No more film

I think it’s finally happened. Unless I’m not reading myself correctly, the days of shooting film are over. I can sum up the reasons in one sentence:

It’s just too much bloody work for the results I’m getting.

36 frames of Tri-X involves the following:

• Buy film and chemicals (5 min. to 1 hour)
• Pull bag, reels, thermometer, chemicals out of closet and set up (5 min)
• Load, process, wash film (30 min)
• Dry film (1 min to do, then 2 hours to wait)
• Scan film into computer (~2 hours – High res scans to TIF can take 3 minutes each, plus handling)
• Using Photoshop, remove dust, scratches, hair. Then sharpen and adjust. (1 hour)
• Print contact sheet and place with film into storage binders (5 min)
• Print and/or upload images (5-30 min)

Let’s just say 4-6 hours all told. So that puts us in the neighborhood of 10 minutes per frame. Granted several of those items are not required for every roll, and the 2 hour wait to dry might not really count, but you get the idea. Now, if I ended up with great photos, 10 minutes would be a very small price to pay. The trouble is most of them are your basic snapshots and very much undeserving of that much energy.

So, the Leica will be put reluctantly up for sale, along with all sorts of other film-related accessories. I’ll keep the Canonet for those times when a small rangefinder fits the bill or when I get a little nostalgic. In the meantime I’ll fill out the Canon digital kit and snap away.

UPDATE What am I, crazy? Never sell a Leica!