With my convenient little pocket 35mm point-and-shoot camera stolen in Costa Rica, I’m faced with the prospect of having to replace it. And that means it’s decision-time: do I stick with the film I know and love, thus declaring myself firmly as a dinosaur, or do I make the leap to digital?
Sure, digital is the “wave of the future”, it’s rapidly replacing film except in a few circumstances, and people look at me with that sad, sympathetic look when I mention I’m considering buying another film camera. And the perks are sorely tempting: being able to instantly see shots and retake them if they don’t come out, convenient cropping and editing, posting online and e-mailing to friends, and all the cool features and extras.
But as I started to investigate, I really started to question the whole thing. I have a fair idea of what I want in a camera. The trouble is, it doesn’t seem to exist. Anywhere.
I’ve been reading reviews until my eyes are spinning, and every time I think I find a good camera for my needs, there’s some sort of “catch” that ruins it for me. Low resolution. Low optical zoom. Long shutter lag. Poor low-light performance. Proprietary batteries that require travelling with a charger. Lack of a viewfinder. Bulkiness. Poor image quality. And the list goes on. Not to mention that with the speed at which digital technology is evolving, whatever I choose today will be obsolete by next year.
I figured I’d have to compromise, and narrowed it down to a few cameras with flaws I figured I could live with. But when I think about it, I don’t have to live with any of those shortcomings at all! I can just buy another film camera and get everything I want – and for much less money, too.
So is digital really all it’s cracked up to be? Or is it kind of like the Emperor’s New Clothes, where film is still much better but nobody is willing to admit it? I can’t help but wonder.
People with digital cameras seem to take a helluva lot of pics but what do they actually do with them? Unless you have a need for downloadable photos of fairly specific interest (insurance claims adjusters, Real Estate Agents, etc.) You’re going to be just as happy, if not more so, with the prints that you can whip out of your pocket at the pub and show around the table, eh?
I’m still using my old Miranda Sensorex and I love it!
My father was really into taking pictures and I inherited his gorgeous Canon AE-1. He has taken thousands of pictures that are sitting on shelves in albums in the basement in albums that are rarely ever opened, even now in my parents empty-nest years.
On one hand, if it were on computer, it could be much easily accessed and browsed, skipping through years with just a click.
On the other hand, no one disregards the importance of a hard copy that can be viewed without the constraint of current day bulky desk/laptops (and on shabbos).
Since I received a digital camera two years ago, we’ve taken over 4000 shots. With film, we would have restricted ourselves, and then again had to deal with non-uniform albums and the need to ‘catalogue’ them all properly.
Conclusion: Even if all your pictures get wiped away (I assume that you will make/burn multiple backups on cds, and move them to better archiving when the technology arrivers), big deal, life goes on. Go digital, enjoy the tremendous advantages of the camera itself and not being dependant on some external photo lab and shlepping rolls of film to get developed.
Nonetheless, always keep a fresh throwawy 35mm film camera in the glove compartment in case you get into an accident and need to record evidence.
FWIW, I finally switched fully over to digital back in December when I picked up my Canon EOS 20D (after fifteen years with the Minolta Maxxum 7000 that I inherited from my brother), and, believe me, it’s the best thing since sliced bread. The chances for proper experimentation without consequences (hey, at least you don’t ever feel like you’re wasting film) allow you to explore all sorts of new avenues, and get all sorts of interesting shots that you wouldn’t have risked otherwise (not to mention that the immediate feedback allows you to improve your technique very quickly).
Just my 2 cents, but, were I in your shoes, Sari, I’d go digital.