InFocus | Photography
Purists vs progress
Ever since digital photography was first introduced to the mainstream photographer in the early nineties there has been a never-ending debate on which format is better - film or digital.
- By Karl Jeffs, Staff Photographer
- Published: 02:37 October 27, 2007
- Many photographers still swear by film and some have even vowed to never use digital, preferring traditional methods of photography and developing.
- Image Credit:
Digital or film - the heated debate among photographers
has continued with both camps relenting little. But, says Gulf News photographer Karl Jeffs, perhaps we are missing the point
Ever since digital photography was first introduced to the mainstream photographer in the early nineties there has been a never-ending debate on which format is better - film or digital.
Many photographers still swear by film and some have even vowed to never use digital, preferring traditional methods of photography and developing.
They believe that using film produces better and more natural results than digital cameras can achieve. To a certain extent this is true, but digital is growing fast and, much to the dislike of many photographers, film will eventually die out, or be limited to just a few specialist areas of photography.
Quality versus quantity
Digital cameras have opened up a whole new range of possibilities for photographers: you can see your photographs immediately and edit as you shoot; save only the best for printing; and you have the ability to make your own high-quality colour enlargements on an inexpensive digital printer.
But is the image-quality of digital capture as high as that of film? At the moment the answer is no. For most of the photo-taking public this is of no real concern, the ease of the digital era with its convenience, low-cost, and immediacy, far outweighs the (g)olden days of film.
Remember when you had to clumsily load the film into the camera, take 24 carefully chosen snaps, eagerly wait three days for the film to be processed, only to be disappointed as you flick through a pile of out-of-focus shots?
Now with digital you can take a photo, check it on the screen, delete it and take another one, all within the space of a few seconds.
Another advantage to digital technology is that photographs can be transferred easily to a computer for image adjustment. With basic software you can crop the photo, adjust brightness, contrast, and colours, to achieve a more desirable final image.
And once the image is finished it can be emailed to friends, uploaded to a website, burned to a CD, or just stored on the hard-drive.
The possibilities are endless, and it is because of this that digital-capture is the future of photography, and film will sadly become a distant memory.
Not quite obsolete
As digital technology advances, film is used less often within the photographic industry. In instances where quality of the final image is paramount, such as billboard advertisements and glossy fashion magazines; film is still widely used.
But the photographer will shoot with medium and large format cameras which use bigger negatives and produce larger images than the conventional 35mm film cameras we are used to.
For our everyday use, the resolution of the digital cameras on the market now far exceeds our requirements, whether that be the hobbyist taking holiday snaps or a professional shooting a sporting event.
The transition years
When I first became interested in photography, the digital age was still in its infancy, with digital cameras being big bulky affairs with low resolutions and high prices.
The top-of-the-range digital camera then had a resolution of 1.3 megapixels and cost around $10,000. Think how far things have come since then. You can buy a mobile phone with a six megapixel camera now for less than $200 (about Dh734).
Until as recently as ten years ago film cameras were still the norm. There were being used by both amateur and professional photographers. I learnt everything I know about photography on a 30-year-old film camera with a couple of interchangeable lenses.
It was as basic as you could get. Everything was done manually from setting the film speed to choosing the aperture, and focusing the lens. And because I was shooting on film every frame was precious.
First lessons
Using film taught me to be patient and meticulous with the picture-taking process and I am a better photographer because of it. But any camera in the hands of a willing student can be a tool to better pictures, and that's all a camera is, a tool.
When photographers argue over which format is better – film or digital, they miss the point. They get hung up on which medium has the best quality, the highest resolution, the sharpest images, and so on.
Photography should be about having fun with a camera, film or digital, as long as you're capturing memories and enjoying the process.
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