Beyond 150,000 shots for consumer/prosumer devices, and beyond 400,000 for pro cameras (D5). At $200 per shutter replacement this is $0.0005 per shot, this is not free, but a single 8x10 velvia drum scan is more expensive than a DSLR shutter...Originally Posted by fotopfw
This is a very nice comparison! I've owned power boats and canoes, snowmobile and XC skiis. I use the canoe and snowshoes because I can slow down and spend more time enjoying nature than zipping along place to place. Even XC skiis are faster than necessary.
Photography does align with these choices. Whatever makes people slow down and take it in. Film is part of that for us, though digital is capable.
I also like the aesthetics produced by the older lenses/cameras, so that means using film. It's quite unlikely anyone would ever build an affordable 6x6cm digital back for my 1940's rolleiflex or a convenient affordable large format back my soft focus interests.
As I mention there is something very difficult to explain to some, simply by using a device crafted by folks from previous era.
A device, once far to expense to own, still fully functional, can be enjoyed because technology has made it obsolete. It still does what it was intended to do but now costs a fraction of its original cost.
It's use is predicated on enjoyment not efficiency. Enjoyment is hard to explain.
With some exceptions: the used Contax 645 price sky rocketed. And now this is happening with Pentax 67II. Not a surprise, these are agile cameras delivering distinctive and breathtaking results in the hands of some leading Pros.
Lawrenceville. We're practically neighbors!
Maybe, but the marginal cost per shot is still so low compared to film, even 35mm, that it's in another universe and pretty much irrelevant.
Memory cards also have a finite, though very large, number of times they can be written to. But again, compared to film and processing, the cost is much, much lower per shot.
Buford, so close!
Just my own two cents. I work at a camera store that still has a film processor. We've got a lot of lab staff, and we're almost always taking in about as much film as we can handle. It's mostly 135, sure, but I've seen a growing interest in medium format, and a few LF photographers as well. It's quite popular with teenagers and young adults. Most people drop off their film and receive in return digital scans. Some (few) still take their black and white and make prints at one of a few public, or at least rentable, darkrooms available in my city. That's fine by me. I also scan all of my own film, as I mostly shoot colour, and until recently haven't had a place to print properly.
There is a touch of the "forbidden fruit" in film.
A friend who teaches photography to high school aged students was shocked and pleased when they wanted to try film. They we not giving up digital, they just wanted to experience "old time" photography.
I am sure many will only recall the amount of work require to get a good photo, but a few find it interesting enough to dabble in it from time to time.
Pinhole photography is a classic example of doing something, just for the sake of doing. Seeing just how good a print can be made, with a very simple process.
Film allows a little uniqueness, something humans appreciate. We all want to stand out, to be different.
Flickr Home Page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/albums
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