Weekly Poll: Did you start with digital or film?

[Marmalade]

I started with b & w film, before they had digital cameras. I remember the lovely developer smell and the little brown spots on all my clothes from the developer and fixative. In high school I was the photo editor for our yearbook and took four years of photo classes. I have always had some type of 35 mm film camera until my husband bought me my first digital P & S for christmas a few years ago. Now I have a olympus e -410, birthday present from the hubby. I love the ease of editing digital pictures, no smell. : )

[Lishi]

I started with film when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure the camera was a Pentax but I can't remember the model.

[MtnTopRebel]

I'm an old duffer, been toting a camera for nearly 50 years or so.... anyway. The other day I happened across a Canon A-1 (film) SLR at a thrift store. I just couldn't pass it up, won't tell you how much or you'd think I stole it, well darn near, Now I don't know how many of you are familiar with the camera, but as far as I'm concerned it is the best SLR Canon ever built.
I had one some 30 years ago in one of my studios. I had my RB's RZ's (medium format cameras) long roll portrait cameras, and the like, but my work horse was the A-1. With a winder, it did all my weddings, then got me into Rodeo, horse shows, and all manor of livestock work. I loved the camera. It was so advanced for its time. It ran in full program, Aperture priority, speed priority, manual. it had exposer override, two modes of Aperture stop down, exposure lock, double exposer option, multiple time delay and exposures of 30 sec to 1/1000th of a sec. But what was really sweet was the one touch zoom lenses available for it. Now I have a number of digital cameras and I like digital, my digital SLR is a D series, but frankly I hate the lens system. OK here's the problem. Well for example, when I was shooting Rodeo, I was in the arena, along with the cowboy, the clowns and the BULL! I am following action, and as the Bull is moving back and forth, my attention is on the bull (and when to climb the fence), with the motor drive I am popping off a series shots, following the action. The one-touch allows me to zoom in and out with the forward/backward slide of the ring while my hand rotates the same ring to maintain focus. It was fast and accurate (with practice) The forward/reverse action for zoom is natural. Now, the digital, I have to depend on the camera to figure out these things, make compromises on what it will determine to focus on, wait for the lens to respond and even though it is quite fast in those situations, not fast enough. Then the zoom BLAAAH! it is not natural to zoom by rotating the ring... why can't they make it like the one-touch? OK so now we get down to the issue of my A-1 and film or state of the art and digital? Got a solution! Canon, make an A-1 "D" oh by the way, the options for the FD series lens was awesome. And yes you can run FD lenses on the EOS system, but forfeit the autos in the process, and the adapter requires optics as well as the adapter ring. In the FD series, I have a flat field copy lens with focus, good from under 1/2" to inf. a macro wide angle zoom, and several zooms including a 70-300 that was with the A-1 when I got it.... the cost to duplicate for the digital would be frightful. So Canon if your reading this could you just step back for a time add digital to the A-1 and make a giant step forward?

[kuoirad]

Originally Posted by falafelicious

Well I "started" as a kid with those disposable film cameras you get at the checkout stands in grocery stores but I don't know if I'd really call what I was doing photography. Really it was just a way of remembering people, places, things.

My actual interest in photographs as art didn't begin until just a couple years ago and that was with a digital camera. I've never developed anything in a darkroom or even changed a roll of film. So I'm going to say digital.

This is pretty much how I got started, though I do know how to change a roll of film in a camera - even managed to screw up and overexpose a roll or two over the years. Haven't dealt with film in probably 10 years, though.

[RePete]

I don't know how many of those old flash cubes I used, but am glad my flash is built in now!

[Geaux]

Ah, yes, the flash cubes! That's where I started too. An Instamatic, I believe. I didn't really get serious until several years ago when I bought the Canon Rebel G so I could learn how to use settings. (I never learned dark room stuff - but wish I had.) I got some good photos, but never really understood what I was doing until I went digital. After a few P&S, I bought the Nikon D40 last year after dropping the P&S in the sand!.(The Nikon does not go near beach ) I got some really good photos with the P&S, but the DSLR is so much more fun to use!

[Hairdad]

my first camera was an argus 35mm film camera given by my godfather many moons ago. After using a digital, I think I'll stay here for the speed ,convenience, and control

[Gayle]

Well I did use film cameras, but only the point & shoot varieties just for taking family snapshots. Since the age of digital I found it much more inviting to use a camera and to venture to a DSLR. Go technology!!!!

[stacyrings]

I'm sure I did some point and shoot shots when I was a kid. I remember some rectangle type of camera that you had to slide something over to advance the film. And the cartridges were round on the ends with a flat part connecting them.

My first real venture into photography was in college. I had a Nikon FG that I bought from my uncle for $50. I only took b&w. I did all the developing myself, from the film to the prints. I loved the smell of the chemicals but I had the hardest time winding the film onto spool and usually had to get someone else to do it for me. So many rolls ended up with a ton of scratches and dents from my attempts.

After college I bought my own darkroom equipment and had it set up in my parent's extra bathroom. When I built my house I told the builder that I didn't want any windows in the bathroom so I could use it for a darkroom. Then I told him I wanted a skylight. What was I thinking!

I just got a dSLR for my birthday a few weeks ago. It's a Nikon D40 and I love it!!

[kamraladympr]

hmmm,my very first camera i bought was a kodak disc camera..then took a photography course in school,and bought a fujica 35mm camera..then bought a 70-210 lens to go with it...still love shooting b&w film to this day..a few yrs ago i decided to try digital,and fell in love with that also..plus its alot cheaper,u take a pic you dont like just delete it and try again..