their minilabs. Smaller places might do more, but it is no longer economical to keep some of the more obscure equipment running.

Personally if I shot film (or took pictures at all) I would use Kodachrome slide film, because it's a picture you can't duplicate with a digital camera

http://www.ushomemovies.com/images/photo_kodachrome.jpg

Sure you can.

I would say that a good 90 percent of all the images you see now - newspaper, magazine, catalog - are digital. You can do anything you want with digital. The trick is knowing what it is you want to do, and knowing how to do it.

Mullenax

10-07-2008, 12:22 PM

I don't shop at Urban Outfitters, so I don't really know, but apparently some manufacturer has re-released some of the wackier vintage film cameras. It must be an attempt to market 35 mm film cameras to a new generation? Funny that it's a campaign based on the beauty of light leaks, streaks, and flaws that digital cameras can't re-create. They got:
The Diana
<img src ="http://images.urbanoutfitters.com/is/image/UrbanOutfitters/14548796_32_b?$detailmain$">
The Holga
<img src="http://images.urbanoutfitters.com/is/image/UrbanOutfitters/1453759_00_b?$detailmain$">
The Quad Camera
<img src="http://images.urbanoutfitters.com/is/image/UrbanOutfitters/15268451_00_b?$detailmain$">

Pretty cool. Somebody better start cranking out some film, somewhere.

MacVittie

10-07-2008, 12:58 PM

It'll become a niche thing like vinyl records, 8-tracks, and cassette tapes. I've considered investing in some of my favorite albums on cassette before the price becomes outlandish.

joethebartender

10-07-2008, 01:05 PM

As long as the disc is still around; I wouldn't worry about 35mm disappearing.

oh, wait.

http://crazy80.c.r.pic.centerblog.net/jyybxn0q.jpg

PapaBear

10-07-2008, 07:16 PM

As long as the disc is still around; I wouldn't worry about 35mm disappearing.

oh, wait.

http://crazy80.c.r.pic.centerblog.net/jyybxn0q.jpg
Those things made great throwing stars. I could wing one at least 50 feet.

hunnerbun

10-07-2008, 07:42 PM

As long as the disc is still around; I wouldn't worry about 35mm disappearing.

oh, wait.

http://crazy80.c.r.pic.centerblog.net/jyybxn0q.jpg

OMG this is hilarious. We were going through some boxes that were stored in the basement since we moved in in May. I found a box that was mine and in it I found 2 undeveloped Disc films and 2 disposable cameras. I was wondering if there was anywhere I could get them developed, just to see what in the hell is on them, damned if I can remember.

PapaBear

10-17-2009, 09:28 PM

My daughter needs me to take her senior pic for her (she never likes the one they do at school). My digital is messed up, so I'm going to use the trusty Nikon N90s. I didn't want a repeat of my experience at the top of the thread, so I decided to go to an actual camera store to get some film.

No such luck.

The locally owned camera store, that had been around for many many decades, closed down about a year ago. No problem, I thought. I'll just go to Ritz Camera. I hate the mall, but it's got to be better than Wal Mart. Not only is it not better... IT'S NOT THERE! I now live in a city without a single camera store!:wallbash::down:

BTW... The Wal Mart selection is even smaller than before. They now carry Fuji in 200 and 400, Kodak in 200 and 400, and Kodak color process B&W. That's it.

razorboy

10-17-2009, 09:43 PM

No. People who enjoy developing film will keep it alive.

Kublakhan61

10-18-2009, 06:26 AM

Agreed. I think 35mm film will primarily be used by professionals and artists, and the only way to get it will be special order or a camera store.

Think about it like records. You can still get them, but it isn't terribly easy and there aren't many made.

Right and wrong.

Right
Film will still available to artists and professionals who aren't willing to give up the medium. Kodak is still profiting from film sales (just under a billion in the last quarter of 08) - so, 35mm will be around until it is no longer profitable to produce.

Wrong
I suspect that film will go the way of vinyl (which is easier to get now then it was just 2 years ago) - it will fade into the background as people adapt to new technology but will return as more people come back to believing 35mm is the gold standard. "Digital just isn't as warm and authentic", I can hear it now.

JerseyRich

10-18-2009, 06:49 AM

OMG this is hilarious. We were going through some boxes that were stored in the basement since we moved in in May. I found a box that was mine and in it I found 2 undeveloped Disc films and 2 disposable cameras. I was wondering if there was anywhere I could get them developed, just to see what in the hell is on them, damned if I can remember.

Nope.

Tenbatsuzen

10-18-2009, 07:59 AM

Nope.

He can still get the disposables developed - target, walmart, etc.

Kublakhan61

10-18-2009, 08:38 AM

paulisded

10-18-2009, 09:15 AM

Vinyl is hard to find? Really? Best Buy even carries vinyl these days, and most indie stores never stopped. Even the smallest towns generally have at least one used record store, and there's always Goodwill and garage sales.

SatCam

10-18-2009, 09:40 AM

Really?! You guys are having a hard time finding a place to develop film? I realize I'm lucky to have a guy in my neighborhood who develops film - but every major city in America must still be developing film. There is no problem getting 35mm developed in NYC. Has NJ really checked out on 35mm?

Walgreens has 6800 out of 7000 locations that do 1hr photofinishing... Now if you want QUALITY photofinishing, that's a different story........ if the store opened in the last 2-15 years and is medium-to-high volume it will hopefully have a Fuji machine, which is basically the best you can get from 1hr minilabs... it's what Ive seen in Ritz stores too..... the only problem is they have to be maintained and kept clean in order for them to produce good prints, but they are unbeatable for the price.

Newer stores typically have labs manufactured by Noritsu that basically signal the end of an era. The prints are thermal (as opposed to the old laser/chemical process) and they are not archive quality. Shit, on some of the lower volume machines, if you need a 5x7, the machine prints a 5x8 picture and the clerk uses a paper cutter to cut off the extra inch.

Walgreens is also rasied all their print prices (including digital) and is switching from Fuji Crystal Archive paper to a generic paper to protect their profit margin.........

This is the same story every where, walmart, cvs, rite-aid........

dino_electropolis

10-18-2009, 10:08 AM

Not if unlce paul has anything to do about it.

Ritalin

10-18-2009, 10:45 AM

Here's the basic problem with film: unless you're going to print straight from
the negative then you're digitizing your image anyway. And unless you find a lab that is very strict
about their equipment then you're going to get a lot of color shift when you process.

I've tested labs here in NYC by sending a roll shot identically - in a studio with a fixed lighting setup - to 3 different labs, and you'd be surprised how much the color
shifts from lab to lab.

So unless you're processing and printing your color film with a pro lab, you're losing most of the supposed benefits of shooting color film. If you're processing and
printing at Walmart, I'd say you'll get better results shooting higher end (10mp or above, give or take) and uploading those files to an online printing service. I like the prints I get from ofoto, but there are others out there. Add in the cost and the fact that you'll more likely do more shooting with digital, and I'd say that the move is to put a couple of extra dollars in better digital equipment and learn some basic Photoshop skills.

Now, black and white is completely different. I love black and white film, and it's very DIY.

paulisded

10-18-2009, 11:07 AM

I'd say a more accurate comparison would be with analog tape. Tons of bands would love to go analog-only, but analog tape is hard to come by. Even if it's found, it's next to impossible to find producers and engineers that won't insist on at least some of the project being digitally recorded or processed.

PapaBear

10-18-2009, 07:11 PM

PapaBear

01-18-2012, 10:50 PM

Kodak barely has anything to do with film anymore, but I thought I'd put this here anyway.

Kodak files for bankruptcy, secures $950 million lifeline (http://news.yahoo.com/kodak-preparing-name-restructuring-officer-report-035350987.html)

(Reuters) - Eastman Kodak Co, which invented the hand-held camera and helped bring the world the first pictures from the moon, has filed for bankruptcy protection, capping a prolonged plunge for one of America's best-known companies.
The more than 130-year-old photographic film pioneer, which had tried to restructure to become a seller of consumer products like cameras, said it had also obtained a $950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to keep it going.
The loan and bankruptcy protection from U.S. trade creditors may give Kodak the time it needs to find buyers for some of its 1,100 digital patents, the key to its remaining value, and to reshape its business while continuing to pay its 17,000 workers.

In the last few years, Kodak has used extensive litigation with rivals such as Apple Inc, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd and Taiwan's HTC Corp over those patents as a means to try to generate revenue. Those patents may now be sold through the bankruptcy process.

It's a shame that their only hope for generating any cash is through law suits and the selling off of patents. I'm going to go revisit the film selection at the retailers tomorrow. I'm hoping they'll have a few patents on the shelves. It would be fun to own one, just for shits and giggles.

thepaulo

01-19-2012, 01:49 AM

Kodak is going into bankruptcy.

my problem is I wanted to record something on my old boom box and I couldn't buy any new blank cassette tapes anywhere.

realmenhatelife

01-19-2012, 04:05 AM

Kodak is going into bankruptcy.

my problem is I wanted to record something on my old boom box and I couldn't buy any new blank cassette tapes anywhere.

I guess you sopa'd out the internet yesterday, too.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/890620/TDK-D90-Superior-Normal-Bias-Cassettes/?cm_mmc=MSN-_-NB_OfficeSupplies_AV_B-_-AV_Tape_Cassette-_-Audio%20Cassette%20Tape_29810071

Cassette recording is a thing these days, a lot of bands are putting out tapes.

Kublakhan61

01-19-2012, 10:38 AM

Cassette recording is a thing these days, a lot of bands are putting out tapes.

I saw a limited edition 8-track split. Not a joke.

PapaBear

08-26-2012, 09:07 AM

End of an era: Kodak to sell its film business (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57499679-92/end-of-an-era-kodak-to-sell-its-film-business/)

Kodak is selling the business that made it famous.
The company revealed yesterday that it's selling its traditional print film business as part of an auction to raise cash.
The sale extends to Kodak's entire personalized imaging and document division, which includes kiosks that develop photos, photo paper and still camera film products, and even equipment that snaps souvenir photos at theme parks

I still haven't figured out what to do with my Nikon. It's taking up space. But I HATE throwing away stuff that works.