My response to a thread on Fred Miranda. Is film coming back? Just some of my thoughts on the subject. My response as follows…
I have moved from 100% digital to 95% film. I pull my 5dmkii out of the bag about 1x per month. Probably the reason I have yet to upgrade this body (though I continue to add nice L glass). How has this happened? I like to figure things out and like a challenge, I enjoy the process, nothing like shooting a an old film body (my leica iiif is an absolute tactile joy) and film is a completely different medium from digital providing completely different results. But this evolution has been a process and I will elaborate.
In 2009 or 2010 I picked up some film camera from several different places adding to the old ae-1 of my dad that I shot with during the digital revolution. I could never get the quality scans I wanted on my old Epson flatbed and figured bigger was better moving to medium format. However could never get c-41 colors that looked right. Enter the Kodak pakon in late 2012. I bought the f135+ pakon scanner. Initial setup was a bit of a pain but settled eventually on using a VM XP on my Windoze 7 machine. It has been rock solid. The biggest bonus is 2 fold. Speed and color. I can scan a whole roll of film in 2.5 minutes flat and get the baked in Kodak color profiles. Win win. So much so I now only shoot 35mm film. Which leads to the 2nd reason I shoot film:
I love the tactile feel of old film cameras. The simplicity of a Nikon FM, the rangefinder of my Leica M’s and barnack, the compact size and solid feel of my pentax me, the old rokkor glass from a dead Minolta system, I love it all! And for pennies literally. I have 20-30 film cameras ranging from Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Mamiya, Minolta, Leica with glass for all. These cameras are a joy to use. I even use my modern L glass on a canon 7ne (eye control AF!). This is for me to enjoy. This is what I shoot most of my personal work on. My family, what matters to me. Paid jobs I shoot digital. Critical work (stuff I plan on selling) I shoot digital though this is starting to change. I shot my last wedding shooting both digital and film (portra and triX). Guess which images I prefer
I also develop my own film, both c-41 and b&w. I am also in process of setting up a darkroom (have a besseler 67 given to me) and will hopefully begin learning this side of things.
I also roast my own coffee beans. Yes I can buy them in a store (poor quality). I can order online from a micro roasting company (pricy) or I can have the ultimate in cup quality from my own roast.
My experience. I am sure I am not alone. A lot of people moving back to a more traditional slow process to move away from our instant society. I am about to order 3 100′ rolls of film. I doubt film is going anywhere.