Comparision: Film vs. Digital Cameras
There are many different types of cameras in the photography world. Weʼll look into comparing the user experiences of a film camera and a digital camera. The photography experience in this time of digital dominance doesnʼt stop with prints from the local drugstore. We now have to think of getting our images on to the computer and for the average user sending it to friends and family through email or uploading them to a personal website. For the enthusiast or professional photographer the trail may not end for awhile longer, and although thatʼs out of the scope of this essay weʼll throw out some ideas on the subject.
I remember when the average family photographer had a either a Polaroid or a 35mm film camera. It was easy to pick up a 35mm, especially since disposable cameras were an inexpensive alternative. Now digital cameras take up the majority share in all shapes and sizes. Digital cameras range from the DSLR category all the way down to the ever popular phone camera. When film was the dominant player a camera you would have to buy film for your camera anytime you would have a photo taking session. Since the average 35mm camera had about 24 exposures you would probably want to pick up a few extras. In the digital world many cameras come with built in memory which hold much more than 24 exposures so extra purchases are not necessary. The majority of digital cameras, however, require a memory card of some type. When buying a digital camera it is important to know what type of memory is needed, in the same way you want to be sure that you buy the right type of film. Luckily most digital cameras come with a small memory card to start you off. These are usually around 16mb and can hold a satisfactory amount of pictures. You may want to buy a bigger card which although more expensive than film will most likely save you money in the long run. Memory cards have many different formats from memory stick pro, compact flash, or xD to name a few. These are usually universal throughout a certain brandʼs products so you may be able to use the memory card for multiple gadgets or use an old memory card from a previous camera.
Now that we have a camera and some ammunition we can start taking photos. Here we can dive into a multitude of differences between a digital camera and a film camera, we could even go to explain the differences of the different types of cameras from a consumer point and shoot to a professional DSLR, however, weʼll stick with the basics. The major difference between a digital and film camera is obviously the need for film. You can argue that digital cameras need to have memory which is indeed true. There is a big difference between putting film into a camera and sliding in a memory card. Other things you can have in the back of your mind when taking the pictures is there is that in film you have the exposure but with digital cameras there are different factors in creating your “exposure.” The main things are resolution and file type. Most consumer cameras offer a JPEG file format which is fine for most occasions. The higher end cameras offer a raw file format that is more like an exposure in that you have more control over it in the end. Resolution is based on the camera, featured as a megapixel value.
We have the pictures so we now want to use them. There are many ways to go about obtaining them. You can easily go down to the local store and get prints with either film or digital. Either way you get your film back and you always have your memory card so you can keep doing this. Now our lives are revolving around the computer more and more so we usually end up wanting our pictures on the computer. For a digital camera itʼs fairly simple, get your files onto the computer. This could be done by connecting your camera or even a memory card reader usually hooked up to a USB port. Many cameras come with software to make this even easier. Film can also be transferred to the computer, and no it doesnʼt have to be transferred at some specialty store. There are different accessories for scanners for example that can scan your film exposures and put them on the computer. Once you have them on the computer youʼll most likely want to do something with them and from there the possibilities are endless. Personally I usually take the few good photos that I like and use Adobe Photoshop to do some retouching. You can also email them to friends or put them on a website.
In this essay we briefly looked at how the experiences of using a film or digital camera can be. Although I believe that both mediums have their advantages and disadvantages I think for the average person a good digital point and shoot camera is the best way to go. You can save money on film, the camera market is fairly affordable as well. Itʼs very simple to use, as the type says, point and shoot. Itʼs also the easiest to bring to computer where we most likely want our pictures to end up. Since many photo processing stores also offer digital printing itʼs also easy to get those good old prints.