Which is better? Traditional film and film cameras or memory cards (digital film) and digital cameras? This is a topic that has a lot of supporters on both sides and is very debatable. Now, in 2010, digital cameras are ubiquitous, cheap, fast, relatively easy to use, and they require no film. I can remember back to around the year 2000 when a 1 megapixel cameras were fairly expensive! $500 for a bare bones, point and shoot, consumer model. $500 today will buy you a pretty decent 10 megapixel consumer grade SLR. 10 megapixels is more than enough for the average person.

There are many factors to consider when deciding which medium is better: resolution, cost, speed of workflow, etc. Other factors are worth considering, such as dynamic range, but these are the most important. First, let's talk about resolution. Cameras with about 6 megapixels will produce an image with as much detail as consumer grade negative film. Even a camera with 4 megapixels will suffice for most people, producing a sharp print up to about 8 x 10 inches. If you want the digital equivalent of professional grade Velvia slide film (50 ISO), you need about 24 megapixels. Other people will disagree with the numbers, but I think these numbers are pretty accurate, from my experience. Then there are medium and large format film cameras. I don't think digital photo technology exists yet that can rival film bigger than 35 mm. Next, we need to consider cost. It is much cheaper to keep using the same memory card(s) over and over and do your own processing vs. using film and paying a lab to develop your photos. Finally, the speed of workflow is clearly faster with digital than film. All you have to do is take the photos, input them into your computer, do some processing yourself (if you want to), and finally print them or send them off to a lab to be printed. There are many affordable home printers today that rival lab prints

Therefore, many people consider digital to be superior to film, unless you really need a very high resolution image. I agree; digital is what I shoot 99% of the time. The cost, instant preview, speed of workflow, and many other reasons make digital photography so popular today. Film is becoming extinct, for most purposes. I still like to shoot Velvia and sometimes Provia slides, in addition to using my digital cameras, just in case I need an image blown up to a very large size or if a photo buyer requires slides. Velvia adds a nice boost to saturation and contrast too.

Article by Jeremy Baker