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Digital vs. Film Photography
Both digital and traditional film
photography use the same mechanism:
a camera - which is simply a light-proof
box that is controlled very precisely to
allow amounts of light in over time, to
be recorded onto recording media.
Ahh, there's the difference between
digital and film: the recording
media (of course there are many
other differences, but this is the main
difference between digital photography
and film photography).
Digital photography uses a chip or
sensor to record images. Images
are then stored on memory cards, there
currently are several formats in use:
compact flash, SmartMedia, memory stick
(Sony), and others
[more...].
Digital cameras allow incredible
flexibility where the camera is not
limited by a film's pre-set speed and
light-sensitive rating (i.e.,
ISO).
With higher-end digital cameras, you can
actually change all settings for each
shot you take.
Film photography uses light-sensitive
film that is already formulated (and
set, where you are locked in for the
entire roll of film) for its sensitive
to light (i.e.,
ISO rating).
The film surface receives the light
(intensity and duration of time) which
creates a chemical reaction to record
the image.
more...
Film vs. Memory Cards
Advantages of digital (i.e., using
memory cards)
The advantages of digital
photography over traditional film
include:
-
Instant review of pictures, with
no wait for the film to be
developed: if there's a problem
with a picture, you find out
immediately and can correct the
problem and take another
picture.
-
You only pay for the printing of
successful pictures.
-
Permanent storage on digital
media is considerably cheaper
than film.
-
There's no need to scan the
picture before using it in a
computer.
-
Digital cameras can be much
smaller than film cameras of
equivalent quality.
-
Infrared photography is easier
to perform with a digital camera
since the CCD is sensitive to
infrared light. A film camera
requires special infrared film,
while a digital camera can take
infrared shots by simply using
an infrared filter or light
source.
Recent digital cameras from
leading manufacturers such as
Nikon and Canon have promoted
the adoption of digital
Single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs)
by photojournalists. Images
captured at 2+ megapixels are
deemed to be of sufficient
quality for small images in
newspaper or magazine
reproduction. Six megapixel
images, found in modern digital
SLRs, when combined with
high-end lenses can match or
even exceed the detail of film
prints taken with 35 mm film
based SLRs, and the latest 12
megapixel models can produce
astoundingly detailed images
better than almost all 35 mm
images. (For perspective, the
popular Canon 20D digital SLR
model has an 8.2 megapixel
rating.) Some professional
models can capture more than 20
megapixel images. These ultra
high resolution cameras may not
be very available to the
ordinary consumer, or even
so-called prosumers, but they
are useful to artists,
scientists and commercial uses.
Advantages of film
-
Batteries last longer in film
cameras and are usually of a
standard type that is
inexpensive and widely
available.
-
Manual film cameras require no
batteries and being mechanically
simple are able to operate in
extreme environments.
-
A digital camera's LCD may
become unusable in very bright
light.
-
Some types of film, especially
positive film, offer better
colour resolution than most
digital cameras.
-
When taking shots of extremely
long exposure (eg. 60 seconds)
in very low light conditions (eg.
night shots) photographs taken
on a digital camera are normally
more noisy than those taken on
film.
-
Film performs better for black
and white photography with
contrast enhancing monochrome
filters (eg. green filter for
portraits or red filter for sea
and sky shots). Black and white
digital photographs taken in
this manner, or by modifiying
the amplitude of each colour
channel, can be very noisy.
-
Digital SLR cameras (preferred
by more advanced photographers)
are currently many times more
expensive than film SLR cameras.
-
It is unclear how digital media
will perform over long periods
of time as a storage system.
Equivalent features
• Image noise / grain: film grain is
equivalent to image noise, at high
ISO levels (film speed) the grain /
noise becomes more apparent in the
final image. Although film ISO
levels can be lower than digital ISO
levels (25 and 50 respectively),
digital settings can be changed
quickly according to requirements
whilst film must be physically
replaced. Additionally image noise
reduction techniques can be used to
remove noise from digital images
whilst film grain is fixed. From an
artistic point of view, film grain
and image noise may be desirable
when creating a specific mood for an
image. Modern digital cameras have
very low noise on high ISO, at ISO
400-3200 they have much lower noise
than any film.
• Speed of use: Current digital and
film cameras can be switched on and
take images instantly. Saving images
to disk takes no longer than winding
on the film (see Frames per second).
• Frames per second: The maximum
number of frames per second
(frame/s) achievable on digital and
film cameras is 8 frame/s (Nikon D2H
digital SLR, Nikon F5 35 mm film SLR).
Canon 1D Mark II can achieve 8.5
frame/s which makes it fastest SLR
camera in the world. The F5 is
limited to 36 continuous frames (the
length of the film) whilst the D2H
is able to take 40 images before its
buffer must be cleared and the
remaining space on the storage media
can be used.
• Image longevity: Although digital
image data does not degrade (whilst
film stock can fade), the media on
which the digital images are stored
can decay or become corrupt, leading
to a loss of image integrity. Both
formats should be stored under
archival conditions for maxium
longevity.
• Colour reproduction: Colour
reproduction (gamut) is dependent on
the type of film / sensor used and
the quality of the capture media,
lens group and processing. Different
films and sensors are sensitive to
differing subsets of colour whilst
the photographer needs to have an
understanding of the light
conditions and the media used to
ensure accurate colour reproduction.
Many digital cameras offer RAW
format (sensor data) which makes it
possible to choose color space on
developement stage regardless of
camera settings.
more...
Differences in Resolutions
DD
more...
ISO Speeds
DD
more...
JPEG and RAW files
DD
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White Balance Settings
DD
more...
External Flash Units
DD
more...
Flash Synchronization
DD
more...
Using Filters & Techniques
DD
more...
Auto-Focus & Stabilization
DD
more...
Buying Lenses (mm ranges)
DD
more...
Wide-angle lenses, macro lenses, fish-eye
lenses
DD
more...
Monopods, Tripods, and Other Stabilizers
DD
more...
Metering & Exposure
DD
more...
Full Auto vs. Manual Settings
DD
more...
Aperture & Depth of Field
DD
more...
Shutter Speeds
DD
more...
Light & Light Meters
DD
more...
Shooting Portraits
DD
more...
Shooting Sports
DD
more...
Shooting Close-up (Macro)
DD
Memory Cards and Formats
Memory cards are solid-state electronic
flash memory data storage devices used
with digital cameras, handheld and
laptop computers, phones, music players,
video game consoles and other
electronics. They offer re-write
capability, power-free storage, small
form factor and rugged environmental
specifications.
Flash cards have been suggested as a
possible replacement for the floppy
disk, but this has not happened, largely
because of the lack of standardisation
in the flash memory card market. USB
Keydrives, which work on almost any
computer with a USB port, are filling
this role instead.
The following memory card formats are
used today:
|
Name |
Acronym |
Form factor |
|
CompactFlash I |
CF-I |
43 × 36 × 3.3mm |
|
CompactFlash II |
CF-II |
43 × 36 × 5.5mm |
|
SmartMedia Card |
SMC |
45 × 37 × 0.76mm |
|
Memory Stick |
MS |
50.0 × 21.5 × 2.8mm |
|
Multi Media Card |
MMC |
32 × 24 × 1.5mm |
|
Secure Digital Card |
SD |
32 × 24 × 2.1mm |
|
miniSD Card |
miniSD |
21.5 × 20 × 1.4mm |
|
xD-Picture Card |
xD |
20 × 25 × 1.7mmD |
more...
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