35mm Projection is at Risk. Does That Matter?

[Moonshadow]

During the Clinton/Lewinski scandal, there was a photographer that saw a picture of her, and a lightbulb clicked in his head. He dug through his recent negatives, and sure enough, there was an innocuous-looking pic of Clinton hugging a girl in a barette. That picture became world-famous. The photographer later commented that, if he'd taken that picture digitally, he'd probably have deleted it.

This reminds me of an exchange I had with a cousin of mine. She had collected a bunch of old letters and cards my mom and her mom had sent each other in the 50s and 60s. It was fascinating to read them and learn a little more about our mothers. Then we both realized that this was a thing of the past. Who is going to save old emails for 50 years?

[Fester]

During the Clinton/Lewinski scandal, there was a photographer that saw a picture of her, and a lightbulb clicked in his head. He dug through his recent negatives, and sure enough, there was an innocuous-looking pic of Clinton hugging a girl in a barette. That picture became world-famous. The photographer later commented that, if he'd taken that picture digitally, he'd probably have deleted it.

I wasn't referring to physical loss of photos, although it may be an issue.  However, for some reason, I cannot imagine a professional photographer/photojournalist that would delete many unused photos.  In these days of multi gigabyte memory systems, it is easier to keep and organize digital photo files that it was for miles of negatives and thousands of contact sheets.  Two ten dollar thumb drives could easily equal eight or nine four-drawer file cabinets packed with negatives.

I was speaking in an aesthetic sense.  Many people I know have complained that digital movies are not clear enough. They are muddy or dull or not in focus enough.  Seriously, I cannot tell the difference between a 35 mm movie and a digitally projected one. 

[Count_Zirock]

Many people I know have complained that digital movies are not clear enough. They are muddy or dull or not in focus enough.  Seriously, I cannot tell the difference between a 35 mm movie and a digitally projected one.

Maybe when they first started doing it, there was a visible difference. I know people who saw "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" projected digitally. They said it looked sharper to them.