In 2006, when I transitioned to Canon EF system, one of the reasons for it was the option to use the same lenses and other hardware to shoot film. I bought a used EOS 3 on ebay, and also an EOS 650 on the local used photo gear market, together with the EF 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 lens.
I also bought lots of Astia and Velvia and put them in the fridge, for whenever I decide to actually go and shoot film, and an Epson 4990 flatbed film scanner, because I already sold my Minolta Dimage IV to finance the Olympus E1 purchase.
However, as it turned out the 5d was so much better than film, that this turned out to be pointless. I did shoot some film, but my heart wasn’t in it. There was no actual gain. There was no artistic reason to do it. The digital actually gave me more artistic freedom, and it also gave me better shadows, better detail crispness on magnifications, less noise, and higher ISO.
Canon 5d, EF 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5
The question “would I shoot film again if that were a real option?” was unanswered for me in 2006. I retained all the necessary hardware – two film bodies, film in the fridge, scanner on my desk. However, having this option available and knowing that I didn’t really want to use it answered it for me.
I stopped caring about film, because digital did everything for me. When I bought into the Sony FE system, that question was long answered, and I no longer cared that the new lenses will never be able to work on film. So, that’s my answer to the question “would you shoot film again, if it became a real option for you?”. No, I wouldn’t. It’s just hassle with no benefits. I like the way film looks, but I like digital more. “Oh, how can you say that, the film is organic, it’s physical, it’s not just a computer producing numbers” yada yada. Yeah, sure, and the point of shooting it for me was to scan it and produce a set of numbers on a computer. It’s just that the process of getting there introduced dependency on other people, whole other industries, and was pointlessly messy. I loved photography, and film was how you got it. I suffered through all its quirks because that was what you had to do. That’s no longer the case.
With digital, it doesn’t matter that I live on an island where there are no film labs or photography stores. I don’t have to figure out how to buy film, where to process it, how it will deal with the summer heat, how to scan it. I don’t have to worry that my favourite emulsions went out of production or are about to. My favourite “emulsion” was a digital 35mm sensor ever since the Canon 5d. It did exactly what I wanted. I could shoot deep, juicy dark colours, finally. I could shoot hand-held in the dark woods after rain and get workable exposures. And, finally, I could do every part of photography myself.
What’s my favourite film emulsion? The Sony 35mm sensor from A7RV and A7CR.
A7RV, FE 135mm f/1.8 GM