This is more of a comment than a question. I don't feel digital will take over from film, but just be another tool in which photographers can choose from. It is just like the rangefinder when the SLR was invented. They did not disappear from use. The advent of color film did not eliminate the use of black & white. Photography is an art form and as such, people have embraced the new tools without throwing away the older ones. There is what looks like panic selling on the Asahi 6x7 as the price has dropped quite a bit in the last year or two. I get the impression that some feel they need to convert or get left behind. This makes for a good buying opportunity for those of us that still believe in film.

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), March 07, 2002

Answers

I think you're preaching to the choir, Gary.

-- Steve Rasmussen (srasmuss@flash.net), March 09, 2002.

Please direct me to these communities of "Chicken Littles" who are giving away their systems for a song! Not sure why you're likening the digital/analog(optical?)situation to a light switch( either off or on). MF capture still produces stunning results, whether the negs are fed into an enlarger or a Fuji Frontier. It's the various intermediate technologies(e.g., scanners and printers or digital scan/print machines, like the Frontier system)widely available now that continue to validate the 120 neg, simply for the huge amount of info it can grab. Take some well-exposed XP2 negs(ask for grayscale settings)or NPH negs into a lab with a Frontier and an experienced operator.The sky isn't falling yet, Steve.

-- Gary Watson (cg.watson@sympatico.ca), March 07, 2002.

I feel there's a lot of panic selling on everything, especially medium and large format. I've been taking advantage of this by buying and selling 2nd hand cameras at no loss, just to see what they're like (Hassy 503CX, Ptx67, Mamiya C330, Cambo Legend 4x5). It's fun, I'm basically borrowing it for free, and I sometimes make a profit :-)

-- Stefan Geysen (stefg@pandora.be), March 09, 2002.