Chris wrote:
> I still have a pile of mono film because I enjoy the
> processing. Now that I don't necessarily have time to do
> the processing I am wondering whether to sell my darkroom
> tent and convert completely to digital, using chromogenic
> film exclusively.
That's exactly where I'm heading. I've not processed a roll of
my own B&W since January. The darkroom is getting close to
shutdown mode--I'm still printing stuff for others (including a
huge order of 16x20s right now), but once the house is sold,
that's probably it. The real bummer is that my RH Designs gear
is sooooo slick and fun to use (really, no kidding), that I'm
not looking forward to giving it up. I haven't even come close
to mastering it and I've got to retire it.
As to my feelings about bridge cameras--well, they have their
place. The A1 is an absolutely phenomonal camera and continues
to be my "go" camera that I take with me almost everywhere. The
IS-3 used to be that camera prior to my diving into digital.
Right now, I don't know what to think about the IS-3. I like the
idea of options, so I'll keep it around--it's worthless on Yabe,
anyway. But will I use it solo with the A1? I'm not sure. There
are things I can do with the G40 flash that I cannot do with my
other cameras.
The OM-2S is still my "first-love" camera. Combined with my
outstanding set of Zuikos, it produces an unique look that just
isn't repeatable with any other technology. But will I shoot B&W
or will I continue to use it with the odd roll of Velvia? There
are some types of shots where 35mm Velvia still outperforms
anything I've got in digital and purchasing a new uberdigital
right now is out of the question.
Shooting film-based B&W has one major advantage over digital.
Film seems to respond to color filtering in a smoother, more
linear manner. Digital manipulation of the color response curves
tends to introduce noise and the responses are just not quite
right. If I've got a true film-based B&W work print to compare
to, I can usually get the digital version to match, but not
without extensive bumps, boosts and other wierd scratchings.
When "resolution" and "noise" is the only things people use to
determine how "great digital is", they are overlooking the
nuances of how film modifies the scene to provide different
interpretations. We can post-process to get back some of this,
but there is something inherently good about having your
first-level of image capture to be as close to final-result as
possible.
AG
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