Is Film Dead?

I've been called a dinosaur. It happened in a photography seminar a couple of years ago when the instructor asked for a show of hands from those still using film. Actually, I was one of two dinosaurs that he labelled. Not an encouraging ratio for a class of about 20 people.

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It's no surprise that professionals (like our seminar leader) have largely abandoned film, given the breakneck speed at which improvements in digital camera resolution and color accuracy are taking place. Gone are the days of carrying packs of Polaroid film and camera backs for verification of exposure and lighting. Now, we simply check the digital camera's LCD screen and its histogram, and make instant adjustments.

One harbinger that struck home recently was when I took my 120 format film to my favourite camera store, a.k.a. my reliable old local film processing facility. They informed me that their machine was acting up and that they likely would not be replacing it if it failed. If I was to continue to make my big, beautiful transparencies, I was likely going to have to mail my film to another city for processing. Until, that is, their machines also croak.

You can't blame them. They make their money selling digital cameras to a new throng of consumers who previously couldn't have been bothered with getting films developed.

My disappointment doesn't stem from the fact that I dislike digital. In fact, I shoot largely with a digital SLR now, and started scanning my 35mm films long before digital cameras achieved their current popularity. I also license my images online. In other words, I'm firmly entrenched in the digital photography realm.

I think it's more a case of nostalgia. Only in recent years have I been able to afford quality medium format film gear, albeit used and decades old. They're built like tanks and have lenses made from high quality glass. Yes - they're heavy and awkward, but the image quality is phenomenal. After shooting grainy 35mm slides for decades, I was now ready to emulate work done by real magazine photographers. I even purchased a scanner that allows me to scan the larger format films.

So, do I now sell off my antiques and scanners, only to replace them with the best and newest digital SLR? Well, judging by the amount of used film gear being bought and sold online, I would say - not so fast! Yes, some companies have dropped out of the business of supplying films and processing chemicals (AGFA), but others like the UK's venerable ILFORD (black and white only) and film giant KODAK are picking up the slack. New film products are even hitting the market! And others, like Freestyle Photographic Supplies, are doing what they can to keep the art alive by supplying film, darkroom supplies and film cameras.

Where this is leading me is that I can continue to use my film gear for as long as I'm willing to develop my own film, if necessary. The simplest by far to process is black and white, so when push comes to shove, that's what I'll be shooting. With my scanners, I'll be able to convert the films directly to digital without worrying about printing with an enlarger.

Is film dead or dying? There is no doubt that the professional's workflow today is predominantly digital. But, there is enough film equipment still working and in the hands of both professionals and enthusiastic amateurs that I can confidently predict that film will be around for a long time.

Comparison of Polaroid Cameras

The Polaroid Automatic 100 was introduced in 1963 and manufactured through 1966. It was Polaroid's first camera to use their instant "film pack" technology, a great improvement over their earlier roll style films, and was immensely successful. So successful that zillions of them were sold, and therefore zillions are still sitting in closets and attics today.

Unfortunately, Polaroid's generate minimal collectible interest, the film pack and roll film models are no longer usable, film is only readily available for the latest SX-70 type instant film technology, and the Automatic 100 is possibly the most common Polaroid ever made.

Put all that together, you have a camera that might sell for about $10 to $15 in truly excellent condition, and perhaps double that amount if in the original box. Check eBay for yourself, do a search for completed auctions using the key words Polaroid Automatic 100, and you'll see that there is no lack of the darn things and the majority won't sell at all! That's why camera collectors often refer these types of Polaroid's as "boat anchors" and "paper weights". I'm afraid it's a "white elephant" with virtually no value.

The Model 95 was Polaroid's first camera, and it was introduced in 1948. They sold zillions of the darn things into the 1950's, so they really don't have any value. In fact, virtually all Polaroid cameras are just about worthless today. No collectible interest, and really no usable value. The film for the Model 95 was discontinued in 1971. To match your 1969 VW, I'd recommend a mid to late 1960's film pack Polaroid, the best example being the Polaroid 100, but there are plenty of other similar cheap models that are common fodder at flea markets for around $5-$10 each.

I'm afraid there's nothing special or valuable about the Polaroid Model 100. It's merely an "industrial" version of their extremely common Model 95A made from 1954 to 1957. It has better gears and cogs in it to stand the extra strain of day-to-day work, and probably the majority of these cameras were used in police and security. As for selling "less than 10,000", well, you don't understand, that's a lot of sales for an industrial model.

In truly excellent condition, a Polaroid Model 100 would sell for around $20 today, and maybe double that in the original box with instructions. It's no great treasure as a collectible, as a rule, Polaroid's tender virtually no interest among collectors, and absolutely worthless as a usable piece, the roll film for these was discontinued years ago.

The cost of film is getting more expensive, and the quality is fairly close to a 1.3 mega pixel camera. I could only suggest a Polaroid SX-70 camera. This camera uses a manual focus glass lens, and allows for fairly accurate exposure control. Not in any form of calculated values, but a sliding switch for a lighter / darker image. Old, but the more fancy of the bunch. Sure to offer some nice images.

If you want to use an older film pack Polaroid, with their old style black and white emulsion, and you need manual controls, I'm afraid you're limited to the 195, the 190, European equivalent of the 195, the 180 features a really nice Zeiss Ikon rangefinder, and the 185 very rare, so essentially untouchable because collectors will pay so much for it. All the other more common film pack Polaroid's is amateur models, cheap plastic junk with automatic exposure control only. The 195 remain the most desirable and you will see prices in the $300+ range.

The 190 is the oddball that sometimes slips through the cracks in the $200 range, but is actually, I believe, a slightly better model than the 195 and should go for more! The 180 are a bit more common than the other two and have declined in value the past two years, now selling for around $200. All three are very fine cameras indeed, but you're competing with collectors and specialized professional users. You'll have to get very lucky to find one at a discount price.

Where Should You Post Your Dog Pictures?(Polaroid 600 Film Single Pack)

Where Should You Post Your Dog Pictures?(Polaroid 600 Film Single Pack)




Folks that take dog pictures, or photos (Polaroid 600 Film Single Pack) of any of their pets for that matter, are truly a breed of their own. There are a number of reasons that people own dogs, and while they are all very valid, they are outside the scope of this article. Instead, let's discuss for instance all of the pictures that people take and just what is the best thing to do with them.

Ever since digital cameras started edging out their film photo predecessors, there has been an explosion of technological advances in the industry. Digital cameras(Polaroid 600 Film Single Pack) get cheaper every day. Their capabilities increase exponentially. There are as many different makes of cameras as there are dog breeds. Today's cameras make the very first generation of digital camera look antiquated.

In addition to photographic technology advancements, other contributing aspects of computers and hard drive storage are all coalescing to provide people, like pet owners, with super easy ways to take large numbers of photos (Polaroid 600 Film Single Pack) of their very favorite pets.

Given the explosion of technology, (Polaroid 600 Film Single Pack) ease of camera use and instant feedback, pet owners are becoming one of the fastest growing segments of digital photographic services. So called prosumer digital cameras are now reasonably priced and provide the pet owner with amazing capabilities to snap their dog pictures at super high speed.

Small easy to handle portable digital storage discs allow for increasingly large numbers of pictures to be taken in shorter time periods. Faster computer processors allow for these pictures to be uploaded from the camera into the pet owner's local computer system. Hard drive technology, a contributing factor to this increased photographic activity, (Polaroid 600 Film Single Pack) now allows for everything but the absolute worse photographs to be saved to disc and stored for extended periods of time.

Because dog owners tend to be a very passionate breed, they also tend to have more than their fair share of cameras and computers. All of this technology permits them to indulge their whimsy and capture images of their canines at much higher rates than other non-pet owning digital camera users.

All of this photographing has led to another dilemma, however: What to do with all of this visual data of dog pictures that pet owners are amassing at an alarming rate?

The options are pretty straight forward. Pet owners may choose to store their pictures locally on inexpensive hard drives. These storage devices can be added internally to their home computer, or for a small fee, they can be made into external hard drive devices. These external drives provide for unlimited storage capacity as well as a fair amount of portability.

USB drive enclosures easily plug into most modern computers and provide near instant access to the pictures and other data that is stored on it. The owner of the hard drive can then choose to unplug and carry that storage device to any other USB compatible computer.

This portability of pictures does not make for easy distribution of individual images, however. For the pet owner to be able to share their photos, they usually turn to any of a growing number of online photo (Polaroid 600 Film Single Pack) sharing sites.

While there are a number of free and paid image sites available, the latest trends are for niche specific photo sites. When one thinks about the advantages of uploading their dog photos to a website which specializes in pet images, it seems to make a lot of sense. Pet owners want to experience the pride of sharing their dog pictures with others who are most likely to appreciate their fine photographic talents. They also get to see more pictures of dogs, and that's always a dog owner's best friend.