Fred G wrote:There's no hype to digital, it's the next step in the evolution of photography. When major companies like Kodak and Nikon focus their main energies on digital imaging, it's more than just hype. Look at Ebay and the prices of film SLR cameras up for auction; those prices hardly reflect renewed popularity in the medium. Want to buy my Nikon N70?
That said, film will always be around, at least in our lifetime, which I'm glad for. There will always be those who want to learn and practice the ancient arts, much like many outdoor cooking enthusiasts are taking a break from their gas grills to cook with real wood. As for digital photography being hype, I'd say that's just dinosaur talk.
I'd say every change in entertainment technology is a hype, and later it is proven.
In 50's the hype was color movies, later on, including today, BW is not something outdated, but an alternative artistic choice.
Did BW film evolve into color film? Nope, someone invented color film and now you have two choices.
Is BW film outdated? Nope you can stil buy it and its lovely
Evolution is present in technical sciences which serve no subjective pleasure, like a washing machine, there really is no benefit to using an old washing machine.
But in art and entertainment, the best device and technology is that which stimulates the most.
If a vynil record sound better to a viewer, then it's the better choice, there really is no other philosophy to it. Unless you are a supermarked salesman, then of course you MUST follow the "evolution"
p.s. No thanks for the Nikon, I got my 35mm area covered. I mostly shoot medium format though.
The day when I'm going to convert to digital is when it stops being a complicated plastic gadget with thousands of circuits and recording the images in little squares. Well I guess that's not anytime soon
It's a machine. Machines are, well, machines.
I prefer painting and analog photography, that's more fluid, more natural