Difference Between Film and Digital Photography

Film vs Digital Photography

In the past decade or so, traditional film photography has slowly lost ground to digital photography. Let’s look at the reasons why. The main difference between film and digital photography is the media. Film, as the name already implies, uses a film for capturing and storing pictures. On the other hand, a digital sensor captures the image which is then stored in flash memory in digital photography. Some even bypass the memory card and transmit the image wirelessly to a nearby computer.

One of the most significant benefits of going digital is the instant feedback you get with every shot. An LCD mounted at the back of the camera can show you the image you shot. You can even view the histogram of the image to see whether you’ve achieved the correct level of exposure. You can then decide if the image is a keeper or you need to shoot again. You do not get this feature with film photography, and most people waste another shot or two just so they don’t get a nasty surprise after processing.

In terms of price, both can be quite costly if you want to pursue higher levels. Digital cameras, especially DSLRs, are pricier compared to film cameras. The initial cash outlay is slowly mitigated by the savings in film. On the other hand, film needs to be processed in darkrooms. This is the expensive part of film photography as you will need a dedicated space, chemicals, and tools to process the film into photos.

As you may have already guessed, working with film is a bit tedious and time consuming. Digital virtually eliminates these problems. Even when you want to correct the photos you’ve taken or modify them to remove unwanted elements, add special effects, or for any other reason, there is software that you can use to achieve it. Generally, the process from subject to photo is much easier with digital than with film.

The move from film to digital is an inevitable one. There is very little reason to stay with film as digital cameras progress further in quality and capability. Many digital cameras are now superior to film cameras, and any advantage you get from film is offset from the benefits of using digital.

Summary:

1.Film media is consumed while digital media isn’t.
2.Digital provides instant feedback while film doesn’t.
3.Digital cameras cost much more than film cameras.
4.Digital processing costs much less than film processing.
5.Digital is much easier to work with than film.

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