How many still shoot on film (in any capacity)?

[Andrew Luczenczyn]

Im just curious to see how many of us shoot on film, still or movie, or have ever shot anything on film, or even know how to shoot on film.

I just got to reflecting, now that I'm a little over a year out of film school I realize how much I learned from shooting on 16mm - no monitors, no scopes. just a light meter. I also realize at my age (23 years old), not many people my age have worked on film - and I can see how amazingly different approaches they have to lighting and shooting from my own.

For me, I've shot 16mm on a bolex and Eclair ACL, and I just bought a Keystone for $10 to fool around with. I also still shoot 35mm stills on my spotmatic II.

 

[Alex H.]

I love shooting stills on film. My office is covered in antique Kodak cameras (remember Kodak?), and two of them often go with me when I travel. I have a Retina IIIc, ca. 1957, which takes modern 35mm film. I also have a Duo 620, ca. 1937, that's a little more of a challenge as it takes 620 roll film. That's the same as 120 except for the spool, so I have to go into the bathroom and close the door and turn out the lights to unwind the 120 film and re-spool it onto 620.

My meter is a vintage Weston Master II.

... not many people my age have worked on film - and I can see how amazingly different approaches they have to lighting and shooting from my own.

That's because you actually learned to light for film. Many of the new generation of filmmaker have been swept away by what they can do with DSLR HD video. I mean, hey... get an f/1.4 lens and who needs lights, right? Am I right? What's a little noise (digital grain, right?) from cranking up the ISO? And they get shallow DOF which is, of course, the mark of professional cinema. </cynicism>

 

[daveswan]

I grew up shooting film (Stills), my first camera was a box brownie.

Not done film for a while now, and the last I did was 10x8 mono, keep promising myself that I'll turn my "workshop" back into the darkroom it was and do some more 10x8.

 

[Paul Hudson]

I shot film only from 1986 to 2005 (16mm and 35mm) when this horrible man walked in my office and dropped a DVX 100 on my desk.

 

[ryancglover]

I still shoot it whenever I can! All the stills I take are 35mm on my Canon FTb
and I have a s16mm K-3 with a PL mount:

At film school, all our major projects were 16mm pretty much. SRII's with a B+W video tap.
Loved it. Since school I've done a PSA and parts of a music video on 16mm.
Plus some reels for fun on my K-3. I'll keep shooting it in some capacity as long as possible!

 

[homestar_kevin]

Shot 2 things on film in school.

I'm also 23 and learned a ton and loved the experience.

Did a B&W short on a bolex and a color short on an arriflex sr-2

Loved the medium, would like to do more.

 

[Jon Starr]

I used used to shoot stills on film, and in school we only shot on 16mm.

To be honest, I kind of hated it. Don't get me wrong we used it very well, and our images came out great. However I've lost footage to the 'process', as have many other students. Sure we were slightly inexperienced, but when your camera gives you inexplicable light leaks, or the lab messed up with dust, chemicals, or like a friend of mine lost an entire roll because their machine ate the footage... then you switch labs and still experience these problems, it's gotta make you wonder if it's worth it.

Especially since digital mimics it so well. I shoot only digital now... not to mention it's helped me save money. I'm not into developing my own film, so it's a lot easier to cut out the middle step.

HOWEVER, I completely agree and am grateful with the experience it gave me. I see the difference in how people approach lighting when comparing a 'student' of digital to a 'student' of film. Those that studied on film take time with the image, paint a picture, planning things out, doing only a few takes. A lot of people that studied on digital take a ridiculous amount of takes, and just rush through things. They use takes in the place of rehearsals, and IMO that wastes too much of everyone's time and gives a headache to the editors.