Digital Cameras vs. Film Cameras
From the moment digital cameras emerged, there has been a great discussion among professional and amateur photographers whether digital cameras are better than film cameras (and vice versa) when taking pictures.
In my personal opinion, it is a worthless discussion since both types have the same function: taking pictures. However, this is the only aspect in which they are similar. They represent two different ways of taking pictures which render different results as well. It is like arguing if it is better to paint using oil paints or water colours. Neither is better since they are 2 different ways of painting a piece.
What I will do is mention the differences between the two, the advantages and disadvantages of each one. You will then need to decide the type of camera you need: a film camera, a digital camera, or even both.
One of the most important advantages in Digital Cameras is that we can see the picture (result) after we have taken it. This lets us to know if the picture came out the way we wanted it or not (too dark, or too much light, or if a person in it closed his/her eyes, etc.) and, in case we don't like the result, take a new shot. In film cameras, we cannot see the result until we have developed the film roll. In other words, if a picture came out different than expected, we can't do anything about it.
Another great advantage with Digital Cameras is that they save us money. Film rolls, film development, and even printing pictures can be quite expensive. With Digital Cameras, we just need to print the pictures (if we want to because we can just store them in our computer). Due to this, the cost of printing photographs is much lower.
An advantage of using film cameras is that there is no waiting time between the moment when you press down the shutter and the time the camera actually "shoots" the image. In other words, the camera takes the picture exactly when I press the shutter. This isn't so with digital cameras. When you press the shutter down, digital cameras take some time in actually shooting the photograph. On the other hand, this amount of time is limited and is reducing in newer models. The problem lies in the fact that this short time can be enough, for example, for a person in the image to close his/her eyes.
Another advantage of using film cameras is that we can shoot different (several) expositions (the vast majority of digital cameras do not have this function). This means taking 2 or more photographs using the same part of the film. In other words, we can superimpose different images in one photograph. In digital cameras, you would have to use a program such as Photoshop, but doing it in film renders amazing results.
When we perform multiple expositions in digital cameras, the image will form "noise". What is noise in a digital camera? Noise is produced when a certain portion of the image, which should be in flat colour, forms spots in different colours (see image below). Noise reduces the quality of the image, which is something we are trying to avoid.
Noise can also develop whenever we are taking pictures in situations with very little light, for example at night or indoors. This never happens when we use film cameras.
As you can see, both Digital Cameras and Film Cameras have advantages and disadvantages. You must choose the camera you want depending on the types of pictures you want to take. And remember that you can use both types.
As you probably already know, there are countless of models in the market today. So, if I want to buy one, how do I choose? Every brand (Nikon, Canon, Leica, Sony, Pentax, etc.) have several models that cover different photographic needs. What you need to do first is to plan a budget, in other words, how much I want or can spend in a camera. Then, I need to decide on what brand I want to buy.
Nowadays, the Internet provides tons of information. It is always a good idea to investigate a little before purchasing one. There are many pages in which people who have bought a specific camera have left their opinion about this camera. You can read these comments to find out if they are happy with their purchase. What a camera is actually able to do is not always the same as what the manufacturer tells you it can do. Watching the opinions of actual buyers can prove very useful indeed.
