Take some slow, deep breaths, John. ..... Feel better now?
I don't disagree with your rant as one factor, but I think there are
others. I think one is the contining improvement in film technology. I
don't do all the literature research that you do and don't keep track of
every different film I use vs every other. It does seem to me though,
that today's 100-200 speed color negative films perform about as well as
the 25 asa films of 30+ years ago. I suppose I have contributed to the
demise of these slow films too, as I don't think I've used a negative
film slower that 100asa in over 20 years. But I've never owned a 35mm
P&S, unless an XA counts. My 35mm film goes through OMs. Even with high
quality gear, action, long telephoto, existing light portraiture, macro
photography, etc. really benefit from faster film.
Recent threads on DOF, vibration, critical focusing, lens and film
resolving power, etc. suggest to me that film resolving power/grain/etc.
beyond a certain point is simply superfluous for all but a very tiny
portion of image making. If one needs barn sized prints, it's way
easier, cheaper and more practical to go to a larger film size than
design more perfect cameras (35mm with vacuum backs?) and lenses, use
the same heavy and cumbersome tripods, heads, etc needed for MF and
above and rigorously practice difficult technique. I'll bet most pros go
the bigger rather than slower film route, too. People using tools to
make money want the most practical, effective, reliable tools. The pro
market is big and/or important enough to support at least one 25asa
'pro' film if they wanted one.
I suspect that the marketplace simply reflects the reality that 25asa
color print film's special strengths aren't useful to the vast majority
of photographers, not just snapshooters.
Moose
John A. Lind wrote:
[short rant]
IMHO, the demise of the slow films is a result of the ubiquitous P&S
and Wunderziegel mondo 18-1000mm AF zoom lenses that are, by necessity
of design, hideously slow. Add to that the equally hideously weak
integral pop-up flashes they have. It has driven their users, who buy
much more film than we do, into ISO 200 to 800 films just to make
photographs outdoors on an overcast day or in open shade, and when
indoors to get more than 6 feet of range out of their crippled
integral flashes (doesn't fix their gross red-eye problems though).
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