I don't use my home printer for photography, instead I have asda do that for me on the images I actually want printing. That's far cheaper than film is.
Is it?
And why cant I do that with film?
If I wanted to get super-skinny with Halide, I can get film for under a quid a roll, in the box or off the reel & hand-loaded. Then I'd get an E6 or C41 Chemistry set and dig out the dev-tank, and kitchen sink process it. Would work out at less than £1.50 per roll, film and process.
I dont HAVE to print any of them. I could preview in the neg, to decide which, if any I wanted to make prints from, or I could run off a single 8x10 contact strip, or heaven forbid... scan to digital to preview. Before cherry-picking shots to print.
However, ASDA will do the same thing for £1.50, and saves a bit of work, and a lot of mess. They also do a full D&P of 36 exposure film for just under a fiver. Works out at about 10p a print, if you get the full set done. At 30p a re-print... unless you are only cherry-picking one in five or ten to print... its as cheap to get the full set.
But again, if I was so intent on saving money; I could dig out the enlarger and the Pattison Orbital and make my own prints, in colour, as well as B&W in the bath-room, and for the same money, either make more, or make-them bigger.
But, raises a suggestion... if less than one in ten of your pictures is worth printing.... why are you taking them?........ Which is rhetorical... because you don't view in hard copy; you 'print to screen'...
But THAT does offer suggestion; with film, its 'extra' effort to make halide picture digital for electronic display... we tend only to 'cherry-pick' the better ones to scan and share.... another layer of conscious thought required.
In digital, as its so easy and convenient, to store and share in the digital domain.. and harder to make a hard copy... and so few digital pictures DO get printed.... how much of what is shot in digital, WOULDN'T get taken, wouldn't get stored, wouldn't get published IF it was a little more effort to do so?
Meanwhile, I was never saying that Digital might be more expensive than Film, or that you use SO much electricity maintaining digital photo's as its hugely significant.
What I said was Digital is NOT FREE.
Digital cameras do use electricity; and more than we care to aknowledge, turning on a PC to look at pictures. And the costs DONT stop at the camera; you do need to recognise that you need the other periferals to store and view and share your photo's.
You shoot film, its pay as you go, you see the costs as they occur.
Digital? You pay upfront and only THINK it's free... comes as a shock when all of a sudden your lap-top starts playing up, because the hard drive is full, and you have to shell out another £80 for an external to stick your snaps on.... which is good for a little while longer, until that's full... and then when some calamity strikes you realise you have no 'back-up' and you have to 'double-up' to make some!
Costs are there, just more transparent and not so up-front out of your pocket, here and now, as film is.
All hobbys have the inclination to consume as much money and time as they can; usually more than you can afford to give them....
Analogy of cars... people might moan about the ecconomy of thier car, and the price of petrol... but, as long as they have money in thier pocket, wont stop them using it.
Average car does around 12,000 miles a year, 1000 miles a month. Average 'commute' is aprox 8 miles. 80 miles a week, about 4000 miles a year, 1/3 of the annual miles the car does, of 'essential' travel. Add domestic chores; the weekly shopping; trips to the dentists or whatever; only half the average cars annual mileage is actually 'useful' travel. About half of it is just because its there and its convenient.
MOST people, who moan about the cost or petrol, could actually save more money, not by down-sizing the car, or finding one with better mpg figures, but SIMPLY thinking twice before they jump in the car to go to the gym or pop to the pie-shop! Typically 1/4 of the average drivers fuel spend is unnecessary, and they could slash the fuel bill at a stroke, just by thinking a little about whether they really need or want to go somewhere. Thats a far bigger saving than is likely to be found by buying a more 'ecconomical' car... which ironically, is likely not to actually generate any significant saving; as by compensating psycology... not costing 'so-much'.. likely to get used even MORE for unessential travel, and driver will still drive to the money in thier pocket!
Most people live to the limit of thier means... give or take... more take, than give when credit cards are so easy to have!
Hobby's are the same; and you will tend to take as many photo's as you can afford.....
Neatly linking simile with subject....
? If your going to get that picky about it start a debate on costs. Because my biggest cost is fuel to drive to locations.
Digital ISN'T 'Free'.. you dont have to buy film, no, but there is plenty of other stuff you still need to buy, and it costs just as much to get out and about and take photo's whatever you shoot, and your hobby can STILL consume as much time, money and patience of nearest & dearest as it can....
At least with Film, pay-as-you-go, seeing the cash come out of your pocket, its a little easier to keep a track of, and paying as you go, your not so likely to end up in that sort of situation where 'kidding yourself' its free... when you're hard drive is full, and giving the cricket clicks of imminent death, you don't have to find best part of £100 or so, to get a new drive to make a back-up toot-sweet, or risk loosing the product of everything you have spent till that point, kidding yourself there's no more costs!
Like I said, there isn't a lot of difference, apart from convenience. Everything folk are saying Digital can do Better... is for the most part either wrong or splitting hairs. Digital cameras have evolved from Film cameras, as remarked on in the "Is this the end for DSLR?" thread, between DSLR and CSC's; most, if not all of what modern digital cameras 'do' is actually trying to mimic the way film-cameras worked!
Consequently there is little 'capability' they have that wasn't available in some way, shape or form in Film. Only difference is they deliver electric digits, not silver crystals.
Beyond that? Down to how much convenience you want, and how much you are prepared to spend.
If kidding yourself 'Digital is Free' is what you have to do to justify it to yourself, or those with financial over-sight.. well... no matter how much you may want it to be true, and how hard you might want to believe it... like the flat earth philosphy, repetition doesn't make it so!
But of it helps you take photo's? What the heck... BUT... delusion and denial is rarely creative; and while you might like to think 'because its free I can take SO many pictures.... ' a little thought, which film often prompts, by way of those little reminders when you have to open your wallet or shift an advance lever.... CAN do so much to make the most of the photo's you take, and get pictures WORTH taking.
End of the day a picture is worth a thousand words... and talk is cheap, so I could end this post on the suggestion, if you dont value your photo's go digital, its cheap; if you do, use film, its costs, but its worth it. But bottom line is neither is a whole truth; and what matters is that pictures get taken, and pictures get looked at... and their 'worth' is in the enjoyement they give.
Film and Diogital can deliver a lot more 'value' than either cost... but they still cost; but Film makes you more aware of it, and more likely to make the most of what you SEE to be spending.