# 35mm film: Who is still using it for pictures? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242 "2008-12-21T23:46:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/1 "2008-12-21T23:46:30Z")
I have some great 35mm still cameras. But it’s more convenient to take pictures with my digital Nikon CoolPix L1. Granted, I’m not ‘making pictures’; but ‘taking snapshots’. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/2 "2008-12-22T00:40:31Z")
I imagine quite a lot of Pros do it. I know you prefer 35mm for films, which isn’t quite a traditionalist niche yet but undoubtedly will be soon enough. I would imagine that stills cameras are making the same change, but they began earlier, and are progressing at a slightly faster rate. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/3 "2008-12-22T00:56:18Z")
I have a 35mm camera (Pentax Spotmatic) in my closet, but I don’t take it out to play often enough (the last time I think was Memorial Day). Most of the time I am taking pictures, it’s for an organization I’m in that has come to expect quick turnaround on the photos (probably because everyone has been using digital for so long) ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/4 "2008-12-22T01:02:15Z")
Oh, and while I’m sure that many pro photogs are still using 35mm, from what I’ve heard, a lot of the photographers that do things like wedding photography and portrait work, if they still use film, tend towards Medium and Large format cameras (35mm is considered a “Small Format” because of how small the image on film is). The larger the image-on-film, the higher quality the photo can be. Especially important for enlargements. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/5 "2008-12-22T01:04:27Z")
I’d take more if Kodak still had the Ektar 25 film. I loved that stuff. But my Canon SLR has been neglected for a few years and unless something happens, it’ll stay on the shelf. Kind of sad ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/6 "2008-12-22T01:04:35Z")
I’m an artist-photog in training, and you simply don’t get the same tonal range with digital. Most artists have a similar work flow: use film, than print digitally. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/7 "2008-12-22T01:46:18Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I imagine quite a lot of Pros do it. > > I know you prefer 35mm for film… Actually, the studio fell apart before I could use my Arri BL1, so I never did shoot any 35mm footage. I do like 16mm though. Of course, I’m talking about 35mm SLRs here. 😉 > [@Bobotheoptimist](#): > > But my Canon SLR has been neglected for a few years… Yep. Same with my Nikon FM3, Olympus OM1, Canon AE-1 Program, and Pentax K-1000. I don’t seem to have the time to go out ant take pictures. When I snap a photo (on the digital) it’s because I’m just trying to illustrate something. But working in downtown Seattle, I think I’m going to start taking a camera along so I can photograph some of the amazing old architecture. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/8 "2008-12-22T02:53:21Z")
I still use a 45-year-old Pentax H3, and I shoot slides. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/9 "2008-12-22T03:29:20Z")
I do. I have a really good Cannon with a FANTASTIC zoom lens. I use it at concerts, dog shows, all sorts of things. LOVE IT! ---
**Author:** ![Clare\_de\_Loone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/clare_de_loone/32/3407_2.png) [@Clare\_de\_Loone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clare_de_Loone)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/10 "2008-12-22T03:29:47Z")
I buy 1-2 disposable 35 mm cameras a year for the scant photos I take. I have a hand-me-down digital that doesn’t work very well and has the habit of turning itself on. Until I get a better one, and figure out a reliable way to get prints made, I’ll stick with the actual film. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/11 "2008-12-22T12:37:29Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I still use a 45-year-old Pentax H3, and I shoot slides. My sister uses film for slides too, but everything else is digital. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/12 "2008-12-22T19:38:04Z")
Out of necessity I am saving up for The Badass Digital Camera that I feel I need to pursue event photography full-time… With that said, as of the moment I still shoot film exclusively, and I don’t think I’ll ever give it up entirely. Simply put, there’s a magic to it. Particularly black and white film, which comprises 90% of the film I shoot. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/35mm-film-who-is-still-using-it-for-pictures/478242/13 "2008-12-22T20:25:50Z")
I actually use 120, but that’s because my boyfriend owns a film camera store and darkroom and I have to. (I have a little Elph digital for when I actually need a picture of something, as opposed to Taking Pictures.)