Comparison with film photography

Comparison with film photography

Advantages of consumer digital cameras

• The advantages of digital photography over traditional film include:
  Instant review of pictures, with no wait for the film to be developed: if there's a problem with a picture, the photographer can immediately correct the problem and take another picture
• Minimal ongoing costs for those wishing to capture hundreds of photographs for digital uses, such as computer storage and e-mailing, but not printing.
• If one already owns a newer computer, permanent storage on digital media is considerably cheaper than film
• Photos may be copied from one digital medium to another without any degradation
• Pictures do not need to be scanned before viewing them on a computer
• Ability to print photos using a computer and consumer-grade printer
• Ability to embed metadata within the image file, such as the time and date of the photograph, model of the camera, shutter speed, flash use, and other similar items, to aid in the reviewing and sorting of photographs. Film cameras have limited ability to handle metadata, though many film cameras can "imprint" a date over a picture by exposing the film to an internal LED array (or other device) which displays the date.
• Ability to capture and store hundreds of photographs on the same media device within the digital camera; by contrast, a film camera would require regular changing of film (typically after every 24 or 36 shots)
• Many digital cameras now include an AV-out connector (and cable) to allow the reviewing of photographs to an audience using a television
• Anti-shake functionality (increasingly common in inexpensive cameras) allow taking sharper hand-held pictures where previously a tripod was required
• Ability to change ISO speed settings more conveniently in the middle of shooting, for example when the weather changes from bright sunlight to cloudy. In film photography, film must be unloaded and new film with desired ISO speed loaded.
• Smaller sensor format, compared to 35mm film frame, allows for smaller lenses, wider zoom ranges, and greater depth of field.
• Ability to use the same device to capture video as well as still images.
• Ability to convert the same photo from color to sepia to black & white
  Advantages of professional digital cameras
  
• Immediate image review and deletion is possible; lighting and composition can be assessed immediately, which ultimately conserves storage space.
  
• Faster workflow: Management (colour and file), manipulation and printing tools are more versatile than conventional film processes. However, batch processing of RAW files can be time consuming, even on a fast computer.
  
• Digital manipulation: A digital image can be modified and manipulated much easier and faster than with traditional negative and print methods. The digital image to the right was captured in RAW format, processed and output in 3 different ways from the source RAW file, then merged and further processed for color saturation and other special effects to produce a more dramatic result than was originally captured with the RAW image.
  Recent manufacturers such as Nikon and Canon have promoted the adoption of digital single-lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) by photojournalists. Images captured at 2+ megapixels are deemed to be of sufficient quality for small images in newspaper or magazine reproduction. Six to 14 megapixel images, found in modern digital SLRs, when combined with high-end lenses, can approximate the detail of film prints taken with 35 mm film based SLRs, and the latest 16 megapixel models can produce astoundingly detailed images which are believed to be better than 35mm film images and the majority of medium format cameras
  Disadvantages of digital cameras
  
• Dependence upon spare batteries which are heavy to carry and whose lack makes equipment unusable. Batteries used by some film cameras are smaller and not drained as quickly.
  
• Many digital sensors have less dynamic range than color print film. However, some newer CCDs such as Fuji's Super CCD, which combines diodes of different sensitivity, have improved this issue.
  
• When highlights burn out, they burn to white without details, while film cameras retain a reduced level of detail, as discussed above.
  
• High ISO image noise manifests as multicolored speckles in digital images, rather than the less-objectionable "grain" of high-ISO film. While this speckling can be removed by noise-reduction software, either in-camera or on a computer, this can have a detrimental effect on image quality as fine detail may be lost in the process.
  For most consumers in prosperous countries such as the United States and Western Europe, the advantages of digital cameras outweigh their disadvantages. However, many professional photographers continue to prefer film. Much of the post-shooting work done by a photo lab for film is done by the photographer himself for digital images. Concerns that have been raised by professional photographers include: editing and post-processing of RAW files can take longer than 35mm film, downloading a large number of images to a computer can be time-consuming, shooting in remote sites requires the photographer to carry a number of batteries and add to the load to carry, equipment failure—while all cameras may fail, some film camera problems (e.g., meter or rangefinder problems, failure of only some shutter speeds) can be worked around. As time passes, it is expected that more professional photographers will switch to digital.
  In some cases where very high-resolution digital images of good quality are needed it may be advantageous to take large-format film photographs and digitise them. This allows the creation of very large computer files without speed or capacity disadvantages at picture-taking time. This is discussed in detail in an article with the provocative title A 100 MP Digital Camera System for Under $2,000.