The Lemon Fool

Used to have an OM1n/OM2sp kit.
Two bodies, three Olympus lenses.
Lugged it all around in a shoulder-crunching leather case for over thirty years.

Then bought an Olympus C5050Z and the faff of analogue no longer seemed worthwhile. So eventually I sold it all.
But I do miss the hardware quality.

So now I [belatedly] see that at last there's a digital back.
https://newatlas.com/medieros-digital-f ... ack/53728/
Who knew?

Not that expensive. Around SFr350 for my OM2.
https://imback.eu/home/wp-content/uploa ... _small.pdf
If I hadn't sold it.

V8

88V8 wrote:Used to have an OM1n/OM2sp kit.
Two bodies, three Olympus lenses.

V8

Those were lovely cameras, my first job was in a camera shop and I sold quite a few. I've never taken to digital photography unfortunately. The mechanical components in SLRs of that era were a wonder to behold.

RC

88V8 wrote:
So now I [belatedly] see that at last there's a digital back.
https://newatlas.com/medieros-digital-f ... ack/53728/
Who knew?
V8

Not Really a digital back but a digital base and another set of mirrors. Looks like it would wreck the ergonomics of the camera.

Just stumbled across this thread.

Shades of deja vu: https://www.dpreview.com/articles/56770 ... ng-digital

I remember 20 years ago waiting patiently for an affordable drop in digital film cartridge for my 35mm SLRs, still waiting....although not as long as I've been waiting for that mass market laser turntable.....

BH

Mmm, doesn't sound hopeful, does it.
'The dwindling supply of SLRs' That alone will kill it.
I'm selling a film camera on eBay right now. And unlike most offerors, I am actually selling it because I started at 99p.

There are 20 watchers. Are they going to pounce at the last second? No, they're watching because they have one and want to know what it's worth.
The vast majority don't sell. They will end up in a charity shop and then the dustbin. Tragic, but there it is.

And much as I loved my Olympi, I don't think I would voluntarily go back to film, any more than I would have lugged a plate camera around 40 years ago.
I love old machinery, but there are limits.
Progress can be a thoroughly bad thing, not where cameras are concerned.

I comfort myself with the thought that at least I lived through the film era. So I can relate to Snowden's comment that often he got one decent shot out of a (36 frame) film.

V8

Adding a digital back to an old camera may be useful as a stand-in for polaroids, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to use it for a final shot.

There has been a big resurgence in film which you can see it in the selling price of some cameras and buying film. A lot of old gear bottomed out in price around 2015 and has been rising since. I think thats why you see a lot of "Im not giving it away" attitude on Ebay, even for worn out junk which nobody wants.

Modern film stocks like Portra and Velvia are night and day from the crappy film stock we all used back in the 80's so I think thats a big part of the appeal, you can try to reproduce those film colours with photoshop filters, but its just never quite the same.

Film does seem to be having a renaissance gladly, I know many will not agree with me but I feel that there is often a different feel about an image taken with film which digital can't quite replicate. There is also a fashionable tendency with digital images to over process them and end up with an unrealistic chocolate boxy result, which personally I don't like, but many do it seems. I have a largish collection of SLR's and rangefinder film cameras, including a black Olympus OM-2n, which I have loved since it came out all those years ago. I also have, amongst many others, Leica & Hasselblad classic film cameras as well as quite a few digital cameras. I am not sure what my cameras are worth, not much I guess, although my Leica M6 and Summicron 50mm f2 dating from the mid-80's, bought second hand from a pro travel photographer about 15 years ago when they were very unpopular, are proving to be a wise investment as well as wonderful bits of mechanical and optical engineering.

I particularly like using B&W film and it's great to see new and reborn makes of film regularly coming on the market place. Small start up's like Intrepid who make very affordable large format film cameras have been successul and I have enjoyed using their 5x4.

Anyway sorry that was a bit off point. If and when a usable digital back becomes available I will probably get one, but until then I can still use classis lenses with a adaptor on my Fuji XPro digital.

MM

I have a (pre digital) Canon AV-1 SLR with its standard FD 50mm lens and a Tokina 80mm-200 mm F4 zoom lens to fit, from the early 1980's; plus a Nikon Zoom 310 AF (35-70mm) automatic camera from the late 1990's. They have both been in storage for the last 20 years. I struggle to know what to do with them, or how to put them to good use or even to a good home. I understand one cannot buy a digital back for the Canon AV-1 SLR which would have been a way to bring it into the 21st century and digital age. Or might that change?

Whilst I understand one can still buy film and it may even be staging something of a renaissance, I don't think, in this digital age, I could be bothered with the hassle of buying film and then paying for its development and printing. Local camera shops aren't interested in the cameras. Does anyone have any constructive suggestions?

88V8 wrote: I can relate to Snowden's comment that often he got one decent shot out of a (36 frame) film.

MaraMan wrote:Film does seem to be having a renaissance gladly, I know many will not agree with me but I feel that there is often a different feel about an image taken with film which digital can't quite replicate.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s I did a lot of travelling with a guy who was a self-styled camera buff. He had the latest gear (a Canon SLR at the time) and knew everything. And he would consistently complain after the trip when we shared photos that mine were better, even though my camera was old even then.

I think he was in love with the technology but lacked a real eye for the picture. And as 88 said, when you only have 24 or 36 shots, you have to make each one count.

Anyway this was and still is my camera. it was my father's:

https://casualphotophile.com/2015/07/02 ... ra-review/

MaraMan wrote:Film does seem to be having a renaissance gladly, I know many will not agree with me but I feel that there is often a different feel about an image taken with film which digital can't quite replicate. There is also a fashionable tendency with digital images to over process them and end up with an unrealistic chocolate boxy result, which personally I don't like, but many do it seems. I have a largish collection of SLR's and rangefinder film cameras, including a black Olympus OM-2n, which I have loved since it came out all those years ago. I also have, amongst many others, Leica & Hasselblad classic film cameras as well as quite a few digital cameras. I am not sure what my cameras are worth, not much I guess, although my Leica M6 and Summicron 50mm f2 dating from the mid-80's, bought second hand from a pro travel photographer about 15 years ago when they were very unpopular, are proving to be a wise investment as well as wonderful bits of mechanical and optical engineering.

I particularly like using B&W film and it's great to see new and reborn makes of film regularly coming on the market place. Small start up's like Intrepid who make very affordable large format film cameras have been successul and I have enjoyed using their 5x4.

Anyway sorry that was a bit off point. If and when a usable digital back becomes available I will probably get one, but until then I can still use classis lenses with a adaptor on my Fuji XPro digital.

MM

You have some lovely cameras And I quite agree about the feel, film v digital. A family member is a keen photographer and member of the local photography club. Said family member is very good and wins a number of competitions but it seems that now almost anyone can produce very good images but they don't compare with very good 'traditional' photographs IMO. Software has largely replaced the interplay of optics, chemistry and technique. I'm a black and white fan, Ilford used to produce highly rated film and papers IIRC.

RC

richfool wrote:I have a (pre digital) Canon AV-1 SLR with its standard FD 50mm lens and a Tokina 80mm-200 mm F4 zoom lens to fit, from the early 1980's; plus a Nikon Zoom 310 AF (35-70mm) automatic camera from the late 1990's. They have both been in storage for the last 20 years. I struggle to know what to do with them, or how to put them to good use or even to a good home.

There is a thriving market on Ebay for old film cameras, or alternatively there are several dealers such as https://www.ffordes.com/ and my local(ish) wonderful old style camera shop https://www.clocktowercameras.co.uk/. There are a few others you can find on line.

Good luck, I think it would be great if it went to good home and was used as intended.

MM

And lo, it creeps nearer.
This latest offering shapes up as a Kodak-like film roll that sprouts a 20-megapixel Four Thirds CMOS sensor from Sony instead of a roll of film, essentially bringing old analog cameras out of retirement and giving them a new lease of digital life.

Still a bit clunky.
Perhaps if the electronics could be slotted into the hole for the inwards film roll....
Not tempted yet.

V8

I still shoot film from time to time.

The trend I notice on ebay is a lot of chancers selling worn out gear which is years overdue for a CLA.
When something in genuinely mint condition appears it will fetch a good price, the other 95% of listings just sit there.

Lootman wrote:

88V8 wrote: I can relate to Snowden's comment that often he got one decent shot out of a (36 frame) film.

MaraMan wrote:Film does seem to be having a renaissance gladly, I know many will not agree with me but I feel that there is often a different feel about an image taken with film which digital can't quite replicate.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s I did a lot of travelling with a guy who was a self-styled camera buff. He had the latest gear (a Canon SLR at the time) and knew everything. And he would consistently complain after the trip when we shared photos that mine were better, even though my camera was old even then.

I think he was in love with the technology but lacked a real eye for the picture. And as 88 said, when you only have 24 or 36 shots, you have to make each one count.

Anyway this was and still is my camera. it was my father's:

https://casualphotophile.com/2015/07/02 ... ra-review/

Now that is a beautiful camera. Useless of course, but beautiful.

I am the only person I know who still uses a film camera. I used to dismiss digital cameras for producing lousy images, but now they're better than 35mm (which was only ever intended as an amateur format).

But I still like the range of colour on film; even the grain on b&w is pleasing to me. I have a Koni Omega, 6x7 format, which produces amazing images with 90mm & 180mm lenses, despite being a brute of a thing to look at. For more casual, and quick picture taking, I just can't let go of my Nikon F2. So nicely made, and I've taught my boys about composition and how to choose exposure settings. There's sufficient FP4 in the freezer to keep me going this decade.

The digital back seems like a nice toy to try. But surely it would be cheaper just to buy a digital camera, and anyway, that back is far from full frame 35mm.