Alex, You of course have to do what is right for you. Only you can make the decision when to jump to digital. Having gone digital for two years now (sold my last film camera six months ago), I can say: 1. My photography has improved since making the change. I almost hate to look at the old photos. Some of the improvement is two more years of shooting and some is the technology. 2. The 1Ds does just fine with 15-minute exposures--with no reciprocity (its been long enough ago that I considered it that I probably don't have it spelled correctly. 3. When I leave a job I have a good idea of what I have. It's still difficult to check focus and such precisely on the 2-inch LCD screen, but at least I know I didn't blow the exposure. I once shot a whole chamber of commerce opening with no film in my EOS 3 (pretty stupid, I know, but we all do such things). 4. EOS flash has never been as good as Nikon. Canon's 550EX is a challenge. At least with digital, I can usually bump the flash compensation up and reshoot on the spot. Where that is not possible, I shoot raw to give myself the maximum latitude to compensate later. 5. White balance is much easier with digital. Good color management is not. 6. For color photography, digital beats film at high ISOs. I believe B&W still beats digital in that regard, though I never used B&W film.
Until you decide to change, savor the heartbeat at the processor! I too, though, feel the same thing. It's just that I feel it on the field sideline when I know if I captured the pass play or whatever. Sure, digital bodies cost more. I just think of it as if I bought all the film I'll ever need right with the camera. Don't let me give the impression that digital is less expensive, though. Further, some folks have had a harder time charging as much for digital. The misconception is that because the exposure doesn't cost anything, that the product should cost less. Actually, the opposite is true. Dave > ...seeing the capabilities of contemporary high-end (and not > only) digital SLRs I must confess I'm catching myself wishing to shoot > digital in many circumstances, however not willing to compromise > film-body-like featured body (at least having all the capabilities of my > EOS-3, and some others). There are still a few issues holding me back > to film (besides of money, of course): low-light, long exposure > photography (I'm a huge fan of twilling/night scenic and urban > photography), high ISO stuff (though I'm getting feeling high-end DSLRs > cope with ISO 1600 and some even with 3200 quite well), many users > still lamenting about very non-consistent ETTL performance with 550EX, > some are mentioning even 1D and 1Ds - this is a point to worry about > since flash photography is a large part of my shooting. > > Having said all that, there is still something magical in waiting for > film to be developed and seeing the results. I still pick up my rolls > from processing with a heart beat, though if this is a > important/payable job, the heart beat is accompanied with some fear... * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
