How long Will 35mm Film Be around?

Answer 1

For the record, you can find pretty much all film for any camera that has ever been sold in mass production. 35mm will be around for a long time; If you're concerned that you are buying a camera that will be extinct eventually, I wouldn't worry about it. You may not be able to find 35mm film at walmart in about 10 years, but you will find it online; it may just be a little harder to come by.

For the person above that doesn't believe you can find 110 & 126 film...
Here it is: http://www.frugalphotographer.com/cat110.htm

Answer 2

In 1839 Loius Dagguerre the inventor of the first practical photographic process probably asked a similar question, "how long will this process last?". Fast forward to 2007 and there is still a dedicated group of people from across the globe practicing the making of Dagguereotypes. If you don't believe me just go to http://www.alternativephotography.com In fact the digital age of photography has marked a resurgent interest in this antiquated techniques from wet-plate collotion to carbon prints. Some people do it for the visceral experience of having your actual hands in the development process, whereas others may do it for the fact that a lot of these older techniques are superior in quality to modern techniques. As for how long 35mm film will be around? To begin 35mm film does not represent the pinnacle of quality in film, but more represents the pinnacle of convenience and speed as far as film is concerned. There are already digital cameras out there which can match if not exceed the quality of film such as Hasselblads new 39 megapixel h3d. However there is a limiting factor here, at least for those afficionados of fine art prints. Right now the archivalness and quality of a good silver print far outweighs that of a good ink jet print, including k3 inkjet prints. So in terms of how long 35mm film will be around, well as long as there is a market willing to sustain the production of the film, I think there will be a small but viable market for a long time to come. Just remember almost 200 years ago people assumed photography make painting obsolete, but last I checked there are still a lot of people painting. Film photography is just more visceral of an experience.

Answer 3

If you're talking cameras, probably for quite awhile still. There will always be people who see the use of 35mm film as a kind of art. There's something very real about developing your own film in a darkroom - that feeling could never be replaced by digital cameras.

If you're talking motion picture film, it looks like it will be less than 30 years before it's completely phased out. Running projectors in a movie theatre is expensive - you need to pay a projectionist to run them, the film can be difficult to deal with, the machines break, and so on. Digital movies would be incredibly cheaper, and they would give movie-goers more choice as the movies could be instantly downloaded and changed far more often.

Answer 4

Gene M, who Cabbiinc links to, does have some great results from 40+ year old found film. He has stated, though, that his success rate runs about 50%. About half of the film he develops doesn't return anything useable. I've had good luck with color film that was shot 10-15 years ago, and recently developed. Yes, there were some color shifts, but nothing that's uncorrectable. I also have a big stock of frozen film that expired in around 2000, and it's all still fine when I pull out a roll and shoot it.

Answer 5

I think film will be around for a long time. Ashleigh made some very good points. I have never shot film before but Digital is not as crisp as film. I can see many benefits to shooting film.

Answer 6

probably on its way out now i remember 110 and 126 sized film and i doubt they are around any longer

Answer 7

Until film manufacturing companies decide it is no longer economically feasible to continue production.

Answer 8

long time