Why shoot film on automatic, pro/high-end cameras?

[Viggi]

On and off I research various cameras on the internet, and I've GAS'ed over Nikon F4/F5 (and read up on F6 and F100) as well some high-end Contax (RX mainly). I have a few 35mm cameras and all except Nikon F80 and Hexar AF are manual focus and mechanical (like the Nikon FM2n). The F80 doesn't partner FM2n too well because the former won't support the older lenses. So, I might pick up an F100 instead or an F4. But in this digital age, why get these fast, automatic film cameras? I'm not going to fire an F5 off at 8fps. Just use digital kit for that. For those of us who use film, it seems it should be more of a thai-chi type photography, mainly in B&W; enjoying the feel of the camera, honing your skills and understanding of exposure, and getting that film look we love. The Nikon F6 should be in nowhere-land - not much nostalgia attached to it and truly superseded by the digital revolution. I can see why you'd like to use the more recent film cameras - they are most likely more reliable, but one could also pick up Nikon FM3a, which went out of production in 2006.

So why do you use F6, F5, or other high-end film cameras such Minolta 7, 9 or Canon equivalent?

[Terry Christian]

That's exactly why I use more recent film cameras: they're more reliable, so I can think more in the moment about getting the shot and less about the mechanics of the process. I don't, however, use cameras on automatic modes; usually I'm in aperture-priority or full manual.

[Les Sarile]

There's nothing wrong with getting a completely maintenance and worry free current film camera with all the features they have that are useful today as the day they were released.

What's wrong with shooting film in a burst?



Perfectly fine to use color 35mm film due to their superior latitude that far exceed any current digi offering and they continue to render beautiful colors.

[Helinophoto]

I use my Canon 1v because of the incredible focus accuracy on it.
Not everyone shoots flowers and sleeping cats, I like to shoot just about anything and most often, a manual focus alternative would be useless for me.

Also, the Canon 1v at least, has a really incredibly solid build quality and the meter is top notch as well (has spot metering), making me able to take accurate spot values and place the exposure in the zones, directly in-camera.

I do own a lot of manual focus cameras as well (Leica CL, Hasselblad 503CW, Mamiya RZ67 II, an old Rolleiflex and a Yashicaflex) and I use those for stationary objects mostly.

I want a Pentax 6*7 II.....but they are still way out of price-range (never seen one being sold used where I live).

[David Brown]

Not everyone shoots flowers and sleeping cats,

[Helinophoto]

Hehe, I'm sorry, didn't mean any disrespect to still-shooters. (I do shoot a lot of landscape and still-life myself)

[BrianShaw]

I'm not sure I understand the question.

But I shoot film using both high-end professional SLRs and well-maintained "amateur" SLRs equally. All I really need out of a camera is familiarity and an assurance that it will work correctly. The "system" aspects of the pro cameras is helpful sometimes too; If you need it, then you need it.

[ArtO]

I have an F4S and an F5 and love them both. The F4S is the very first high-line Nikon that I ever purchased. That was 2 F4S's ago. The metering on the camera is fantastic. I often find myself messing around with the spot meter capability - very nice. Right now I'm shooting a Nikkormat EL that I just purchased and an 8008 that I got several years ago. I just love the equipment, probably as much as the shooting, so I try to rotate through my bodies and lenses.

Most times I shoot manual or Aperture.

[EASmithV]

I almost always shoot my F6 on aperture priority. It lets me think more about what i'm shooting than how i'm shooting it.

[markbarendt]

The biggest reason I have an n90s, an F100, and an F5 is for their metering and auto focus.

Auto focus is simply becoming more and more important to me as I age, no surprise there.

Still love using my FM2, RB, and view cameras but it takes my old eyes more time and effort. I'm willing to do manual focus but my eyes don't always have the time to get me there.

Ok, so why is a camera's meter important to a die hard incident metering/manual camera setting guy like Mark?

Pure practicality.

Proper fill flash in the field is important in a significant amount of the photography I like to do. Yes "A" mode is good, and I even prefer it in certain situations, and it works with my older cameras, but; automatically balanced, TTL, Matrix metered, instantaneous exposure and flash control is really good at making shots look like flash wasn't used. The shots simply print easier and look more natural.