Digital vs Film
Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
With the introduction of digital photography, film photography was prematurely pronounced dead. However now it seems that there is an increasing interest in film photography and I myself have recently begun to dive into this world.
I found a great article on that topic here: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2016/03/11/film-street-photography-manual/
Here is my personal list of pros and cons.
Con digital
· Fire and forget
· Less thinking before taking a shot (it doesn’t cost money)
· Creating digital waste
Pro digital
· More pictures in less time
· No development required. Instantly available
· Backup and storage requires no physical space and doesn’t cost (much)
Con film
· It can become quite expensive depending on how much you shoot, what format you enlarge the film and if and how you scan the film
· It takes longer to see the result
· If you want to digitalize your negatives, then there is extra work and cost involved in scanning the film
Pro film
· Since every shot costs money, more time is spent thinking about each shot
· The joy of waiting for the final results and picking up the developed film from the store (or your own home development set up)
· A deeper understanding of the basics that can help make you a better photographer
· You don’t rely on batteries anymore. Most film cameras are purely mechanic and with proper care, can last a lifetime (or two)
The dynamic range of film is still unbeaten and if you want rich, solid colors and tonal ranges, then film is the weapon of choice.
See this very detailed article on the differences in resolution:
http://istillshootfilm.org/post/114131916747/the-real-resolution-of-film-vs-digital
A lot of famous photographers (Magnum and otherwise) are still using film today and some even swear solely by film and never shoot digital. A sample list can be found here: http://istillshootfilm.org/post/110901745797/10-professional-photographers-who-still-shoot-film
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