Digital vs. Film
Someone on Flickr posted that two people had recently commented to him that:
“Well now with digital any schmo can do photography…”
and
“I don’t like my [Nikon D40]. Digital feels fake.”
This person was rather upset about this and wanted to get other opinions. Here’s my take in a nutshell: this subject quickly becomes an argument about religion. It’s better to just accept that film and digital images have different qualities. Whichever you prefer is just that – a preference.
In response to the first comment, I would say that: 1) lots of schmoes were carrying film point-and-shoot cameras before digital came along (anyone remember the Disc camera?), and 2) digital manipulation isn’t necessarily easy. Program mode doesn’t always work and although any schmo can apply a bucketload of Photoshop filters in minutes, that doesn’t mean the result is something that is pleasing or improves the resulting image. Getting a good image out of a digital camera can take quite a lot of effort and experience, which is no different than developing dark room skills (pun intended), painting/drawing skills, musical skills, etc.
As for digital feeling “fake”, I once had a conversation with a friend about film vs. digital. Her perception (which I think is shared by a lot of people) was that digital was somehow “cheating” relative to film because of the ability to manipulate digital images so easily. However, I pointed out to her that photographers have been manipulating film via the camera (e.g., filters, multiple exposures) and in the darkroom (“dodge” and “burn” weren’t invented by Adobe) since the advent of film. I wonder how many people, presented with a random image on Flickr, could tell you if it was shot as digital or film. I know I’ve been surprised a couple of times to find that I was wrong in guessing which medium was used.
One reply to the Flickr post said everyone should get experience with film because it makes you think a little more before you shoot. It probably does. But having to sort through the hundreds of digital shots you can take in a day just to find the 2-3 good ones will quickly teach you to think before you shoot as well!
Arguing digital vs. film is like arguing Canon vs. Nikon. Each one has it’s strengths and weaknesses, you just have to decide which you prefer for your purposes or aesthetic and move on. Otherwise you’re just arguing religion.
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