Im considering going back to painting at this point tbh

Film wins because you can eat it

I used to think this objective vs. subjective thing was true. But when I look back at my own old photos, it doesn't matter what medium I used. Time passes, and it makes every photo mysterious and subjective. I think film is just a way of creating that mystery a little bit sooner.

When I shoot digital, I feel the urge and the need to make the final image as perfect as possible. When I shoot film, I hope each of my images is imperfect in its own little way

glad that ryan gosling can give me a breakdown about camera mediums

Banger as always. I do all my “work” on digital, but I don’t ever feel inspired to shoot my non-work stuff on digital. There’s something to be said for the delayed gratification of seeing whether you got the shot you intended when shooting on film. That and just the vibes are 👨🏻‍🍳👌

"just don't hate on the other one" powerful quote right there

Anyone that’s upset at film making a comeback just hasn’t yet heard the sound of a Hassie shutter slap

I recently starred shooting film again after 20 years. And I have to say that I’ve never been more excited about my photos. The suspense of waiting for development and scans makes you think 10 times before firing the shutter. Something that with digital doesn’t happen because we are more prone to be trigger happy. Exploring the different film stock is really exciting. In the end I find that most of us try to emulate in digital what film photography provides right out of the box: grain, color grading, etc.

honestly I agree with every point here; I originally learned to shoot and develop film, but I shoot digital because I can't afford to shoot film. I love shooting digital like film - thinking and framing before I shoot - then recreating the film look in lightroom. some people will hate this, but it's a digital homage to film.

I use both mediums and they're both great. Typically if I want to shoot wildlife I use digital, if I want to be artistic or document things I shoot film. I think more people need to explore the art world more and find ways to express themselves without war or violence.

Shooting with intention an reveling in whatever comes out. Film is like a surprise when you see it.

Theory, people are saying film is trash to make film affordable again.

Dude, i was literally just thing about this today and it occurred to me that film is like thinking of the memory while digital is like looking out a window.

Jason, that is a fantastic explanation why I love film and why both film and digital have a reason to be around. Great video 👍🏻

Learning film photography has made me a significantly better digital photographer. Shooting film made me fall in love with the physical process of taking photos. The way it forces you to be intentional about your shot and visualize what you want out of a photo before you take it. This has helped me cut down on over shooting a scene, getting more variety in my shots, and how to shoot a better image so I don’t have to go ham on fixing it in post. I wish I could shoot more film but it’s just so expensive that i have to supplement with digital. Which makes me curious about videos like these. With the rising cost of film and development I wonder if film photographers will be able to use their subjective approach to photography and circumvent a lot of the “objective” nature of digital. Kind of like how each of your videos ties in the vibe of your photoshoot i.e changing the aspect ratio, sound design, and color grading. Anyway, slightly pretentious comment finished. I love your channel it is great source of inspiration and it is very well done. Thanks for all your hard work

20 minutes ago I bought Revueflex SD1, 50mm lens and Kodak ProImage 100 roll, and i think it's cool, photography is cool

I think the argument is dumb, but many of the intentional limitations with film can be had on digital if you need that. Intentionality can exist in a digital workflow, you just have a lot more safety nets for later IF you need it. The physical qualities of film are unique, but many of those aspects can be replicated. Ultimately I think there’s a lot of commodifying and romanticizing the film workflow as though it’s makes your images better as long as there’s a monologue to go with the image (for some not all). I think we should just take the same attention and feedback we give to film stocks, and demand better sensors and color profiles. No this isn’t a replacement for film, but it could be a more sustainable option for a person torn between the two or film photographers who can’t afford to do film full time

I do agree with a lot of things mentionned in the video but on the subject of wildlife photography I think you missed the point a bit. I think a good wildlife photographer doesn’t just try to snap the rarest animal and keep the image true to life. There is a ton of story telling to be done with composition, light etc. The best wildlife pictures I’ve seen are not the sharpest, they are the ones where you can feel the photo and the emotion the animal give off.

Keep in mind, a lot of film shooters, either back in the day or currently, are "fixing it in post" when the get in the darkroom and dodge, burn and change their exposures onto paper. Preconception is awesome when either shooting film or digital, and the post production will always be there; either in front of a glowing screen or huffing development chemicals while dodging someones face onto paper. And don't even get me started on spot toning. :)

I really enjoyed this. Well put. You should do more "philosophical" videos like this one.

I've taken photos of compelling subjects on digital, and those photos still get blown out of the water by a picture of my coffee table on film. Metering correctly, carefully choosing your composition, your film stock, and having a decent lab is equivalent to 10 hours editing a single digital shot (including adding imperfections to give it more life). Except with editing I have 50 million decisions to make. Even editing my own scans, there's very little I have to do to get "a look", and though I can edit it further and do the same I'd do to digital, there's zero need to.

I just like old processes because I'm weird. Learning and utilizing them, knowing that's how it was done once upon a time is what I enjoy.

Both are amazing technologies. I shoot film for the process and organic texture renditions. I hope the analog process continues to resurge so we can continue having this choice.

I just love capturing those special moments on digital. like when i took 20 identical photos of my friends at a campfire, spend 10 hours in Lightroom. comparing, editing, only to scrap everything because it wasn't that good of a shot after all. this x500 for every trip. I'm so burned out on digital.

Congrats on the cake, Jason! 🎂 I also like product photography on film; I use a half-frame PEN FV to do all that.

Limitation breeds creativity so intentionally slowing myself down and and taking the time to get it right with film tends to help me create better images

I like film because i can take a bad photo believe it’s good then get my heart broken days after

Great video, Jason. And I think you're spot on. I'm old and shot film for a good 27 years before switching to digital around 2005. Most of that time I had a darkroom, too. When I got into digital, I still shot like I was using film, even though pixels are basically free. I never understood the idea of standing on the shutter release and taking 20 images of the exact same thing. The most ironic thing in my personal experience is that I spent the whole time shooting film trying to minimize the grain I was getting but when I started shooting digital, it was too sterile. So I spent time and money emulating grain and putting that back into my digital images. FFS.

Literally the best "Film vs Digital" video on KZfaq! Outstanding take on this whole film vs digital war. Can't we all just get along. Thanks so much for this.

I didn't know that Jason also had an acting career. Who would have thought that his physical stiffness would let him get into the role?

film vs digital: you are so right, I agree with a lot of what you said. Thanks for your post, keep them coming!

For me, it's purely the feel of a film camera (the winding of the film reel, the snap of the shutter, and the clicking of the aperture reel), and the feeling that I'm giving something older and disused a new life.

They’re both pretty great. I love using them both

I like developing film and making darkroom prints because i like having 0 free time

Oh man, you're going to crush the Internet with this spicy vid title.

I largely disagree with the sentiment here. Describing the difference between digital and film as feel vs not feel, is a sentiment I don't agree with. It seems dismissive to me to render a whole process as not having "feel". I think film has a certain feel, but alongside that, digital does as well. The sharpness, contrast, and precision from digital vs the softness and light leaks of film are simply two sides of the same coin, not different fields entirely. When I think of a film like Collateral (2004), I don't see a film lacking "feel", despite it being shot on digital. I see a film with amazing contrast and a feel all to it's own. I see the point you're making, but it also harms your own argument. Describing film as better because of imperfection would make something like painting or drawing even more valuable, when in fact that argument doesn't make sense. Imperfection and light leaks does not a feeling make. In fact, I think relying on the look of film to impart a sense of meaning can be a crutch to those in the modern era when comparing to digital. Having to rely on the pre-edited nature of film to create a look for you (I'm not saying that's what you're doing) just shows a lack of knowledge in a different part of the process. I guess I would say that the biggest advantage of film is just not having to edit as much, either beforehand or after. Just choosing film because it makes part of the process easier for you by removing some thought about the look of the photo doesn't make it better, and in fact, in my mind makes it a little less flexible. In a sense, you're training yourself to not have to think about the end result as much because film takes care of so much of that for you. Also, to your point of fixing in post vs pre, that just seems wrong to me. Many of the best photographers, people like Ansel Adams, heavily edited their photos in the darkroom, much like people do today in photoshop. It may be a more hands on process, but it's still essentially the same process.

I guess I'm simply being logical here: both are equally valid media for artistic purposes. Some may say "film is more soulful" and "digital is more technically precise/boring". Currently disagree with that, but perhaps because I haven't spend hundrerds of film rolls. At least digital is more practical: a camera and laptop. Done. Film is more cumbersome because you need chemicals, scanning equpment etc.

I've tried explaining why I shoot digital for work but film for myself to my friends and family. Now I can just share this video and say ditto.

Retired and wanted to get back into photography in a meaningful way. Got a new digital camera that was all work to learn and use, dumped it. Now my cameras are over 10 years old, they’re slow and sort of emulate the look of the film I used to use and the way I still shoot. Now if I could only see the image the way Jason does.

I've definitely done more weird complicated artsy stuff digitally (in preproduction) than with an analog camera. Gells, lensfilters, movement long exposure, overexposing, reflective spray, all combined etc. While with film I let the film itself do the heavy lifting. It doesn't matter what you use, your intent will change how you use it.

I shoot both. I'm new to film. I like not being able to see the image. When you finally get them back, it's like opening a present. Nothing quite like that feeling.

Both ❤

A feeling can be captured regardless of the medium. it doesn't matter if you shoot film or digital at the end of the day they are all tools. Tools used to capture the world in your minds perspective or from an idea. Its more about shooting things in a unique way or finding a medium that fits with the objective you trying to shoot Just shoot and use what you like and creates the work you want to create... But also be open minded and experiment

I love it, I shoot both due to whatever image I want to make. No matter what you shoot just shoot

Exactly, very well put - I use both, digital for photographing factual representation of the subject and film where I'm trying to convey a mood for travel, projects etc. Both are good for different reasons.

It’s all in your head. There are a lot of great shots with soul shot on Digital. Same there ara an entire era of sports photography that was shot on film. It’s absolutely depends on your inner artist.

Photography is the art of capturing light. The simple fact is that digital sensors and film both capture light in completely different ways. Which you would think, that one who's job or hobby is capturing light, would appreciate.

Well put! Couldn’t agree more. I love the slowness of film it really makes you think about the shot before you take it. Digital is great when you want to just go out & just worry about the simple side of photography.

I shoot digital for the cost per photo, I use a glimmerglass filter for everything to soften it up and remove how clinical digital looks. Im a messy creative so i also feel that digital is better for me because I can be more destructive but my image is still ok in the end. I also hate the lack of reliability of any film processing lab near me and anxiety means ill never post a roll of film

The IMDb flex tho

I couldn’t stomach colour film prices anymore so I pretty much switched 100% to black and white for the last 3 years. Realised I was missing something so bought an M10. VSCO (the old desktop version I had sitting in a Dropbox folder) gets me 99.9% of the way towards the look of colour film and to be honest, actually surpasses it sometimes.

I shoot film and relate to what you're saying but I also used to be a professional sports photographer, and you're off base about sports photography. The very best sports photography captures feeling. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, to borrow a phrase.

Honestly I love shooting film for the scan. Digital color correction helps me reach that subjective look. It's been a big topic in cinematography since the early aughts when digital intermediates were a new, popular process; now with Dune and others we're seeing film intermediates for media captured on digital cameras for digital presentation.

Quit your job at disney and just start selling handmade film photography zines at coffee shops.

A friend asked me the same kind of question, along the lines of "Why do you shoot film? What's the point?" and I put it to him like this: "Shut up loser" FR tho: "Think of it like this: You're a car guy right? You can have the newest sports car, which has the most highly tuned engine, it has the most comfortable seats and it has the highest top speed. It has butt warmers and it looks like something from the future with all of its LED lights and displays. OR, you can have this old vintage muscle car, it breaks every 100kms, you have to slam the door twice for it to shut, there is a little rust on the rear panel and the steering wheel is uncomfortable to hold. But which one would you prefer to drive?" There is no right or wrong answer. Some people want the old vintage car, some people want the most fuel efficient or high tech.

Good point about subjectivity. I do like using my one inch Panasonic's in low light or event or sport's, but I have a contax ii rangefinder and yashica TLRs which are much much enjoyable, keep me in the moment and would be prohibitively expensive in a digital version. I did give up film a while back but these days it's much easier to scan or get scanned and that makes it much easier

Loved this. Really appreciated this aspect ration in 4k btw.

Totally agree, Jason. The reason I started shooting with film , again, (previously shooting film since the 70's), after shooting digital for the last 20 years. I do bring a digital camera, for situations, that I may not be able to return. KB

representing the half frame gang 😎

There will always be those who see others making different choices as threats, as somehow criticizing them. With the advantage of advancing age, uh, maturity, my advice is to ignore them. Life is too short to waste time worrying about someone getting their shorts in a bunch because they chose strawberry and you chose chocolate. Mmmm... chocolate...

I agree with you on all points. And i do think that being good at film photography will make you a better digital photographer due to the amount of forethought that goes into it. I started with black and white film in the early 90's and loved it. I have been shooting digital for about 10 years. I just dusted off my old Pentax k1000 and bought a few rolls of film. You have inspired me to get back into film photography again. I am new to your channel and love it.....

It's kind of like the debate with impressionist-style painters. Some people just prefer to capture the mood and essence of a scene rather than the literal interpretation.

While I do shoot both digital and film, it does come down to cost and practicality. I love shooting digital for ease, but some days I need the complexity and careful thought that comes with film. I don't shoot sports or wildlife, but I do try to apply my film skills to my digital photography. I try not to shoot 1000 stills for one scene, I try to keep it down to one or two, like I would on film, but without thinking about the cost of development, new rolls, etc. And come on! Even film has postproduction! Film and digital can complement each other in great ways.

Not a film guy, but I like all the points made in this video: the slowing down, the fixing it in pre, the quest for a unique style.

I use to be a hip hop producer which I think pointed me towards film. It was like sampling from vinyl vs sampling from a download. Both results are up to the skills of the artist but vinyl samples had its own characteristics and the workflow was fun.

I shot 30 rolls of 120 film with a FujiGW690ii during a train trip through europe this summer, and I did it because I personally think 6x9 produces sharper images than what I achieve with digital (at least what I have). I made that choice to obtain nice quality photos with nice colors rather than getting "feelings" images like you described. Although, I get why you said that and I agree with you on that idea. I just feel that there is also the possible avenue to choose film to obtain superior quality of images (And here I think of 6x9, 4x5, 8x10). These formats, to me, will always be superior (in quality and soul) to any digital format.

This past summer I shot film for the first time in nearly 20 years, and instinctively looked at the back of my Canon AE-1 for more shots than I’m willing to admit to.

I just love how your eyes match your backdrop, true professionalism!

I shoot digital. But I can't talk to other digital photographers. It always turns into a conversation about what gear is best. That's why I enjoy film photography youtube channels. I get to see a lot of great shots and not hear about sensors and pixels and AF speed and button layout and screen DPI. Just photography. Not saying it's universal but that's what I run into. Digital photographers can lean towards gearheads and that's it.

Shooting both; it’s all about the intention for me. If I get hired for gigs I use digital(unless they request film). For personal work, I shoot film. It’s a good balance for me that way.

Great video, I also came down to this conclusion myself, I shoot both film and digital, my Sony is for fast portraits or general full frames and better light recreation, while my Fuji is for artistic photos along with street photography, but my film is for anything that catches my eye for more than 10-30 seconds or significant memories I wanna keep. Keep it up, Jason.

Thank you for the video. I'll turn around your first statement (0:45), about film being subjective and digital being objective.With film, you can be objectively sure that what apears in the photo was in front of the camera, thus sharing the same space and time with the negative. The latent image on the film is a lot like a fossile , as a surface that have been marked by the light projected on it. We can never know when a digital picture was "made", as the sensor sends information to the processor pixel by pixel, in cue, and the processor ends up "building" an image based both on that info and its settings - a subjective interpretation; and we can only see that image through a circuit with a display. But I am talking as someone older who have shot lots of film professionally, trying to achieve that technical excelence you append to digital photography. And I understand your point, about film beeing a medium used more often for personal and subjective projects nowadays.

Same argument for digital vs vinyl. I play digital in my car, vinyl at home - loudly. I shoot digital on holiday but film for artistic effect.

Wait, you can do astrophotography with digital cameras?

I first started shooting a Holga camera after seeing David Burnett win WHNPA awards using one in 2001 or 2002

shooting with film is an entirely different philosophy of shooting, makes me appreciate more the spontaneity of the events and usually images taken with film cameras look better than digital

I’m glad Film never died. I grew up with film. My dad was a photographer back in the 80’s and in the nineties we girl and I had trow away Kodaks. We still have those photos. All the photos on digital are mostly lost on hard drives that died.

I started with film back in the day (art school in the 1980s) but ended with digital. Why? well everything I wanted to achieve could be done better in post production (Photoshop). Yes, my edited photos look nothing like the initial shot but for me this is where the pleasure lies. Various technologies lend themselves to certain processes and for me, digital has endless possibilities. I still love how certain film photographers like Trent Parke push film to its limits, but we are all different with different temperaments. There is no right or wrong medium, its like oil vs acrylic paint, it all depends on how you manipulate it and your temperament. BTW digital photos lend themselves to subjective treatment too. Adding textures layers and contrast being one way.

I love shooting skiing in film, makes it fun to be less objective in action photography

Great video. I loved the way you broke it down and how you ultimately leave it for everyone to decide what's best for them. That's the only healthy way to go about one's interest. Do whatever works for you and be happy, let others do the same.

When photography first came into being it was immediately regarded as a science, for the literal recording of subjects (your 'objective' reference). Then the Pictorialists formed in the 1860s and held that photography was closer to art (your 'subjective' reference). Both schools pursued their own beliefs and preferences in parallel - two sides of the same coin but back then both expressed through film. Now digital photography has enabled the literal, objective representation to be captured as never before although there are still those who use it successfully for Pictorial aims. Even today, film can still be used as an objective, technical medium but for me, like you, I shoot it from a Pictorialist, subjective standpoint but then I'm also a huge fan of Léonard Misonne...

I like to use film because I enjoy the process. That's about the reason I can think of to actually use film. It's similar to listening to records over digital. It's not going to be better in any objective way, and often worse, but if realism isn't the goal, I can't think of any reason not to use it besides cost, inconvenience, inaccuracy, etc.

Hey man you hit the nail right on the head with this video film is to make you slow down and appreciate it digitals to get the job done

I can't remember where I heard it, but someone once said that the car was the savior of the horse. Horses used to be one step above tools. People needed them for mundane, and often grueling labor. Now that everything is moved by mechanical vehicles, horses can be treated with much more care and love. They can graze all day in a pasture, and are only ridden by someone who does so because they simply love the act of doing so. I believe the same it true for film. Now that we don't really need film photography to do a "job" its free to be used for art, by people who love and enjoy it.

I like the example of the sailing across the sea or painting a painting.

I'm still using my darkroom with a black and white condenser enlarger. Fomapan and Rodinal. However, recently having discovered a Ricoh GR digital from 2005. The black and white images are really filmic. I have taken to photographing people in every day life. Street they call it. I am 78 and I wás a Press photographer from 16 to 26 years old. Then I became a poster designer and later a garden designer. I have an indoor market stall here in the UK selling film and cameras. I now sell ccd sensor digital cameras as well. Thats where the bargains are. I bought a Canon Ixus 100 is for £10 and now its with me every day for colour, alongside my Ricoh GR digital which I use for black 🐈‍⬛🖤 and white. Great video.

One more thing, Daido Moriyama and Robert Frank both eventually switched to digital...eventually. I'm just wondering if conscious intentionality matters in both mediums. I think both mediums are exactly the same way, they are tools, and it matters how you use them. My father was a photographer and has since gone blind...when I talk to him about digital photography he becomes more excited about it than he does when I tell him I bought an enlarger. I think at the end of the day it is about economy, artistic vision and purpose. There is no better feeling than watching your negative turn into a print with a little bit of magic, but it is how you use the tools that matters and what you are trying to say. I'm rambling, I'm not spelling correctly and my grammar is atrocious, but just get out there and shoot!!!

I’ll play devils advocate because I can see where the old timers are coming come from with disliking film. Lets be honest: we’re pretty much using film cameras as toys to some extent, whereas the old timers had to use these cameras as tools. And some of those salty old folks probably REALLY did not like missing those shots that, for the time, was trying to reach for objectivity that todays cameras can do now. Yes, those cameras were probably their tools for objectivity for their time, so you can imagine their pleasure in watching camera tech get better over time for the work they needed to do. We didnt experience that progression of innovation (as you mentioned). Also, the greatest photogs of all time had darkroom techs, so the “fix it in post” thing was not a factor to the OG; they shot, someone else fixed it and knew how to make it either look the way the photog wanted, or how a major publication wanted the shot. This is probably the biggest lie of this whole film photography thing where people propagate the darkroom as the other half when in reality to the OGs it was “yes (that is a part of the photography process) and no (thats what darkroom techs are for)”

I don't have a preference for one over the other but I do feel that film should be shot with intent and the photos be more deliberate - especially larger format film that has lower availability. I see some videos on KZfaq (not referring to this channel) where people absolutely burn through film and I can't help but often find the results disappointing and feel shots were wasted. They're doing the film equivalent of spray and pray. This is just my personal opinion obviously and I don't hate on people for having a different one. Whatever makes others happy, I won't stop them.

If you want film, shoot film. If you want chromes shoot digital. Oil vs Acrylic, film vs digital or loaded vs empty what do you want after you've done.

I'm definitely an I shoot both kind of person. I even shoot both vintage and modern lenses. Though the next time I need to pack light, the digital and modern lenses are probably staying home in favor of the film and vintage lenses, because I personally find them more fun.

I like low effort grainydays videos. It perfectly suits my low effort youtube watching habits.

Its been several years since I started to shoot film, and often I wondered why do it, why go through the hassle of dev and scan to get a potentially more flawed image, the picture is not objectivly better because of a niche medium. For me, and it is just my opinion, is that pleasure resides with the cameras themselves, the feeling of getting to shoot what was somewhere in time the bleeding edge of photography, or the gold standard of photojournalism to document my own life is super satisfying. And I get to enjoy a full non digital experience on my days off work, wich helps reconnect with the real world and forget about the socials for just a moment.

One of the most well put together arguments for film. Film is fun, but makes photography feel like more of an art form that you actually have to work for. There’s a sense of accomplishment or defeat at the end of development that doesn’t come with digital.

one of my photography teacher back in photography school in Tokyo successfully succeeded Daguerrotype re inventing/re mastering how to shoot it....and honesty i would probably will never achieve that level of dedication since you have to literally build a tent right beside where you shot that actual shot the moment its shot you have to process it on location and use toxic materials to post process it....its not the look thats important its that dedication and commitment that makes it worthwhile...thanks for a great videoo...polishing that silver to make it glow. if you can get it done during the shoot *getting the right exposure digital/film if studio if you place the lighting correctly you wont have to tinker around in post and can save tons of time....thats what film taught me...and thats why alot of photography teachers in Tokyo say to students experience film....and if you master it understand it you will exceed in the digital world.

This is why I stick to cave paintings. It's the OG of capturing moments and the tall thin men that roam the forests

Probably the best AvsD monologue ever. Bravo dude!

The last time i came this early, i had to make it up with brunch

I’m going to create photo realistic images on a Etch-A-Sketch.