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Digital Cameras vs Film Cameras : The Great Debate

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 04Feb2010 Word count: 604 Viewed: 401 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Ever since the introduction of the digital camera, a war has raged within the photography community. There are those that would claim 35mm film is the one true "professional" media, and digital its casual, amateur counterpart. Conversely, as costs decrease and quality increases, there is an ever-expanding group of working photographers that shoot and produce only in digital. So what's a consumer to think? Is 35 still the way to go, or is it time to trade in that old junker for a newer, flashier model? It's time to break each format down and seal this deal, once and for all.

Digital: 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 the price of an excellent digital camera has dropped steeply in the last few years, while the "quality for the dollar" has increased dramatically. 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: Antiquated?

In these modern times, why even 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 Super Bowl, would it be better to have the potential for millions of shots, or just the film in the bag? Well the answer to that is simple - the more the better when it comes to sports photography.

However, just as some music enthusiasts claim that everything sounds better on a record, there are plenty of photographers who think that there is no matching the warmth and familiarity of a fresh roll of film. Sure, photos can be endlessly edited and re-edited using fancy tools like Adobe Photoshop, but clicking a mouse pales in comparison to the tactile sensations of the darkroom. And of course, having someone else print up a roll of film doesn't take much more than a quick errand and an hour to kill.

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 here is going to be entirely up to the needs and desires of the individual. 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 picture frames. 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.

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