The digital or DSLR cameras took over the world in the 2000s and people never looked back. What happened to buying film rolls and the excitement of waiting for a film to be developed? To a lot of people shooting on film is still the real thing. Let’s go a couple of decades back and remind ourselves why analog cameras are actually amazing and the DSLRs will never be able to replace them!
Brought to you by Ed van Mil - our auctioneer photography
1. Film cameras allow you to literally “capture a moment”, because it is absorbed on the light-sensitised film through a chemical reaction. How cool is this?
2. Shooting on film produces one actual original physical copy of the photograph of which you can make more copies. You can never have this with a DSRL, because the result is right there on the screen, a pixel mosaic.
3. With photographing on film you get better dynamic range and higher sensitivity, which allows you to shoot in some conditions that a DSLR wouldn’t allow you to. You are able to capture much more depth, detail and tones, making the produced image much closer to what the human eye sees.
4. The process of shooting on film is simply magical, especially if you do it all yourself. From buying the film, putting the film roll in the camera and deciding what to shoot, to going to the dark room and watching the results appear on the paper while smelling the chemicals, it’s all inexplicable if you haven’t experienced it.
5. Shooting on film actually requires you to develop some photographic skills and knowledge, because you don’t have limitless shots like you do with a digital camera and hope one of a thousand is good.
6. In a way, using an analog camera requires you to slow down and think about what you really want to shoot. You learn how to be patient, plan the shot in your head, think about the composition and shoot!
7. The digital camera lens is limited by a certain amount of pixels. When you shoot on film you can get incredibly high-resolution images, because it is up to you. The only thing the film roll is restricted by is the scanner.
8. When shooting with an analog camera, especially if you have an older one, you really have to understand how the camera works. In a way, analog cameras can teach you much more about photography, because in order to achieve results you have to know how to buy the right film roll and play around with shutter speed and aperture. Of course, you can also do that with a DSLR, but an analog camera gives you no other choice.
9. There is nothing like shooting on a black & white film. Of course, you can always make a digital photo black & white, but it will never have the depth, quality and feeling you can get on film.
10. By taking photos with an analog camera you can actually achieve the effects, for which you usually use Photoshop or another software to edit your digital photographs. Why not use the real thing in the first place?
Here on Catawiki we have analog cameras in auction weekly! Keep your eyes open one of our ocassional Leica auctions as well!
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