Digital vs 35 mm

holley79 wrote: Just a curious thing. I broke out my 35 mm last weekend and there is just something about using real film now and again. I figured I needed to use the 35 mm since it was bought for me a couple of Christmases ago. I got a really nice Cannon Rebel GII that I just love.

What kinds do you own?

CantWait replied: Now that I have my digital, I'll never go back. The only thing I don't like about it, sometimes things come out dark or blurry even when it's adjusted to the proper setting. Most of the time though, it works great.

I own a Kodak Easy share, 4.0

MoonMama replied: I have and use both. Just depends, but I love my digital.

Crystalina replied: Digital...hands down (for me anyway. ) I have a Kodak Z650 and I love it. I carry it with me everywhere. If I grab my purse I grab my Kodak. When I get tired of it I will upgrade to something with a telephoto lens. Can't wait for that.

ataylorm replied: Having done professional photography for years, I personally find that I like both formats, although with each new generation of digitals, I have less and less reason to use film.

Good film will produce a higher resolution image with more accuracy in the dark and light areas of the image. And at about 25 Megapixels with a high quality negative scanner, you can go much larger with the image if you desire, I also like the lens selection and complete control I get with a film camera such as the Nikon F100.

However that being said digital is considerably easier to use, and learn, with it's ability to instantly preview your picture and immediately correct for mistakes. You don't have to worry about adjusting for each brand of films areas of color performance, because your camera will always perform the same in that area. With the advancement of some of the newer pro-sumer digital cameras such as the Sony A100, you can also get a DSLR for a fairly reasonable price (Under $900 including a lens). With the newer cameras coming out in 10+ Megapixels, I have had no problem doing enlargements up to 40" which exceeds what most anyone will do.

I like the fact that my digital camera can be operated in a fully automatic mode where my wife can see what she is about to take before she does, compared to a standard film camera, she doesn't have to worry about filters for lighting and such. But I also like the fact that with the better models, I can go straight to full manual mode and enjoy a little artistict freedom.

The biggest thing I find lacking in digital cameras these days is ISO 400+ performance. Even the best DSLR's are still producing sub-par images at ISO's over 400, and 400 is just so so on most.

Hope this makes sense... It's 4am, I have had little sleep, and a screaming 2 year old all night.

hawkshoe replied: Personally I use both. The thing I like about the digital is you can view the pictures right away to see if it came out okay. However, at least with mine, there is a bit of a delay so many times I will miss the shot. My 35 mm takes great pics and does it instantaneously. I also have a zoom lens which allows me to take pictures farther away than with my digital.

ataylorm replied: If anyone is looking at a digital camera, I recommend you check out DPReview.com. They are the premier source for reviews, comparisons, etc. of digital cameras. It's a great way to see the true quality of the camera (sample pictures) and the features before you buy.

MyLuvBugs replied: There's certain advantages to both film and digital (So, I voted for both). However since the film companies have started jacking up their prices in order to force people to switch to digital....we can't afford film with our biz anymore....therefore, we've had to sell my Canon Elan 7's (film cameras) and are in the process of purchasing two Canon 30D's (digital cameras). For our biz the digital will be cheaper, and these cameras will give the same high quality as my Elan's did (at least they better! ) LOL

ataylorm replied: Digital is considerably cheaper, but if your going for pro you will probably want to shoot in RAW and that can take a LOT of drive space. I used to do about 20,000 images a year for catalog work, and I still have nearly a terabyte of files on hard drive, and probably 50-60 DVDs of images in storage (And that was in the 3, 4, and 5MP days). Fortunately drive space is cheap these days, with 250GB drives being down in the $60-$70 range. The new 10 MP cameras produce a raw image + jpeg usually between 12 and 20 MB per image. So if you shoot 100 pictures in RAW (Full image data, for increased editing and enhancement ability) you could easily reach 1.2GB or more.

If your going to be doing any kind of volume photography you will probably end up needing to invest in some external drives, or a RAID controller (Allows you to make multiple drives behave as one) for you PC just so you can store them all.

(Of course if your just taking snapshots, JPEG only should be fine, and that will save a lot of drive space.)

msoulz replied:
Thank you for that! I have a nice Canon 35mm film camera and have resisted digital because of the cost and the lack of a good printer, but I do want to get there some day.

ataylorm replied: If your looking for a good photo printer, I recommend the Canon PIXMA series, in particular the iP6700D, you can get it for under $170 and it does an excellent job.

MyLuvBugs replied:
Yeah I know. That's why we're getting the 30D's. They do JPEG and Raw. I'd LOVE to get the 5D, but cant' afford that right now. Maybe in a couple years when our biz gets really established. Dh knows all the computer stuff....he builds websites and does all that computer junk in his spare time, so he's "prepared" for the file space. I actually think he's more excited than I am about the new cameras b/c that means he'll get some new computer crap eventually. LOL Boys and their toys

coasterqueen replied: I had both and swore I'd never abandon my 35mm.....until Dh bought me two really nice digitals that take just as great pics as the 35mm did. I quickly sold my 35mm after that.

BAC'sMom replied: Digital girl here

Lynda836 replied: I prefer digital. Easier to share by email. I can take as many pics as I want and not worry about the cost of film....gotta be able to get at least one good shot out 20. The one's I want to print I just email to the photomat...is better quality than my printer and uses less ink.