Film is not dead! Travels of a T-shirt

 

Sept. 26, 2025

So says this T-shirt that I received in 2005, from my long-time Flickr friend, Therese.   The t-shirt was sold by Looking Glass Photo in Berkeley, CA, and I wore it there when I visited Berkeley in 2016.  By that time, it was definitely vintage, and now even more so.  The sentiment expressed on the shirt was a rallying cry from long-time film users in the 2000's.  Digital had become a juggernaut, and on top of the rise in digital cameras, came the opportunity to pick up nice film cameras really, really cheaply.  I could visit several thrift shops in Ann Arbor, MI and come home with a camera bag containing an SLR body and a lens or two for less than $20.  Those were the days!  I also remember being able to buy short-dated or "expired" 35mm film for a buck or two a roll at a camera store.

October, 2005

At Looking Glass Photo, 2016

Of course, we didn't have a crystal ball that would tell us where this was all going, just that as film users, we were not going to give up our film cameras for those heathen digicams.  I got my first DSLR in 2005, a Nikon D70s, which I used for nearly a decade.  This was before the bounce-back in film and (used) film camera sales, and the trendy cameras becoming Canon AE-1, Pentax K1000, and those lovely yet unreliable  Contax T-series cameras.  Sometime around 2012, there became a groundswell of desire to shoot film from new photographers, and it has sort of remained steady.  Steady enough for Ricoh/Pentax to make a half-frame camera, the Pentax 17.  So, no film is NOT dead.  It will likely survive as a creative medium for decades. I don't know how many more years my t-shirt will last, but as I wear it only occasionally, I suspect it's good for another decade.  

There are a lot of reasons to shoot with film cameras - and there are as many to shoot with digital. Right now, digital mirrorless cameras are THE thing, and because you can adapt just about any lens to use with them, I don't see them declining in sales.  However, I still feel more creative using an SLR, either film or digital. But back to film -- I think what I continue to love about film cameras is that I can take a camera made in 1956 (the year I was born) and get great photos with it.  Film cameras have their own unique haptics and because I love shooting in b&w, there are a lot of choices in film, from really low-ISO of less than 3 to 3200.  The film is what makes "analog" photography so much fun.  Now, I have my share of digital cameras - probably more than I need or use regularly. But, when it comes to film cameras, I get more satisfaction in using them.  It's partly knowing the craft of photography, but also knowing that even the cheapest SLR is capable of wonderful results.  In addition, medium and large format cameras have amazing resolution, yet the cameras cost a fraction of what a digital medium format camera will cost you.  

So, you don't have to be one of those people that are either only film or only digital!  Use both, enjoy what you are doing, and make meaningful images.  Photography is a big tent, and there's a place for everyone.