How to Choose Between Digital and Film for Photography

Two camps exist in the photography world--digital and film. Choosing between the two has more to do with preference and photographic style than actual picture quality. That said, film may still hold a slight advantage when it comes to higher resolution photographs.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Choose Between Digital and Film Photography as a Photographer

1. Choose digital photography if you plan on taking a large volume of photographs and do not want to pay for processing, or do not have access to a darkroom.
2. Carry a few cracker-sized memory cards as opposed to rolls and rolls of film when using a digital camera.
3. Take high resolution photographs with very fine detail with a medium or large format film camera. Regular 35mm SLR (single lens reflex) cameras also take pictures with stunning detail when matched against an equivalent digital SLR. The difference really appears when the photos are enlarged.
4. Allow yourself to make mistakes and experiment freely when using a digital camera. You can always erase the photograph later or right then and there.
5. Pay the price of high resolution digital cameras. If you are unwilling to pay for expensive digital SLRs, purchase a comparable, if not better, film SLR for a fraction of the price.

Choose Between Digital and Film Photography as a Consumer

6. Consider the quality of photos you would like to have. Film lends itself to a much higher quality of picture detail. Digital images are great if you do not need large blowups or posters. Of course, if the photographer has spent the money on an extremely high resolution digital camera, you may not be able to tell the difference between film and digital.
7. Browse through photo galleries and photographers' portfolios. Some photographers use only film, others only digital, and some use both. See which photographs you prefer.
8. Selecting prints is easy anyway you go. Digital prints can be processed on photo quality paper and film prints can be scanned and digitally archived. There is no real loss of quality when flipping between both types of images.

Tips & Warnings

• The quality of the end product is really based upon your opinion of the photograph. If you have a trained eye, you may feel that film provides a better medium for high quality pictures. If you are a novice or an amateur, you may not be able to tell the difference between a film photograph and a digital photograph.