Film versus Digital

If you’re in the market for a camera, there are two choices that you can choose between the traditional camera that uses film, and the new digital camera that uses a memory card. In many ways, both types of camera share similar hardware technologies such as the use of the shutter release to take a picture, the lens to focus the subject, and the aperture to control the light. However, the cost, picture quality, and convenience of the two will determine which type of camera you decide to use or buy.

The initial cost of the film camera is in the camera body, lenses, and films. After you’ve taken your first roll of film, you must develop it to view your photos. The cost of similar class digital camera is almost the same, but instead of buying films, one must invest quite a bit more for the memory card to store the photos. With the newer digital cameras that can take large mega-pixels photos, larger memory is needed to store the large image files. So, the initial cost of digital camera will most likely be more expensive. However, In film development, one must develop the entire roll of film, regardless if the photos taken were any good. Statistically, only 10 percent of the photos taken are kept. Therefore, the real cost of using film camera is in the photo development, substantially more compared to the one time cost of buying the camera. On the other hand, one can save a lot by using a digital camera because the pictures are previewed beforehand, and only the good photos get printed. In terms of archiving your “Kodak moments”, this film technology will cost you quite a bit from expensive framing to scanning the negatives. But digital photos can easily be archived using recordable media such as DVDs or computer hard-drives with minimal cost.

There have been many articles and arguments on the subject of digital camera not being able to produce the same quality prints as the traditional film, but the advancement in technology has shortened that gap substantially. With the 35mm film media, one can produce sharp quality prints, up to an A4 size paper. On the other hand, with the new 12 mega-pixel digital cameras, one can easily print up to poster size print with minimal effort. Most of the film camera, ranged from the point & shoot to the professional SLR (Single Lens Reflex) models, can produce reasonable quality photo prints. However, not all digital cameras can produce quality prints. Digital cameras in cell phones or Palm like PDA (Personal Digital Agenda) devices will only give mediocre quality picture intended only for sharing and sending via email. So, to get quality images from the digital format, one must look into the mid-range to high-end models. Eventually, it’s a matter of time before the digital format will surpass the larger 50mm film used for wedding or glamour shots on sharpness and billboard scale reproduction.

With the widely accepted standard of 35mm film used in the traditional camera, one can easily buy extra rolls of film anywhere to use while on a vacation. On the other hand, it’s not so easy to buy a memory card for the digital camera if it’s full. One needs to transfer the images taken in the memory card to either a notebook back in the hotel, or invest in a portable hard-drive media to download the photos before you can take more pictures using the same memory card. One may buy more memory cards to bring on a trip but it’s very costly and not practical. Luckily, there are many selections of portable hard-drives to choose from; even Apple’s new iPod can store images.

A famous journalist photographer once said, “It’s not how well you can take a picture, but rather having a camera with you at all times to capture the unexpected.” The size of a 35mm camera can be reduced so far, due to the size of the film cartridge. However, with advancements in micro-technology, there are multitudes of ultra-thin digital cameras that can easily fit in your shirt pocket, making them convenient to carry anywhere. When you’re on a vacation, it is very important that the shots you’ve taken are properly focused and exposed. With the film camera, there is no instant view feedback on how your shots turned out until the film is developed. These shots might have been out of focus and it’s too late to take another afterward. However, one can instantly see the photos taken through the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) that most digital cameras have to see if the shot was taken successfully. If not, one can take another shot on the spot, and there is no cost for bad photos in the digital format because they can easily be deleted. Individuals who like to enlarge, to manipulate, or to fix over-exposed or under-exposed photos, need to use different types of equipment and chemicals with the film in the darkroom. However, it’s a lot easier to fix or manipulate digital photos using computer software such as Photo Elements for beginners to Photoshop for the professionals.

Despite the differences, one can apply his/her skills in photography in either the film or digital format. With the ability to pack up to 22 mega-pixels resolutions in the high-end digital camera, both types of format will give great results in photo prints. But the cost and convenience will determine if you should get a film or a digital camera. With the introduction of the Canon Digital Rebel and Nikon D70, the prices of digital SLR cameras are very affordable. Professionally speaking, the most expensive investment is in the lenses. Quality lenses can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands, if not more. The good news is that camera manufactures were kind enough to have the same lens mount in the digital SLR camera as the traditional film SLR camera. Thus, one can use all of the old SLR lenses on the digital SLR body without any problem. Therefore, an investment in lenses used in the film camera is not lost.

Comments

[Steve Humphries]

Its not true about using lenses for the old film SLR cameras on a new Digital Camera.
I have a Canon AE-1 film SLR camera and 2 excellent lenses for it-a 50 mm and a 100-300 mm telephoto. I was just told at Henry's Camera shop that Canon Digital cameras (example the Canon Digital Rebel) will not accept these lenses- and believe me, I am very sorry about it.
Steve Humphries