Digital Photography Vs. Film Photography
Digital Photography: Amateur?It is true that there are many digital cameras on the market, and like their 35mm counterparts there is an endless supply of variables that can impact the images each one is capable of producing. Image quality (in terms of depth of field and color contrast) has always been a major concern for those that choose digital and is still one of the most common excuses heard from the opposition. Add to this the fact that finding a digital camera that could match the sheer raw data contained in a photograph on film was both arduous and incredibly expensive, and the 35mm enthusiast has a fairly solid argument.
Fortunately for the consumer, the price of an high quality digital camera has dropped sharply in the last few years. Canon"s popular "Digital Rebel" line of SLRs has given people an affordable (under $1,000) entry-level camera that produces near professional results. And since Canon isn"t the only camera company in the world, it"s a safe bet consumers can look forward to even better cameras at even lower prices as manufacturers double their efforts to be first in line at the retail counter.
35mm:Ò Antiquated?
These days why use film at all? It"s certainly no secret that film has an unforgiving and often expensive learning curve, and recent trends show professionals leaning heavily on digital for precisely those reasons. After all, when shooting a big event like a Super Bowl, would it be better to have the potential for thousands of shots, or just the film in the bag? Sports photographers answered that question by taking over 10,000 digital images in a single Super Bowl game.
However, just as some music enthusiasts claim that everything sounds better on a record, there are plenty of photographers who agree that there is no matching the warmth and familiarity of a fresh roll of film. In fact, developing film manually and printing photos in a darkroom is for some one of the most rewarding photographic experiences a photographer can have. Sure, photos can be powerfully edited using tools like Adobe Photoshop to remove almost any imperfection, but clicking a mouse is very different than the tactile sensations of a darkroom. And of course, having someone else print up a roll of film only takes an hour or so.
And the Winner Is..
Neither! Based on the accessibility of technology and the vast educational resources devoted to the topic, there"s really no defining point that wins this battle one way or the other. As with many debates, the winner is going to be decided based upon the needs and desires of the individual photographer. Families wanting to shoot and share their holiday memories on the fly may choose digital due to its instant gratification and convenience, while others may stick to good old film so they can print up doubles and put them into family photo albums. Thanks to powerful yet affordable innovations in digital and the classic, "do it yourself familiarity of film" the choice is now directly in the hands of the consumer- right where it belongs.