There are many differences between film and digital photography.

To most amateur photographers they do not matter much. They prefer the convenience, ease of use and lower cost of digital cameras and are not going to revert to the film age. However understanding the differences can help taking even better photos and can also help when debating with friends about the future of film. Following is a list of differences that are important to understand. The differences are listed in no particula

r order. <strong>The sensor:< strong> The most obvious difference between film and digital is the sensor used to take the photo. !ith film cameras a film sensitive to light is placed behind the lens. !hen a photo is taken the shutter opens for a predetermined period of time and light hits the film. The result is a photo "printed# on the film. To take a new photo the film has to be rolled and a fresh "clean# film is place behind the lens. !ith digital cameras a fi$ed electronic sensor %sometim

es known as &&'( is situated behind the lens. The sensor is built from tiny light sensitive sensors each representing a pi$el. !hen the shutter opens light hits the sensor and each pi$el gets its "value#. )ut together all the pi$els comprise one photo. To take a new photo the photo is saved on a digital media and the &&' is electronically emptied. !hat does a different sensor mean* The main difference is in the 'epth of Field. +ince digital sensors are smaller in si,e than a -.mm film the de

pth of field will be much higher and in fact in most compact digital cameras almost infinite. The result is that blur backgrounds can not be created. <strong>The cost of a photo:< strong> )hotos taken with a digital camera literally cost nothing. The photos are kept in erasable memory and thus can always be discarded at no cost. /lso the photos you would like to keep can be copied to digital media such as a computer0s hard disk. !ith storage prices going down the cost of saving a photo on dis

k is practically ,ero. Film does cost money. !ith a film camera you have to pay for the roll of film, for developing the negative and for printing the photo. 1very time you press the shutter button you spend money. <strong>The capacity:< strong> !ith ever growing storage capacities digital cameras today can hold hundreds and sometimes thousands of photos on a single media. 2ou can always have a few more in your pocket and changing is very fast. The result is that a digital camera has practica

lly infinite capacity. 2ou can shoot as many photos as you want and at the end of the day 3ust dump them on your computer0s disk. Film cameras0 capacity is very limited. / roll of -4 photos can only hold -4 photos. /fter a roll is used changing to a new roll can take time and is not easy to do in scenarios such as darkness or a harsh environment. For that reason many professional 3ournalists carry a few cameras on them and instead of changing rolls they turn and use another camera 3ust so that t

hey do not miss a shooting opportunity. <strong>The feedback:< strong> 5ne of the most important features of the digital camera is instant feedback. /lmost all digital cameras include a small 6&' screen. 5nce a photo is shot you can go back and watch it on that screen. The ability to see how the photo looks like results in better photos. 7f the photo is not good you can take another one. 8eing able to see the photos on the spot results in an educated decision how to fi$ a photo or how to bett

er compose it. 7t takes a lot of the guessing away from photography. !ith film cameras there is no way to know how the photo on the film will look like when printed. <strong>9ew shooting angles:< strong> :ust a few days ago 7 took a great photo with my digital camera that 7 would have never taken with my film one. 7 shot a cat that was resting on little rock. 7 held the camera in my hand and positioned it down where it almost touched the ground and 7 started shooting. 7 probably took .; or m

ore photos. 7 immediately looked at the camera0s 6&' to review my photos and make sure they were focused and had the cat in them. The result was one great photo looking at the cat from the ground. 7 can not imagine myself 3ust lying down on the dirty ground with a film camera looking through the viewfinder and perfecting that one shot. !ith digital cameras you can actually take photos without having your eye glued to the viewfinder. 5verhead shots where you raise the camera over your head are

much easier to do since you can still see what the camera is shooting by 3ust looking up at its 6&' screen. <strong>&orrecting photos:< strong> !ith digital cameras photos can be corrected using photo editing software. +ome correction abilities are built< in to the cameras but many more are available as software packages for your )&. !ith film cameras what you get is what you get. /fter the film is developed it is very hard to make any corrections. =sually if corrections are absolutely needed

the negative or the printed photo will be scanned %i.e. converted to digital( corrected and then printed again %in a long and costly process(. <strong>&hanging conditions:< strong> 1very roll of film is designed for best results in a specific environment. For e$ample there are indoor and outdoor films or films with different light sensitivity. 7f conditions change rapidly a film camera user will have to either shoot with the wrong film, change the roll %and usually lose photos that were not

used in the current roll( or use another camera with a different film in it. The results of shooting with the wrong film can be distorted colors %reddish photos for e$ample(, a grainy photo and more. !ith digital cameras the characteristics of the sensor can be changed instantly for each photo taken. !ith a click of a button the camera can be put in an indoor or outdoor mode, low light, night photography etc. +ome cameras will automatically sense the scenario and set the sensor mode accordin

gly. <strong>The myth of >uality:< strong> !hile it is true that film photography has its advantages the claim for superior >uality is no longer true. /s digital camera evolved the >uality of high end digital +6? cameras is superb and in many ways even better than film. !hen considering >uality you should also consider the >uality in terms of composition and the scenario caught in the photo. !ith digital cameras0 high capacity, ,ero photo cost and instant adaptability to changing conditions

photographers can produce better compositions and e$periment more to get the best photo possible. <strong>6ongevity:< strong> !e have also paged through old photo albums of our grandparents. The photo looked a a bit yellow, scratched and 3ust plain "old#. +torage of printed film photos or even negatives results in >uality deterioration. 'igital photos on the other hand never lose their >uality. / digital photo will be identical today and .;; years from now. /s long as we remember to refresh t

he digital media every now and then and to back it up our photos can literally list forever and not lose their >uality.