Digital Cameras vs Film Cameras

The debate is on: digital cameras vs. film cameras. Ever since digital cameras first came out, people have been plotting digital cameras against film cameras. Which one is better? Which one is best for you?

Of course, one type of cameras is not necessarily better than the other type. That is the problem with the whole "digital cameras vs. film cameras" ordeal. Each type of camera is great for different reasons.

Here are some of the benefits of digital cameras:

• · You have immediate results. You can see the photo you took, immediately after you took it.
• · You can "develop" your film whenever you want... you do not have to wait until you are done with a roll of film.
• · You can delete from your camera photos that you do not like.
• · Your photos do not have to be perfect. You can take an imperfect photo and then later make it perfect by using photo software.
• · You can take as many photos as you want. Many memory cards have a ton of memory these days!
• · You can review and show people your photos straight from the camera.
• · They can be made very small (they do not have to make room to hold a bulky roll of film, only a thin memory card).
• · Although they used to be quite expensive, prices are going down and they are now quite affordable.
• · Digital photographs are less likely to appear grainy.
• · Many say that color quality is better in digital photographs.
• · The technology of digital cameras is constantly improving.

Here are some of the benefits of film cameras (although this list is shorter, realize that it is these few things may weigh more heavily on your decision than the many things stated above):

• · Although much art can be made with digital cameras, many consider it to be a truer, purer art if taking with a film camera. After all, it takes much more skill to set up a photograph perfectly in the first place than to go back and photoshop it after the fact. This is, perhaps, one of the most important things that you can consider in the debate of film cameras vs. digital cameras.
• · Sometimes you do not want immediate results. Sometimes it is exciting to not know what your photographs will look like until you receive them. It is like unwrapping a present.
• · It is easy to go buy a new roll of film when out on vacation if you run out of "memory..." It is much easier to find and buy a roll of film than a new memory card.
• · You can still get your film camera photos put onto a CD... meaning that you can still download them onto your computer and even photoshop them if you desire to do so.
• · The zoom on a film camera is always optical - this means that if you zoom in, you are going to get a better, close-up photograph that is still of excellent resolution. With a digital camera, many of the zooms are digital (not all)... this means that although you are zooming in, you are merely cropping the photograph, something that you can do with your photo software at home.
• · Many consider film cameras to be easier to use.
• · Generally, the resolution of a film camera is better (but this changes if you get a very high resolution digital camera... 7 megapixels or more).

Thus, the winner of the debate of digital cameras vs. film cameras is totally up to you. It depends on what is most important to you.

By Anne Clarke