First camera; Kodak Instamatic 126, 1964.

Digital is popular because we live in a dumbed-down age and a lot of people today are simply lazy and like the convenience of digital.
New and modern is not always better though.
Clever, slick advertising has persuaded lots of people to part with lots of money for digital cameras and lenses which will be obsolete and superceded by new models only a year or two later with very little quality gain over the predecessor.
My unfashionable old film cameras however, are built like tanks and the large 120 roll film negatives or transparencies must be equivalent to about 100 megapixels or more! The latitude of negative film compared to the relatively compressed dynamic range of sensors is quite remarkable too. Another neat thing is my old cameras and lenses produce better quality pictures now than ever before simply by slapping in the latest emulsion film. There is also the added bonus of not having to purchase a PC and spend hours in front of it manipulating an image until its no longer a skilled photograph but instead a piece of graphic art and then printing pictures off with that expensive ink which only seems to last a short time before another cartridge has to be purchased.
To view archived film images (your memories) all you need is light. I wonder how many of todays electronic memory cards etc. will be readable in decades to come?
Then there is the pleasure of anticipation, of having to wait to see the results of your skilled, planned efforts as opposed to the instant gratification of “shoot a lot till you get one good one” digital.
Film forces you to become a better photographer.
LONG LIVE FILM, ITS ON A ROLL!
(and sheet)

My images are quick scans, the actual prints are blemish free and appropriately cropped. All are COPYRIGHT A. A. VARTY.

If anyone has difficulty finding a good lab in the UK, I can highly recommend Westminster Studios of P.O. Box 847, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 0TZ for C41 & hand printing from negatives at sensible prices (they don’t do E6). Established 1968.
(01293) 524443