I was told by a great friend -- a crusty old master mixer -- when I first started making movies that "film separates the men from the boys".
His opinion was that anyone could run hours of tape and edit for performance, but it takes someone who knows what they want and how to get it to be a true filmmaker.
So far, I have made one digital feature and one 16mm feature -- so, I know both sides of the game.
In my opinion, the look/latitude of film is amazing. There is more warmth in this "analog" format. I see it much the same way as audio recording -- talk to an engineer about the warmth of magnetic tape. Back to 16mm, the original of "Tainted" looked great projected in a theatre. There was nothing like the colors, the difference between the deep blacks & the shadows and the overall richness of the color print film. On the other hand, the fast moving ability of digital -- the fact that it's cheap, easy to use, immediate -- makes it especially nice when you are shooting.
From a tech "look" stand point (in my opinion), film is still the best originating format -- much like magnetic tape is the best audio origination format. But digital projection -- like CDs for audio -- is reaching the level of quality which can bringing across the wide spectrum of the analog format upon playback.
Overall, I do agree that it's about the look you want, what you can afford and how you plan to use it. I see ways I can use both 16mm and dv in my future work -- sometimes, even at the same time.
CHEERS!
ROB!
Check out the latest from Know Saint Productions at www.knowsaint.com