I wouldn’t normally do two film posts in a row, but with Big Bend being actively destroyed right now, it felt like a good time to share the beauty of this park. I won’t get into details of that but it’s an easy Duck Duck Go away.

On our recent trip out there, I took my Fuji xt2, my old Nikon Coolpix, my Pentax k1000, my Mamiya twin lens, and my iPhone (obviously).

At a few different stops, I took all of my camera (and my Instax, but those aren’t included here) and took the exact same picture. I just wanted to see how everything would compare.

I only did this in Big Bend because it ended up being overwhelming and hard to sort, but it was fun to see how everything turned out!

I also only did this at a few stops then have a few smaller comparisons below the bigger ones. Each picture is labeled with the camera that took it but some are pretty easy to tell.

I did not edit any of these in any way (except the digital ones in the smaller comparisons), and I didn’t zoom in our out at all when I took them. I just took the picture as-is when the camera was opened/turned on/pointed.

The Mamiya pictures are squares, first of all, but they’re also more pinky-red. The Pentax ones are significantly warmer than the others.

The Coolpix ones are pretty fuzzy and soft looking, as it’s a 20+ year old point and shoot camera. It’s actually the one I had and used in middle/high school, and it’s pink!

Then the phone ones have much more range in the light of the sky, while the xt2 has more washed out highlights and is a bit less color heavy than the phone.

Santa Elena Canyon Overlook roadside stop

First up is the overlook of Santa Elena Canyon. This is from the roadside overlook before you get to the trailhead, NOT at the river on the Santa Elena Canyon trail.

I think at this spot the lighting wasn’t super good but it wasn’t terrible either. I don’t love these but I don’t necessarily think they’re bad either. I do love the Pentax shot here though! This was in the afternoon on our second full day in the park.

Roadside stop between Panther Junction and Terlingua (1)

Next up is (I believe) looking south(ish) from the road out to Santa Elena Canyon, so pulling over on the right on the way to Santa Elena, before the Castolon Visitor Center.

I think I like both film ones and the xt2 the most here but I do like them all. It’s so interesting seeing the color differences between everything. Not just between each camera, but even compared to the Santa Elena pictures.

This view would be looking southwest(ish) in the early afternoon, I think, on our second full day in the park.

Roadside stop between Panther Junction and Terlingua (2)

This stop is somewhere n one of the pull outs along the road in the park between Panther Junction Visitor Center and the park exit toward Terlingua. This one you can really see the pink/red tint on the Mamiya picture, it’s so strong here.

This view is probably facing west/northwest(ish) and they were taken in the afternoon of the day we arrived in the park. My thoughts are mostly the same here but I do like the Mamiya one here the least I think. I really don’t love the strong tint of that.

That said, I still like the landscape here, just not that color. The Pentax and xt2 are my favorites here. Then actually the Coolpix (colorwise).

Boquillas Overlook

Finally we have the Boquillas Overlook. I’m not sure if that was it’s official name, but it’s the spot by the end of the road toward Boquillas Canyon with the parking area that has all of the goods for sale in it.

It’s NOT the short hiking trail to an overlook, this is in the big parking area. You can’t see Boquillas in the pictures but it’s just off to the right from here across the lovely Rio Grande.

I really like all of these and I don’t think the Mamiya was too pink here. I wonder what makes it more pink/red sometimes. If anyone knows, let me know! It’s probably the film type (which I can’t remember).

Other comparisons

Throughout the trip I did some other shots with film and digital, and this is where those are! I will have additional posts of just Big Bend (and other parks) on film, plus my normal posts with the digital pictures.

Each picture is labeled with it’s camera, and here it’s just film and xt2, no phone or Coolpix pictures are in this section. Digital ones have been edited in the way I usually edit, but film is straight from the camera.

Overall thoughts, I’ll continue to shoot digital. I like the Pentax results more than the Mamiya (generally) but the Mamiya is very fun to take out, and it can easily do double exposure, so I’ll work on doing more of that with it.

I really love the Pentax and have been using that a lot more at home and can’t wait to take it on our fall Utah trip!

Which camera’s pictures do you like the most? Any you want to see more of? Do you want to see more posts like this?