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by BuckyF on October 10th, 2003

BuckyF

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What are the advantages/disadvantages of a digital camera as compared to a regular camera?

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Answers. 9 helpful answers below.

  • by Tito13KFM on November 16th, 2003

    Tito13KFM

    Advantages of a Digital Camera:
    Instantly see the picture you just took.
    Delete unwanted pictures.
    Never buy film again.
    Many advanced features in a small form factor.
    Don't have to print every picture
    Complete control of the final print after editing on computer
    No risk of negatives getting scratched or lost (but can lose cd's or scratch them)
    Can store hundreds of pictures without having to change "film"

    Disadvantages:
    Generally higher cost per print (although getting cheaper)
    Not as large of a dynamic range as film (less detail in highlights and shadows)
    Larger up-front investment.
    More sensitive to shocks and dropping.
    Lower quality than film (although the gap is closing)
    Can be battery hogs.
    Shutter Delay is too long on low end models.
    Generally poor low-light focusing ability

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  • by Mirage V2.0 AWOL on November 25th, 2006

    Mirage V2.0 AWOL

    Digital allows instant viewing and computer manipulation.

    There is something genuine and spontaneous about the use of film, filters and lighting that creates a different art form expression.
    It requires a greater knowledge of the function of light and equipment than digital, because you have to capture the moment without the benefits of computer manipulation.

    I enjoy both formats. Was your question a technical one or one regarding stylistic results?

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  • by RedJohn on March 18th, 2006

    RedJohn

    Film stills remains ahead of digital in image quality and will for some time - I don't see the gap vanishing anytime soon, although many digital cameras will produce images that are good enough for the application. Digital is certainly the wave in the snapshot crowd and has made serious inroads into wedding, portrait, and commercial photography. It really depends on what type of photography you do.

    Digital cameras do not yet have the flexibility of film cameras, at least not without expending a great deal of money. They have the same limitations as any 35mm film camera. Digital backs for medium- and large-format cameras exist, but can be ruinously expensive and do not produce as high an image quality as can be obtained with film. Many photographers shoot medium format (4.5x6, 6x6, 6x7, or larger formats using 120/220 film) and large format (4x5, 5x7, 8x10, or larger sheet film). A larger negative produces a higher-quality image.

    Some phtographers use a large-format camera, because of its tremendous flexibility, to take the photographs and then scan the negatives using a high-quality scanner. While software can correct some image aberrations, a large-format camera, with its tlts, shifts, and swings, can perform any such correction when the image is created. This process has three significant advantages: it allows images to be corrected in a fashion that is impossible or inadequate with software, it is cheaper than buying a digital back for the camera, and it allows the negative to be rescanned when the quality of the scanner improves. A digital image, once created, has a fixed resolution, while a negative can be scanned again and again as hardware improves.

    Medium- and large-format camera work generally entails much more work than 35mm and digital photography, because it can be a slow and methodical process. Some photographers enjoy investing the time and effort required to make truly spectacular images on fairly simple photographic equipment.

    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Re response to my comments on another answer: "you cannot change the film speed without changing the film. You can only change the shutter speed."

    Sorry, but you are mistaken. You may not be able to adjust the film speed on a fully-automatic consumer camera, but you can on any manual camera and any automatic camera that allows the user to override the DX encoding on the 35mm film canister. All of the cameras I use for 'serious' photography, 35mm and medium-format, allow me to adjust the film speed.

    Adjusting the film speed up or down, particularly in B&W photography, allows the photographer to work in low light situations without flash, control the grain in the image, and control the tonal range of the film. Changing the film speed requires changing the developing time and, sometimes, the developer used. For example, Ilford Delta 400 B&W film (ISO 400) can be used between ISO 200 and 3200, while Delta 3200 (ISO 3200) can be used between ISO 400 and 12500. Many photographers drop the ISO rating on slide (positive) film by 1/3 stop to increase colour saturation.

    If the camera uses roll film, the entire roll must be exposed under the same conditions. However, sheet film is used in large-format cameras and images are exposed and processed individually. Many medium-format cameras have interchangable backs. These can be changed in mid-roll (e.g., one back loaded with ISO100 film and another with ISO1600) and allow the photographer to switch between film, Polaroid, and digital backs as needed. The backs are fitted with a slide to prevent the film being exposed to light when one back is exchanged for another.

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  • by Fun Blame Monster on August 9th, 2004

    Fun Blame Monster

    The previous poster listed a lot of great pros and cons, I wanted to give just one more.

    With digital cameras you can change the ISO setting from shot to shot. That is equivalent to changing the film speed on every shot to suit your needs. Different film speeds are needed for different situations. In brightly lit outdoors situations 100 or 200 would work, in dimly lit or fast action you would perhaps go with 1600. With a digital camera you can change that setting from shot to shot easily. Or, sometimes even better you can let the camera change it for you. Better still, with a grey card and a TTL (Through The Lens) meter, you can ensure that you will get the absolute perfect ISO setting in a given lighting situation.

    A great digital camera page is www.dcresource.com.

    FBM

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  • by BayAreaBiker on November 6th, 2008

    BayAreaBiker

    Pictures taken with digital cameras are ready immediately, an advantage it shares with Polaroid.
    Digital images can be e-mailed and distributed via the internet. Digital cameras were for some time very expensive, but some digital cameras today are quite cheap, a few as low as $10. Image quality from digital does not quite match film, unless it is of very high resolution (12 megapixels and up).

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  • by Magenta on October 4th, 2007

    Magenta

    Digital photography is constantly growing and evolving.

    Chemical photography is the old dying method.

    Some day soon, Chemical photography will be limited to fine artists. The same as printmaking is done by fine artists, but is not used to churn our newspapers and magazines.

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  • by SaRaHwW on April 10th, 2008

    SaRaHwW

    Advantages:
    - No expense for film
    - Instant review of pictures
    - Ability to capture and store hundreds of images at a time
    - Ability to transfer images into black and white or other colour transformations
    - The capability of using the same camera to capture a video


    Disadvantages:
    - Dependence on battery life
    - Digital images have the tendency to more become blurred or even have a grainy
    texture than film cameras
    - More complex to use

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  • by iwnit on April 10th, 2008

    iwnit

    A digital camera is a regular camera. A non digital camera is a relic of ancient times.

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  • by Highlander is semi-retired from AB on October 4th, 2007

    Highlander is semi-retired from AB

    No film.

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