New Nikon Professional SLR

[BJ]

And while we were discussing digital versus wet film cameras, I suddenly noticed that Nikon has brought out the F6 (film) camera. It seems a strange time to be investing tooling and stocks of something that is meant to use an obsolete method of image gathering. What do they know?

[Phoenix]

I suspect the dinosaurs kept breeding until the end, didn't help though did it ;-)

iani

(Sony DSC-f828)

[Tim Ingmire]

I wouldn't say that film is obsolete.....yet! The day will dawn tho when film will be consigned to history. I can't imagine Nikon releasing too many consumer film cameras tho - there is probably still enough to be made by going after the high margin / high value premium end of the market where experts will defend film over digital.

[sch]

Have you seen this beast that canon have just released - wonder how much that one costs!

[Brian Donaghy]

Originally Posted by sch

Have you seen this beast that canon have just released - wonder how much that one costs!

Around $8k in the US apparently, which I'm guessing translates to around 6500GBP if you buy in the UK. Way more than the Sea & Sea housing for it will be, which is just wrong. I like the knowledge that if I flood my camera I still have the expensive bit intact.

[BJ]

Originally Posted by Brian Donaghy

Around $8k in the US apparently, which I'm guessing translates to around 6500GBP if you buy in the UK. Way more than the Sea & Sea housing for it will be, which is just wrong. I like the knowledge that if I flood my camera I still have the expensive bit intact.

You've gotta sell a lot of pics before you get into profit with that one - and what happens if you flood it in the meantime? Don't worry about it. It will be obsolete before a year is out!!!

(I may be a dinosaur but 3-500 million years will do for me!)

[Andrew H]

We here on YD are relatively clued up technically, so we are not really representative in that respect. There will be a good percentage of serious photographers who want nothing to do with computers. I have recently moved from a Canon Eos 500 to a Fujifilm S5000, not exactly top of the line, but similar in that respect, I have always been happy with the results from my Eos, but I always seem to need to photoshop the diggital pictures, maybe it's just because I can...

Andrew

[BJ]

There will be a good percentage of serious photographers who want nothing to do with computers.
Andrew[/quote]

'ere, I've got two of these electric thingamies on my desk as I write. One is dedicated to photo processing. I've even got a bleeding great scanner jobbie what turns little bits of film into 120mb files. If one wasn't always looking at forums I could get on with some work, tarting up my pics on Photoshop CS. Nah, it's not computers what frightens me, it's the absence of decent quality in the pictures. I bet you digital image gatherers watch Big Brother too!

Seriously, a stroll poll of my ex-contemporaries in London who earn real money taking pictures reveals that all are still using film and scanning afterwards. They are not afraid of computers. Top advertising industry photographers were the first to embrace digital retouching. We were doing it in the late 'eighties when it was cost prohibitive to amateurs. Digital image gatherers have simply replaced cameras at the compact-camera end of the market. I'm sure it will come in time just as HD Video will eventually replace motion-picture film.

[ahar]

Still yet to find a digital camera that is anywhere near as good for black and white photography as film

[Jeremy H]

Hi John...

"obsolete method of image gathering"

I don't think that any of us has ever said that film is dead. Film will proabably be around for years and years but it will/is becoming an increasingly a niche method of doing things for specific purposes.

I think what we've all said is that digital represents huge advantages in all sorts of ways. If it didn't we'd have all stuck to 35mm or medium format etc etc.

As to quality - I'm constantly amazed at the quality of the pictures people show on this site compared to the sort of results relatively inexperienced people used to get with their Nik 5's and MotorMarines.

As to the professional market - sure - the very top end of the 'named' advertising market probably still use conventional (You've got to justify those fees somehow!)... but the photography I come into contact with on daily basis is pretty much all originally shot on digital. Digital's role is certainly not the 'compact' only end of the market.

Anyway - a good shot is a good shot and it all ends up as digital in the end!