Chic Geek: Film Body, Digital Mind

 More pictures here and here.

     The Fujifilm Finepix X100 is being marketed as a camera that looks like a film camera, acts like a film camera, but has a 12.3 megapixel digital sensor with video capabilities. According to the official website for the camera, this latest piece of technology from Fujifilm "oozes class and prestige"* due to its design. I do admit that the more compatible answer to high quality digital photographs is extremely appealing. The vintage enthusiast in me is also giddy over the principle of using the functionality of my old Pentax K1000 (I recently inherited a Minolta model that is similar) to take my digital pictures. My Canon Rebel XTi is basically an extension of myself at this point, so a more mobile camera that has the potential for even better quality pictures? Marvelous.

     This digital replica of the original Rolleiflex twin lens reflex (available here) camera is another such imitation. Although the cameras are for different purposes and different qualities, they represent the same idea: using the functionality of a film camera while having the efficiency of digital photographs. The classic Rolleiflex (which, incidentally, are still in production), released in 1928, is often used as a prop for vintage appeal in digital photographs. It does indeed have the same aesthetic appeal that is described of the new Fujifilm model; however, the somewhat modest amount of megapixels (5 to be exact) leave it as more of a conversation piece than a camera to be used for more high quality shooting. For a more in depth comparison, check out this article from a die hard TLR enthusiast.
     Although I cannot track down any images taken with the digital TLRs available, I found the Twin Lens Reflex group on flickr and the pictures are quite stunning.
     For blogging purposes, I love my digital camera. It chronicles my outfits and allows me to save the $8 it takes to simply get a 24 exposure roll of color 35mm film developed and printed (it is $6 extra for a digital CD of the prints...eek). Luckily I can easily develop black and white film in the photography studio at school. However, (and I might be the cliche artist type for saying this), I will always prefer the look of film pictures over raw, unedited digital photographs. In fact, I usually want my digital pictures to look like film. Nothing surpasses the joy I feel when a roll turned out perfectly. That unpredictability is what truly makes film my favorite medium.

P.S.: Given this speech on the virtues of film, I will post some of my film work soon. Also, do any of you lovely readers prefer a certain medium for photographs?

*quotation found here