If you've ever used a film or digital camera, you've heard the news, friends and collegues talk about film versus digital. One doesn't replace the other, they're each good for different situations. I think there was this nagging little bug in the back of our heads that truly thought, some day, when my hair is grey and cars ride 4 feet off the ground, film will no longer be available.
Uh, game over pal, film is dead and Nikon has shut down production of all but 2 film cameras, the F6 and FM10. Oh, and they were nice enough to continue to manufacture a few manual focus lenses for those too. How thoughtful.
One might think that maybe Canon will carry the torch, I doubt it. This is business pal, and if the public ain't buying? The companies aren't going to produce the cameras. And that will be pretty much that.
Here's one more experience that I'll be taking to the grave. The experience of holding a hand-made Nikon camera to my eye, living in my own space and time with the ability to capture life, death and the world around me.
Rest in peace old friend, I will not forget the love.
Biggles
...Ah...sadly...gone the way of the turntable and the typewriter...
I got a couple of old Nikons in the closet gathering dust. I guess I've been lured by the instant gratification of digital.They say change is good, eh?
Hey Celeste,
Don't miss the typewriter and I still use my turntable. Feh.
Hey Greg,
I've never been a big fan of change, nope.
Biggles
I have a Nikon 4004 and a 6006 both and I've had a lot of fun taking pictures with both (although I have to confess, I was a bit optimistic buying the 6006 and it's a little above my level of camera understanding.) This is just plain sad.
Biggles,
I still have my dad's Pentax. No I don't, it's my pentax. He gave it to me on my 13th birthday it's now 20 years old I've had it 18 almost 19 years. Guess what it still takes great photos and i still can find film. Hard part is finding inexpencive lenses but pentax has never been cheep. My camera will keep taking pics till they quit making film for it ... Maybe in 20 years.
Then again maybe when I am old and have a son turn 13, there will still be film for him to put in his Pentax camera.
Hey Joe,
I had 2 Pentax bodies growing up and through high school. They were my dad's old rigs as well. At some point in 1985 they disappeared. They were the old screw mount ones, H1a and an H3a. The Takumar lenses rock, what great glass those things had.
I still have probably 7 or 8 manual focus nikon bodies and they all work just fine. I keep one handy, loaded.
Biggles
I have an F,F2,FT2,FM,and a FM2. I only use the digital SLR for work, sad will be the day of no more film, these one time film cameras may keep film on the market for some time, But Paul Simon and I were sad with the passing of Kodachrome, Patrick...
Hey Patrick,
Hey man! I don't believe this will be any time soon. I've revisited my local Sarber's Cameras and they've had a great resurgence of film cameras. They're back! Plus, as Ken Rockwell has stated, the technology that's available to us now to have our film scanned after it's processed has given us the chance to jump back in. I have. I recently was given an F3, bought an F4s and a F5 (dirt cheap) and have been using them. Sure it doesn't work for our "work", but does just fine for fine art (whatever else we can do with it).
It ain't daid yet brother man.
Biggles