SLR vs Digital Cameras

Digital photography has taken the world by storm. In the last ten years, digital cameras have evolved from a low resolution device into market domination; forcing traditional film cameras into a niche category. There is a resurgence of photographers returning to the roots of photography, snapping up used SLR cameras to advance the art form of photography. But are digital cameras better than traditional film SLR cameras.

The biggest advantage of a digital camera is its immediacy. Your pictures are ready for downloading and viewing within seconds of taking the picture. News photographers adopted digital technology early on for this very reason. You can view the image on the camera's screen and make any adjustments necessary for record a perfect image. With SLR cameras, on the other hand, its takes time to develop the film and make the prints. Even with the speed of the 'one hour' photo lab, you won't know if you pictures turn out until you get the results developed. It takes a bit of experience, faith and understanding of photographic technique in order to capture a perfectly exposed image the first time with a film camera.

In the resolution battle, film cameras still beat out the digital models. The latest generation of digital cameras boast imaging sensors of 20 megapixels, yet with high resolution 35mm film, an SLR with a quality lens has an imaging capability of about 30 megapixels. While film can hold a tremendous amount of details, the limiting factor has always been the ability to get a high quality scan of the image. Fortunately, modern film scanners are now able to achieve high quality scans from film quickly and inexpensively. Modern film scanning technology gives film SLR cameras a new relevancy as they can now produce a digital image as good or better than a digital camera.

The biggest advantage of SLR cameras today is that they are an excellent teaching tool in the practical aspects of photography. In order to take quality pictures you need to understand proper exposure and the relationship between shutter speed and aperture to achieve a quality image. also, developing and printing your own pictures gives you an insight to the artform of photography. When you are divorced from modern technology, you become more aware of these nuances of the photographic craft.

Image permanence is an important consideration in photography. Properly stored color images can survive 75 years or more. Black and white negatives and prints will last up to 150 years. Long term storage of digital images is still uncertain. Electronic bits can degrade over time, making the image unusable. Also, as technology changes, there is no guarantee that the image formats will be compatible. SLR cameras definitely win in image permanence.

In the debate between digital and SLR cameras, there is no clear winner. Digital technology is here to stay and will continue to improve. SLR cameras will continue on a niche product in arts and education. The winner of this debate is the photographer who now can choose the best tool, either digital or film, for their photographic craft.

Copyright © David Small 2010