Film Photography Survey

yes

Fuji GSW690II and will start with a newly purchased Pentax 645N

Used to a bit, but not now.  Plan to do so in the coming years

I learned on film, starting in 1978 (earlier, really...).  So, it's digital that changed my photography.

For most people and most uses, digital is far, far better and cheaper by a lot.  And remember that if you are scanning your film, then you are really doing digital.  Where digital is much better is in PP and the ability to review on the fly, which was only possible using a pola back in film days.  This was relatively common for those using sheet film, not so common for those using 120/220, and almost never done with 35mm ( I think I only remember one pola back for Nikon, an exotic piece of kit).  Thing was, pola backs were of course using a different film from the one in the camera so there was always a little interpretation going on ( in at least one case you had to expose the pola film totally differently depending on whether you wanted the print or the neg).

Where film still has an edge is in MF and LF, where you can get big rez gains without big money and a lot better tonality, especially as you get into LF.  In a good LF neg or transparency the difference is really obvious.  And of course with LF you get movements, which are still mission critical in some applications and/or just easier/more straightforward and better than adjusting stuff in PP, even though that's gotten pretty good.  This is especially true with simple rise/fall or simple shifts.  The other thing that film cameras have an edge on, which doesn't get talked about much, but is significant, is that if the cameras/lenses are mechanical, then they last for decades.  This is especially true fro LF.

Wish I could, but----1. not all my stuff is scanned, and 2. A lot of the real differences cannot be seen using monitors---it's just the way it is.  This is absolutely true for tonalities.  You have to see the negs, trans, or prints.  So, mostly they don't look much different than good digital images when viewed on a monitor.

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tex_andrews
"Photography is the product of complete alienation" Marcel Proust
"I would like to see photography make people despise painting until something else will make photography unbearable." Marcel Duchamp