Film Versus Digital
 

By Tim Grey

 

The topic of whether serious photographers should be working on film or digitally has been as hotly debated as the question of whether they should process images using a Macintosh or a Windows-based computer. As digital technology gains broader acceptance among photographers, the noise (pun intended) seems to be dying down. Still, the reasons to consider digital are worth considering.

 

Instant Feedback

One of the most often touted benefits of digital is the ability to immediately review images on the LCD display.  With point-and-shoot digital cameras, you can compose your image based on the LCD display. With digital SLR cameras, you can’t compose with the LCD, but you can preview the images instantly.  You can tell (especially with the help of the histogram display) if your exposure is accurate, if you used the flash properly, and--to a limited extent--whether the subject moved or you missed your focus.

 

Freedom to Experiment

The freedom to embrace photographic experimentation is a major benefit of digital capture. The fact that you can review the results of your experimental exposure immediately gives you the ability to try techniques that you would otherwise avoid.  You can even refine those techniques utilizing the image on the LCD display.

 

In addition, digital capture breaks a psychological barrier.  You can erase images that didn’t work out with ease, thereby eliminating the sense that you’re wasting film (and money) by trying techniques that are unproven or challenging.

 

Control

Flexibility is another benefit of digital cameras over film. For example, you can select from a wide range of ISO settings for the camera--generally ranging from 100 or 200 ISO at the low end up to a typical maximum value of about 1600 ISO. Of course, this ability by itself isn’t a unique benefit. You don’t need a digital camera to capture images at different ISO sensitivities. Simply buy film at the various ISO values you need and change the film in your camera based on the lighting conditions or your film preference.

 

However, digital does offer a huge advantage through your ability to change the ISO setting for each and every frame you capture. As you move from subject to subject--perhaps under different lighting conditions, you can adjust the ISO setting for the camera to optimize the exposure for each situation.  In the meantime, keep in mind that with higher ISO settings the chance of noise in the image increases. The latest digital SLR cameras do an excellent job of noise suppression, but I would strongly recommend doing some tests at various ISO settings first.   Then you’ll have a good understanding of the capabilities of your particular camera.

 

White balance is another area of flexibility for digital cameras. Granted, this is more a matter of compensating for given lighting conditions to produce the most accurate image, but it does offer added control that film doesn’t offer. To a certain degree, the ability to control white balance also allows you to avoid or even mimic the color bias you might otherwise experience with film, depending on your preference.

 

Moreover, digital cameras provide a variety of custom settings that affect how the final image is captured, such as the ability to adjust saturation sensitivity in the camera. Most photographers think of this as a method to simulate highly saturated films like Kodak E100VS or Fuji Velvia, or to reduce saturation to match more neutral films. The fact that you can fine-tune these settings in the camera to produce the results you’re looking for can be helpful. More importantly, you can change the settings from image to image. If you find settings you like that simulate a highly saturated film, you can use those settings for one shot and more neutral settings for the next shot. My general preference is to capture all images at relatively neutral settings and then make adjustments using Photoshop. However, the flexibility available through digital cameras presents a whole new area of control over your images when you’re shooting.

 

Rapid Processing

The instant review available with a digital camera is helpful, but the small LCD display can only tell you so much about your image. Photographers working with their images in the digital darkroom want to be able to start editing. With digital, all you need to do is to copy the images onto your computer with a card reader or through a direct camera connection, and you’re ready to edit. Of course, RAW captures will require conversion.

 

If you capture with a film camera, the exposed film needs to be processed, which--in the best circumstances--usually adds an extra day before you can work with your images. If you do your own scanning, that will also slow you down. Digital capture offers instant gratification in the field and nearly instant gratification when it comes to processing your images.

 

Cost Savings?

Another highly promoted benefit of digital is the financial savings of no longer paying for film and processing. This is a dubious advantage. True, you won’t pay for traditional film and processing, but you’ll still pay for “digital film” for your camera, which is much more expensive than film. Admittedly, digital film can be cleared off and used repeatedly, so there is a potential cost savings over time. However, the initial investment is relatively high. Furthermore, digital cameras are considerably more expensive than their film equivalents. Therefore, photographers shooting a large number of images may enjoy some cost savings over the long term with digital. However, in general, I think digital is more expensive, albeit much more convenient.

 

Pixels

The talk about advances in digital cameras generally revolves around pixels. Photographers want as many pixels as possible so they can produce images with excellent quality and large output size. We’re just passing the 10-megapixel mark, and the numbers are only going to get bigger.

 

Current six-megapixel digital SLR cameras effectively match the quality of film up to about 16”x24” prints. The digital cameras offering resolutions over ten-megapixels match the quality of film up to about 20”x30”. Of course, there is no grain in the digital images (although they may possess some noise), so it’s difficult to do a direct comparison.

 

One advantage film has is that there aren’t pixels in the traditional sense, until you scan the image into the computer. There is, of course, film grain, and this can be a problem with big enlargements. However, one advantage with film is continuous tone output. The benefits of this are only realized if you keep the image in an “analog” format. In other words, you’ll have a quality advantage with projection if you project from slides rather than a digital projector. For prints up to a size limited by resolution, digital can provide quality that matches or exceeds what is possible with film.

 

Organization

While you can get started with your images faster with digital captures, the full workflow can be cumbersome at times. Organizing and reviewing your images can be a particular problem. There still isn’t an ideal software package for organizing all of your digital images quickly and easily.  The available software is improving, but it leaves much to be desired.

 

One of the problems with digital is related to one of the benefits.  Because it’s easy to capture more images than you did with film with no additional cost, you’re likely to take more pictures.  Therefore, your image files will accumulate very quickly. Managing all of these files and being able to find the image you need when you need it can present serious challenges. It’s a good idea to plan an organizational system before you start shooting images--or make organization a priority now if you’re already working digitally.

 

Stock Acceptance

The major stock agencies have been slow to accept digital captures, but they’re starting to change their policies. Most agencies will now accept digital images, but they must meet strict requirements for resolution and image quality. The agencies are concerned about receiving files of inferior quality and are being very conservative.

 

The smaller agencies and others that may license your images have been even slower to accept digital captures. This delay is primarily a matter of education. It took these markets a long time to allow photographers to send a digital file produced by scanning and optimizing an image from film. Many still won’t accept digital files, requiring the artist to send the original transparency, instead. They need to be convinced that digital capture can provide quality that’s more than adequate for their needs. Before you can work together, you may need to persuade them--possibly even send them sample images so they can see what’s possible.

 

Making the Switch

There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to digital capture, and there isn’t currently an affordable solution to please all photographers. Many will continue to shoot film for years to come. However, there is no arguing the fact that digital capture is gaining acceptance very quickly and offers some excellent advantages. More and more photographers, including professionals, are starting to use digital capture, and the rate will increase as better and more affordable cameras are released.

 

Digital capture offers many exciting opportunities and opens a whole new world to photographers. If you haven’t already made the plunge, visit your camera store or a digital photography seminar to see what the world of digital capture has to offer you.

 

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Tim Grey is the owner of the "The Digital Darkroom Questions (DDQ)" e-mail list, an almost-daily e-mail list providing answers to questions related to the digital darkroom. By subscribing to the list, you will receive an e-mail just about every weekday with answers to questions submitted by fellow readers. Article Copyright © Tim Grey All rights reserved.