75% Pro Photographers Still Use Film

A survey of more than 9,000 professional photographers in the U.S. found that 75 percent of photographers say they will continue to use film. Black and white photography in particular was a popular reason for sticking with film, with 57% preferring to use film rather than digital to create a certain look and feel. “This survey indicates that film remains an important tool on which professional photographers rely to effectively create their work, so providing choice is of utmost importance. It’s an ‘and’ world where digital and film co-exist and complement each other.” said Mary Jane Hellyar, President, Film Products Group and Senior Vice President, Kodak. A similar survey run by Kodak in Europe also found that more than two-thirds of professional photographers surveyed plan to continue using film.

Does this apply to you - do you still exclusively use film, or a mixture of film and digital?

Kodak Press Release

Kodak Survey Shows that Professional Photographers Remain Ardent Users of Film

More Than Three-Quarters of Photographers Surveyed Will Continue to Use Film, Even as Some Embrace Digital Technology, “It’s An ‘And’ World Where Digital and Film Co-exist and Complement Each Other”

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 19—A survey of more than 9,000 professional photographers in the U.S. shows that film continues to have an avid following, with 75 percent of photographers saying they will continue to use film, even as some embrace digital imaging technology. The results of the U.S. survey, conducted by the Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK), mirror the results of a similar survey the company recently conducted in Europe, where more than two-thirds of professional photographers surveyed plan to continue using film.

According to the U.S. survey results, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of professional photographers prefer the results of film to those of digital for certain applications including:

* film’s superiority in capturing more information on medium and large format films (48 percent);
* creating a traditional photographic look (48 percent);
* capturing shadow and highlighting details (45 percent);
* the wide exposure latitude of film (42 percent); and
* archival storage (38 percent).

“I find film invaluable because the details and look of the photographs are crucial in re-telling the events playing out in front of me,” said Pep Bonet, international award winning photojournalist and a founding member of NOOR, a new photo agency committed to documenting social issues worldwide. “I do very little research or preparation prior to traveling to location. Instead, I arrive, I observe and ultimately, I trust that my camera and my film will capture the story at hand. The stories may be stunning, disturbing or inspiring. But above all, they are real. There’s nothing like film to capture those realities, particularly Tri-X black-and-white film.”

Many of the survey respondents share Bonet’s passion for black-and-white photography and film.  Although professional photographers acknowledge that digital cameras offer certain benefits, they said that film better captures certain images, particularly black-and-white photos. The majority (90 percent) of photographers produce black-and-white images, with 47 percent saying black-and-white photography allows them to create a certain look and feel and differentiate themselves.  More than half of them (57 percent) prefer using film to achieve this desired effect.

“First and foremost, photographers are artists, supported by the science of the tools that help them do their job,” said Mary Jane Hellyar, President, Film Products Group and Senior Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “This survey indicates that film remains an important tool on which professional photographers rely to effectively create their work, so providing choice is of utmost importance. It’s an ‘and’ world where digital and film co-exist and complement each other.”

Kodak strives to provide this choice through ongoing innovation in its film offering. This year alone, Kodak introduced five new versions of its KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA Films, which have received a strong response from the industry. The new PORTRA film family, comprising 160VC, 160NC, 400VC, 400NC and 800, helps professional photographers create stunning images with finer grain, spectacular skin tones, and improved scanning performance for greater enlargement capability.

In the past year, Kodak has received four industry awards for its PORTRA films, including the American Photo “Editor’s Choice” award, just released last month. Each year, American Photo creates its list of the industry’s best new products and this year, named PORTRA in its “Imaging Essentials” category. 

Other awards include:

Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) – Best Film in Europe 2007: The award, voted for by TIPA members, recognizes the fine grain, excellent resolving power and superb color precision offered to professional photographers by Kodak’s four color negative professional films: Portra160VC, 160NC, 400VC and 400NC.

Professional Photographer’s 2007 Hot One Award - Color Negative Films: The Professional Photographer Hot One Awards, chosen by a panel of 15 practicing professional photographers, honor the photography industry’s best new products for professional application.

Studio Photography - “2006 Readers’ Choice Awards”: Readers and web site visitors of Studio Photography gave PORTRA Film top honors in the 2006 Studio Photography “Readers’ Choice Awards.” In the first-ever survey, readers overwhelmingly voted for PORTRA as their favorite film.
About Eastman Kodak Company

Kodak is the world’s foremost imaging innovator.  With sales of $10.7 billion in 2006, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on helping people better use meaningful images and information in their life and work.  Consumers use Kodak’s system of digital and traditional products and services to take, print and share their pictures anytime, anywhere; Businesses effectively communicate with customers worldwide using Kodak solutions for prepress, conventional and digital printing and document imaging; and Creative Professionals rely on Kodak technology to uniquely tell their story through moving or still images.

More information about Kodak (NYSE: EK) is available at http://www.kodak.com.

Published: Friday, September 21, 2007

Reader Comments

1. This does not apply to me at all. On the other hand i don't consider myself a pro photographer...
   
   Film just doesn't fit my workflow. Back in the days i used it, i scanned most of my photos.

   Claudius Coenen at 11:25am on Friday, September 21, 2007

2. What is this Film Stuff? When did they invent that?
   
   All Digital, Al the time...
   
   
   But seriously, at the Photography school I go to, the non computer literate instructors still rail over film...
   
   I've found that many of the older photographers just can't make the change into the computer era as easily as the folks who grew up with it.
   
   So how much of this is a preference for Film, and how much is an inability or slowness to adapt?
   
   Your survey doesn't pursue this aspect.
   
   I see it all the time at school.
   
   Photo Pete

   Photo Pete at 01:56pm on Friday, September 21, 2007

3. Pete, it's not always about computer literacy. Yes, many are comfortable with their existing workflow.
   
   And most pro film users are using a digital flow - very few pros are entirely analog - VERY few people use camera separations anymore. Most are well versed in digital, they just use analog capture. Don't confuse that with being a digital luddite.
   
   But, I've been using Photoshop since v 3.0 (over a decade), and it's a matter of what is needed by the photographer. Many digital cameras do not have the tonality of film (especially black and white) nor do they have the dynamic range. I shoot digital for about 90% of my photography, but film for what makes me money because it does what I need it to better and it does it the first time. If digital can do what I need, I'll use it even if I abandon film. But until then, I use what works for me. It's about the final image, not the means.

   Jason at 02:32pm on Friday, September 21, 2007

4. 90% of pros inteviewed said they use B&W;film to differentiate themselves - from who? The other 10%?

   evan at 06:58pm on Friday, September 21, 2007

5. In 2001, I bought a digital camera. Christmas of that year I sold all my nikon stuff on eBay. Have not shot film since. I have an OM-4 but have not shot a roll yet.
   Been using Photoshop since ver 1. Used to get my images off of a scanner or video camera.

   Alan at 04:39am on Saturday, September 22, 2007

6. My workflow is entirely digital except for the part where I shoot film. I haven't found a digital camera that produces a file of the same quality as a film scan. Someday this will change but until then I'll be shooting film.

   Damian at 04:15pm on Friday, October 05, 2007

7. Well what can i say. I use Digital but its more for my personal use, family snaps etc. For pro use im using a Contax G2 Rangefinder plus a range of lenses, a Pentax MX and Nikon F6 for the SLR side of things. Im a Pro, i shoot mainly Social Documentary, street photography (where a rangefinder really comes into its own), occasional Portraits and Black and White creative images, including a major project i recently completed named "East Meets West" which took 7 months to complete and publish. Digital isnt the be all end all as many digital enhusiasts would have people believe. After investment in a Digital SLR (mines a Nikon D3 + assorted lenses), a printer capable of the quality of reproduction your after, you have a massive cash outlay. The cost of fresh ink for the printer alone makes film a cheaper option for 90% of people.
   
   Will i ever go totally Digital?? Not in a million. Film just has it beat time time time and time again on quality.

   Josh at 05:11pm on Monday, December 29, 2008