Digital vs. Traditional Film Photography

The recent past has seen a transition from traditional film photography to digital photography, led primarily by the cameras on smartphones. As smartphone cameras improved, the convenience and quality they could deliver were suitable for most people's photo needs. However, before you get rid of your film camera, check out our examination of the pros and cons of digital versus film photography.

Overall Findings

Depending on how you use a camera, there may be room for both technologies in your life. Some amateur and professional photographers believe that film cameras deliver superior quality. Most of those traditionalists also carry digital cameras in their camera bags.

Price: Digital Photography May Save Money

The upfront cost of both digital and film photography can be cheap or expensive, depending on a bunch of variables. If you have a smartphone, you won't necessarily need to buy a separate camera to get okay results. You probably wouldn't do a professional photo shoot with an iPhone, for example, but you can take great-looking pictures and make copies easily.

Once you're shooting, however, you may find some bigger differences between digital and film. You don't have to develop a digital picture. However, making high-quality prints of traditional photos requires specialized equipment.

The fact that you need to buy film is an additional cost that digital photography doesn't have. With reels being single-use means you'll always have to replace them. Digital cameras store pictures on memory cards that you can delete or upgrade as needed.

Convenience: Digital Wins Again

If you need pictures fast, go with digital photography. After you take a picture, you can immediately connect your camera or insert the memory card into a computer and start printing. Or, you can instantly share images on social media and get them in front of a large audience.

You can make high-quality prints with photo paper on a standard printer. You have more expensive options available, but the barrier to entry is lower with digital than it is with film.

Quality: Each Has Advantages

With high-quality cameras, it's hard to tell the difference between a digital photo and one that originated on film. But they aren't identical.

Because film renders an image using a chemical process at the molecular scale, its resolution is effectively infinite. Digital photography has progressively increased the resolution of its cameras and images, but they're still based on single-unit pixels. More pixels are added to capture more detail and depth.

Digital photos may do a better job than film at capturing better colors. But, film is generally a better choice for black-and-white photography.

Privacy: Film Is Generally Safer

Some digital cameras—like the ones built into cellphones—automatically embed personal information into the photos they take. This data can include the location at which you took the picture. People can access the metadata later, especially if you share photos on social media, and learn personal details you may not want public.

While major hacking incidents that leak people's private photos are rare, they are a concern when you store images using a service like iCloud.

Film photos don't include this kind of information and are considered safer than their digital counterparts.

Final Verdict

Digital and traditional photography are complementary arts. Many of the skills learned in traditional photography apply to the digital world. Although most people take more and better photos using digital cameras, some people prefer film and achieve superior results with it.

Serious photographers shouldn't ignore one format because both offer advantages. Casual users may find the digital route convenient and fast.