Digital Photography Or Film Photography

With the growing popularity of the digital camera there has been an on-going debate as to which of these two is better digital photography or film photography. The differences between these two are many each having its own advantages and disadvantages. To an amateur photographer, the differences may not be that apparent but to people who know their photography they can spot the differences a mile away.

It is only in the last few years that digital photography has grown to the point where it can rival film photography. The consensus at the moment is that digital photography is at par with if it has not surpassed film photography.

Most people prefer digital cameras because they are cheaper, easy to use and for the convenience that they provide. It is however important that one fully understand the differences between these two cameras before they can settle for either.

1. The sensor – the sensor is one of the most obvious differences between the digital photography and film photography. While digital cameras have a fixed electronic sensor situated behind the lens, the light sensitive sensor of the film camera is far more complicated. When taking a photograph, the shutter opens just wide enough and long enough to let light in. this light then hits the film and a photo is printed onto the film. The film is then rolled and fresh roll of film is placed behind the lens.


2. Cost: a digital photo costs next to nothing. The photos that have been taken can be easily disposed off at no cost at all. It is also possible to copy the photos from the camera onto something else like a computer hard – drive. A film photo on the other hand costs quite a bit. You will pay money to buy the roll of film, to develop the negative or to print it.


3. Storage capacity – digital cameras allow you to store up to thousands of photos and because you can easily erase photos and take news ones, the capacity in a digital camera is almost infinite. Film cameras on the other hand can only hold as much as a roll has so for instance if a roll has 36 photos, then it can only hold 36 photos.


4. One of the best features of the digital camera is that it gives instant feedback. One is able to see the photo that they have take almost immediately and discard of it if it is not reliable.


5. Unlike in film photography, one is able to edit photos that are taken through use of editing software. There are also cameras that have built in software packages for your PC. For a film camera, once a photo has been developed, there is nothing that you can do about it; it is what it is.

It may sound that digital photography is far much superior than film photography but the film camera has its advantages as well after all it had been used for centuries before the onset of the digital camera. At the end of the day digital photography or film photography is all a matter of choice.