Digital vs. Film Cameras:

Capturing memories is an important task for many people. Whether it's holidays, special occasions, or just pictures of a random slice of life, recording these precious moments for all time is common in many households. As technology has advanced, new options for taking photos has entered the marketplace, in just the last twenty years -- digital cameras. There are a variety of reasons why digital cameras are far superior to their film predecessors including: convenience, cost, and storage.

Digital cameras are far more convenient and offer more flexibility than film cameras. With digital cameras, the user can immediately see the images they just captured on the screen. This preview image can not only be shown to others, but the photographer can decide if they captured the image they wanted and retake the photo if necessary. In contrast, using a film camera not only means the photographer has to finish the entire roll of film, but also he must have it processed before he can determine if he got the picture he really wanted. Instead of the instantaneous results, as with a digital camera, the process of film development can take days, if not weeks. In addition, sharing digital photos are far more convenient than those from a film camera. With digital photos, images can be easily e-mailed or posted online. With film photos, the photographer must either have them processed and then mail them to others or the images must first be processed then scanned before they can be transmitted electronically, adding two lengthy steps to the process. Along with added convenience, digital cameras offer cost savings benefits over film cameras.

Digital cameras allow the photographer to take...

However, with a film camera the photographer has the expense of having the entire roll printed and not knowing for certain if the picture they really wanted was captured, until the film is developed. With digital cameras the cost of photo sharing can be non-existent if the photographer chooses to share their images simply electronically. With digital cameras there's also no expense of buying film. A memory card can be used over and over again. Of course along with increased convenience and lower costs, digital cameras also offer the benefit of superior storage capabilities.
Memory cards available for digital cameras today allow the user to take more than 1,000 photos before the images need to be downloaded. This is far more than the 24- or 36-exposures on a roll of film. For final storage, with a digital camera, the photographer can save millions of digital photos on their computer, CD, DVD, or online. This is in comparison to the physical storage space needed to store negatives in files, binders or cabinets. Backing up digital files, especially using off-site storage methods, also makes digital photographs far more secure and less likely to be destroyed or damaged.

In the end, capturing memories is such an important part of many people's lives using the best method of taking those pictures is critical. The digital camera, although fairly new to the market, is proven to be far superior than cameras using film. The digital camera is more convenient, it costs less to take and share photos, and has more and safer storage capability. These factors make the digital camera the clear choice in photography.