Cameras are very fascinating to me. I took an evening online to study the history of the camera. Technicolor was a real art form. Think about it. Most people figure that the way old film looked in the 40′s and 50′s was because it was the best they could do. It seems to have been much to the contrary. They probably could have made everything appear very natural, but have you ever tried to watch a movie with natural lighting, recorded on natural capturing film or video? It’s horrible! So at least this is what I gathered the folks at Technicolor tried to stray FROM, not go towards. Maybe kids today don’t know about the fact that at one time we had to try to preserve the images of film. There was no digital medium to immortalize the images like what we have today. Metaphorically speaking though, that which grows old and weary is most cherished and adored for it’s character. Digital will always be it’s same old sterile self.
So I hope that as time progresses some of the mediums that store images in digital form- like cameras, and CD’s, I hope that they incorporate some of the warmth that technicolor and reel to reel tape captured. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, find an old HI-FI reel to reel ( audio) tape player. Get a few 7 1/2 ips ( inches per second) factory recordings of various artists of the day. Talking tapes are excellent too. Get a couple of dancing instruction tapes, a couple of news recordings, etc.
Now take these tapes and put them in an oven on about 125 degrees F for about 12 hours or so ( look it up?). Anyway this low heat brings back the life of the recordings. Experiment though, I’ve had tapes that I know were 50 years old that sounded perfect without heating them.
My point is this. We lost something very esoteric with the coming of digital. I’m a firm believer that there is an untapped medium which can unite the beauty of old ( analog) with the density, reliability, and low cost of new ( new). There is a photographic equivalent I’m sure, but I’m more of an audiophile than a photographer.
Hint ( for audio)- It’s in the playback. How about a gel with an electrolyte that records audio within a thin layer of micro thin film/ or ‘skin’. This could be recorded and played back continuously across a magnetic tape recording/playback head. The reactive gel could also be conducive at another point of axis, ie. X axis flows across the head while it’s Y axis used for real time calibration, manipulation, feedback etc.

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