Who in the heck uses a motor winder/drive on a film camera these days?

[Chan Tran]

Of course there are many applications for which a motor drive are essential. But for me, using motor drive for general photography is somewhat similar to using a fully automatic rifle when hunting. One of the challenges that makes photography interesting and exciting is cultivating the skill of capturing the “decisive moment”!
As opposed to digital, there is also the suspense that is only answered when the film is developed.
I was given a motor winder for my Leica R 5, but never felt a use for it. Forgot to remove batteries, and now kaput.

I always wanted 5 fps motor drive but I never use it on continuous. Only single frame. With that I know when I press the button the camera will take the shot. Slower than 5fps my finger can push the button faster and it won't work. No need for more than 5fps as my finger doesn't move faster than that.
So for me it's like using a semi automatic for hunting not full automatic. I never put my rifle on full auto either even back when I was in the war.

 

[Larryc001]

Think about this. All modern digital cameras have a “C” setting, for continuous shooting. Now that seems to me like a “motor drive.” If all of these have that feature, then it must be useful and popular. So why shouldn’t film cameras have the same need. I have used this feature on both film and digital forever. Sports, rodeo, motorcycle and bicycle racing, theater, I can’t name all of the times I have needed the ability to shoot multiple frames.

 

[Melvin J Bramley]

There is no Gray[Grey]! Everything is Black or White.

Beige is a colour/color our female friends use to describe their clothing collection!
18% gray/grey is the 'colour/color of black and white photography!!
My darkroom walls are painted 18% gray.
Beige is out of the question.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Beige is a colour/color our female friends use to describe their clothing collection!
18% gray/grey is the 'colour/color of black and white photography!!
My darkroom walls are painted 18% gray.
Beige is out of the question.

My darkroom walls are white.

 

[eli griggs]

My darkroom walls are white.

Mine are yellow.

 

[baachitraka]

...winder gives a nice balance albeit for the added weight.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Think about this. All modern digital cameras have a “C” setting, for continuous shooting. Now that seems to me like a “motor drive.” If all of these have that feature, then it must be useful and popular. So why shouldn’t film cameras have the same need. I have used this feature on both film and digital forever. Sports, rodeo, motorcycle and bicycle racing, theater, I can’t name all of the times I have needed the ability to shoot multiple frames.

Digital cameras already have batteries to operate shutters. There's no motor required because there is no film to be advanced. Those operations in many film cameras are handled mechanically by hand. So you'd have to add a motor and battery to the latter film cameras at a big expense.

 

[guangong]

My darkroom walls are white.

Everybody that I knew had white walls in their darkroom. That was always the recommended color. Probably because easier to detect light leaks when supposed to be dark, and find things with a weaker light when not dark.

 

[xkaes]

So you'd have to add a motor and battery to the latter film cameras at a big expense.

It's easy to find auto-winders for $10 on EBAY. I would not call that "a big expense".

 

[xkaes]

Everybody that I knew had white walls in their darkroom. That was always the recommended color. Probably because easier to detect light leaks when supposed to be dark, and find things with a weaker light when not dark.

My DRY room has black walls -- and ceiling. My WET room has white walls. That's because I've tested for tiny "light leaks" & reflections -- and they are there, especially for color paper -- but more importantly, I sometimes make very large prints that can sometimes require 20+ minute exposures.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

It's easy to find auto-winders for $10 on EBAY. I would not call that "a big expense".

The big expense for a motorized winder I was referring to was if it was furnished by the manufacturer as part of a new camera bought years ago.

 

[aw614]

My XD11 came with the motorwinder, I haven't used it much, but when you attach anything other than the Rokkor 45 F/2, it falls forward. I do want to use it for some motorsport shooting.

 

[xkaes]

My XD11 came with the motorwinder, I haven't used it much, but when you attach anything other than the Rokkor 45 F/2, it falls forward. I do want to use it for some motorsport shooting.

That's a "problem" with any auto-winder or motor drive -- built-in or add-on.

 

[MattKing]

My bathroom/darkroom has cream walls with a large mirror! It takes a reasonable amount of care to use it properly.
If I was building a permanent darkroom, it would have a darkly coloured/black area near the enlarger(s) and low reflectance light coloured walls of a pleasant hue elsewhere.
Unless you are working in a group darkroom, you will spend an appreciable amount of time with the room lights on doing things like cleanup and preparation, and a room with black walls is depressing!

 

[benjiboy]

The O.P doesn't seem to understand that power winders and motor drive can shoot "single shot", and you don't have to shoot several frames a second .

 

[koraks]

@benjiboy I think that was addressed a couple of pages ago, actually.

 

[Helge]

Something that has probably been addressed already but bears repeating, is that motor winders are almost indispensable for doing sequential shots from a tripod.
Especially of quickly moving subjects that you have to wait for to enter the frame, like children or various animals. When they finally do enter the frame you want to fire several frames fast, to be sure that you got the best from your subject.
Night shots with long shutter speeds also benefits. You never have to touch the camera. And you can fire immediately after the last frame without having to wait for the vibrations from manual winding to die down.

 

[Chan Tran]

Digital cameras already have batteries to operate shutters. There's no motor required because there is no film to be advanced. Those operations in many film cameras are handled mechanically by hand. So you'd have to add a motor and battery to the latter film cameras at a big expense.

Unless it's the new Nikon Z9 without the mechanical shutter digital camera has motor to cock the shutter.

 

[BradS]

Sure…why not? The MD-4 is awesome!

 

[BrianShaw]

@benjiboy I think that was addressed a couple of pages ago, actually.

Discussed and dismissed a couple of pages ago…

LOL

 

[Paul Howell]

Not sure how the color of darkroom wall became an issue, in the professional darkrooms I've been in, college, military's, newspapers, the wire were always black. The thinking was that any stray white is absorb rather than reflected. My wife would not allow black, so current darkroom space in a double sink bathroom is pained OC, had it matched from a glass safelight filter.

 

[Sirius Glass]

My DRY room has black walls -- and ceiling. My WET room has white walls. That's because I've tested for tiny "light leaks" & reflections -- and they are there, especially for color paper -- but more importantly, I sometimes make very large prints that can sometimes require 20+ minute exposures.

Both my wet and dry darkrooms have white walls. Light leaks and reflections are part of the decision. The wet darkroom has a large mirror too.

 

[Huss]

Sure…why not? The MD-4 is awesome!

View attachment 321783

The MD4 adds a lot of bulk but in actual use is fantastic. It makes the camera so much steadier to hold.

 

[faberryman]

The MD4 adds a lot of bulk but in actual use is fantastic. It makes the camera so much steadier to hold.

Instead of a motor drive, you can attach a bag to the tripod hole and fill it with rocks.

 

[warden]

Sure…why not? The MD-4 is awesome!

I see someone is a Forkish fan in your house. A great way to learn sourdough! (Also the camera is lovely.)