Maybe I'd fit in better with "the loons" for inquiring about this, but does anyone shoot film in the BWCA anymore? I imagined intractable troubles with maintaining battery power on sub-zero winter trips and strongly believe that a willingness to put the camera at significant risk to water exposure increases the quality of my photos, so I bought and brought the entirely-mechanical early '70's era Canon Ftb. It served me well even after I dropped it in a puddle of slush (which soon developed into a block of ice encasing the camera yet did not impair its function in any way).

I'm also frustrated with the cropped sensor issue I face with moderately-priced digital SLR's as that limits my attempts to take truly wide angle shots with what we 35mm folks consider a wide-angle lens.

Yes, there are advantages to the old SLRs however the new digital cameras have many advantages as well. The biggest one being # of pictures you can take vs cost of film and processing. The ability to easily post process your shots without expensive dark room equipment or slide scanners. The crop factor helps on the other end as well when you get a little extra reach on your wildlife shots. You don't have to have a different array of film speed as you can adjust ISO on the fly. Even the basic digital cameras have some pretty fancy features when compared to older SLRs. Never had a big issue with battery life, even in sub zero weather. Especially when you consider the number of shots you can take from a digital camera. Take the money you save on film and processing and buy an extra battery.

One alternative is a simple point and shoot for wide angle shots. They are small, cheap and can take amazingly good landscape photos.

i switched to a digital a couple years ago. the savings in film and processing got me to switch. when I shoot in extreme cold conditions I would keep an extra battery in my jacket to keep it warm

quote hobbydog: "Yes, there are advantages to the old SLRs however the new digital cameras have many advantages as well. The biggest one being # of pictures you can take vs cost of film and processing. The ability to easily post process your shots without expensive dark room equipment or slide scanners. The crop factor helps on the other end as well when you get a little extra reach on your wildlife shots. You don't have to have a different array of film speed as you can adjust ISO on the fly. Even the basic digital cameras have some pretty fancy features when compared to older SLRs. Never had a big issue with battery life, even in sub zero weather. Especially when you consider the number of shots you can take from a digital camera. Take the money you save on film and processing and buy an extra battery.


One alternative is a simple point and shoot for wide angle shots. They are small, cheap and can take amazingly good landscape photos. "

Many thanks for your thorough response, hobbydog! I had no idea that the batteries withstood extreme temperatures as well as you attest to; and, as I prefer to use natural lighting almost exclusively, I've always been frustrated with the fact that I can't adjust my ISO as the sun is setting until I snap the shutter 23 more times to burn through my ASA 200 just so I can throw some ASA 400 in, for instance.

On the other hand, being a beginner, there's something to be said for being forced to be deliberative and conscious about the composition and exposure strategies for each shot as taking 10 shots at random and choosing the best one is not an affordable option with film. The hand-held external light meter I use forces me to constantly think about what specifically within the frame I would like to expose for and gives me the option of metering for incident light as well.
It's frustrating to see people with $800 DSLR's toting giant telephoto lenses who never take them off of program mode. They are missing out on all the fun photography can provide them and would do just as well with a $25 refurbished point-and-shoot from KEH!

quote trashbag: "i switched to a digital a couple years ago. the savings in film and processing got me to switch. when I shoot in extreme cold conditions I would keep an extra battery in my jacket to keep it warm"

Thanks, trashbag!

In the long run, savings in film and processing certainly offset the initial relatively steep cost of going digital. However, for some irrational reason, in my "live-simply-so-that-others-may-simply-live" world, the twinge of guilt associated with incremental, periodic small expenditures on a hobby is more manageable than the mountain of guilt that would bury me were I to shell out the single large initial up-front lump sum required to go digital.

After renting the now-antiquated Nikon D50 for a trip to Toronto a few years back (wanted to shoot pictures of my young daughter and her cousins in the setting of Toronto's colorful Caribbean festival), I've drooled over the prospect of purchasing one ever since. Those older cropped-sensor models have sure come down in price over the past few years.

I have a few Pentax SLR's and lenses/accessories sitting on a shelf. Since going digital have never looked back. Digital lenses, sold for name cameras (even kit lenses), are very good. Better than their specification show. Batteries science has been greatly improved. And personal photo processing keeps getting better. My camera kit definitely reduced in size and weight with the switch. The sensors while physically smaller are always improving in sensitivity and capability.
I do not think you will regret spending the cash to change.

butthead

Hubben..the last thing i bought from KEH was a 300 tele for my Nikon F and back then i phoned it in from a ad in the Shutterbug!!
what you said about the conscious effort involved in film VS digital is something people should think about.it's that effort that makes the difference between just snap shooting and hoping for a good photo and what makes photography an "art".thinking about what you are taking a photo of should open you up to the subject and why your doing what your doing.i don't think BW type work is like,say,news photography where the flash guns go off and the motors buzz in the hopes of one good shot.
maybe i make too much out of it but i like the way things slow down when i'm fooling around with a mushroom shot or waiting for the sun to get just right for the sunset.
i'll talk about hunting a photo later...