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Thread: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

  1. #21
    Camera Antipodea Richard Mahoney's Avatar
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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    Quote Originally Posted by Struan Gray View Post
    I will miss movements, but I won't miss handling film - I've never felt that material magic that I know is so important to many.
    Struan, surely you're not suggesting that some of us fetishize polyester?


    Kind regards,

    Richard
    Richard Mahoney
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  2. #22

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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Mahoney View Post
    Struan, surely you're not suggesting that some of us fetishize polyester?
    Well, sheet film is the only form of polyester I can get truly excited about. Dumpy old buggers in baggy, mud-coloured fleece jackets are one of England's least lovely exports to the continent.

    Linen is my personal toe-tingler. I lie awake at night and fantasize about colour carbon on pure linen handmade paper. Pippa Middleton's derriere might have more fans on Facebook, but for me it languishes a long way back amid the also-rans.

  3. #23
    Andrew's Avatar
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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    when they pull the Deardorff from my cold dead hand... and the Technika from the other hand
    as stated above, it isn't about the image quality. I just love a big camera and I'll still keep them even if film goes extinct

  4. #24

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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    Well after being in photography for many years I've found myself going from film to fully digital back to film. For me I really missed something I could get hold of and look at, I have negs going back some 25 years when I first started in photography, but I find it a nightmare looking for digital images. All I need now is a window or a lightbox to view my images. As for film become deceased I've already built two cameras and I have the means to build darkslides and produce my own photographic plates if needed. At the end of the day though a good quality neg or slide is important to me, and a digital image is like trying to grasp fresh air unless you have a hard copy or a machine to view.

  5. #25

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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    .............hopefully, never

    if film isn't available, then it will be dry plate work - I've a stack of holders (gathering dust)


    andrew

  6. #26

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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    If I wanted to switch to a different medium, I'd learn to draw or watercolor. To me, there is no joy in digital capture.
    van Huyck Photography
    "Searching for the moral justification for selfishness" JK Galbraith

  7. #27

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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    I plan to be taking LF photos of the heat death of the universe !

    I use digital for fashion, sport, military airshows and anything that moves - or things that won't stay still like children and animals.

    For landscape, architecture and portraiture where I want ultimate quality it will always be my trusty Ebony that I pick up.

    Rob

  8. #28

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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    I had initially planned to completely switch to digital as soon as Capitalism would collapse under the pressure of its own contradictions.
    I though that 2008 was THE year ; unfortunately, it seems as if this Great Collapse has been postponed for an undetermined period of time.

  9. #29
    MIke Sherck's Avatar
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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    I don't think I will. I sit in front of a computer all day and have for almost 30 years now; the last thing I want to do when I get home is sit in front of a computer, or feed another printer. I'll keep using film as long as I can get it.

    As for large format, I enjoy the process and, particularly, the results. Sure, the equipment is heavy and bulky and I'm getting to an age where it would be really, really nice to have someone carry it for me, but on the other hand, I'm too young to get lazy yet and the fight against entropy knows no end. LF does things other formats can't, or it would have died out long ago. I appreciate the control over the image that movements give, the large negative, the ability to fix what I break with a Scout knife and duct tape...

    Mike
    Politically, aerodynamically, and fashionably incorrect.

  10. #30

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    Re: When will you give up large format and switch completely to digital?

    I shoot large format for two reasons. First, the image quality and the ability to make large prints with a high level of detail and smooth tonality. The second reason is for the perspective control offered by the view camera.

    For me there are two issues. The first is when I would like to switch to digital. The second is when it makes financial sense to do so.

    When I can get an MFDB that will equal the print quality of 4x5 film in a very large print, say 48x60", then I'd like to switch. And we're not there yet. Notice I said print quality. It's possible that some good MFDBs with top lenses will out resolve 4x5 film. But prints from digital backs I've seen (and made myself) still have a slightly 'digital' look at very large sizes. The problem with digital is that if you print beyond a certain size (depending on the camera), the quality falls off rapidly.

    It's possible that the new 80MP backs may provide the level of quality I want.

    I'll (possibly) be able to justify the cost once it drops to what I spend on 4 years of film and processing. Right now, that's about $12000. But that price could very well rise while digital prices fall.

    Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but frankly I find the discussions about digital not being 'photography' tiresome. For me the result is what matters, and digital can produce very beautiful prints within limits. And as technology advances, those limits will only increase.

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