Comparing Digital and Film
As the dancers went through their motions, I kept hearing the firing of the camera's shutter, almost in rapid succession like a machine gun. Certainly this is nothing new and the new 2Dx has large buffer. However, what was interesting was the man on the other side of the room taking photographs of the same event with his film camera. He was using an older Nikon FM3. This is a fully manual camera. He was taking photographs with both a 28mm lens and a 50mm lens. Both of his lenses were of fixed focal length. While he wouldn't be able to get the close ups of the other photographer, he was taking his time and only pressing the shutter at the most opportune time.
What a study in contrasts! The one photographer shooting in rapid succession with his digital camera while the other photographer only pressing the shutter at the right time - definitely anticipating the photograph due to a limited resource, film. Perhaps I was observing something deeper. Would the skill of anticipating a photograph be lost by photographers who have a large memory card and who just keep the shutter on successive exposures? At the same time is the film shooter missing out on the ability to make his photograph a little better by having multiple exposures of the same subject?
First, there is no right way or wrong way to take photographs at an event like this. I actually liked the motivation of the film photographer as he wanted to send some photographs of the event to the director with the digital camera. What I do want to say is digital photography shouldn't take the 'thinking' and anticipation out of photography. When you are using your digital camera, keep the following in mind.
1. Anticipate the photograph - wait for the right moment and snap the photograph. Don't always rely on multiple exposures to get the shot you want. Often you only have one chance to take a great photograph. You ought to practice for this and not overly rely on technology.
2. Match the resolution with the result - if you know the use of the photographs, then perhaps all you will need is JPEG fine or JPEG super fine. This will take up between 2 - 4 MB of space and will get you results on paper of up to 11 x 14 inches. The film camera will allow you to enlarge the final result (with the quality of the light as the wild card) beyond 20×24 inches. While the digital camera will probably match the resolution with the result, you get the added safety factor with film. You can always enlarge the photograph later.
3. Keep work flow in mind - the film photographer is going to go to a lab and get his roll or two of film processed. If he's smart about it, he'll get the images scanned directly onto a CD at the time of processing. Once at home, he'll look through a minimum of 72 images and possibly send 4-5 to the dance director. Conversely, the dance director will have hundreds of images to sort through. He may have a few that are nearly identical and the time spent to get the top 4-5 images will be considerably more than the film photographer.
Bottom Line: Digital is a great medium, but keep in mind the hidden costs and time that you will need to invest in order to produce the anticipated end result.
Related Tags: photography, digital photography, cameras, jpeg, film camera, megabyte
Mark Sincevich is the Executive Director of the Digital Photography Institute (DPI) as well as a world-class professional photographer. He regularly speaks about photography and related subjects, is frequently quoted in the media and is the founder and Chief Perspective Officer of Staash Press. Mark is also the creator of the Staash Perspective System (SPS). The SPS takes its inspiration from photography and teaches that simplicity leads to more powerful communications. He can be reached at 301-654-3010 or http://www.digitalphotoinstitute.com.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- A Subject And His Personality
The challenge to all portrait painters is pleasing the beholder as well as having the ability to fix - A Review Of The 28 Page Free Report "shoot Digital Pics Like The Pros"
There are a lot of fine, relatively recent products coming available to buy daily. A few of these ar - Night Vision Scope- Explore The Beauty Of Nature In Night Also
Going out for a camp in forests??? Or somewhere?? Not possible to see far of objects or things in th - Commercial Photography - Photography As A Business
Photography- I guess this won't be a strange word to hear for most of you but commercial photography - Night Vision Camera Ensuring Your Safety
No one can see anything in darkness. But imagine you are capable enough to do so then what would you - Looking For A Wedding Photographer In Edinburg?
You've spent sleepless nights to ensure that your wedding day is picture perfect and goes smoothly w - Cost Effective Wedding Photography
It's the most special day of your life and you've dreamed about this day, since you were a child. Yo - Hiring A Budget Wedding Photographer?
Wedding Photography accounts for almost 10 % of the entire budget of the wedding. Does this mean tha - Image Editing:a Must For Advertising Agencies And Publications
When you see any attractive image in any online publication or in print, have you ever thought who t - How To Guide For Properly Storing Photographs
Photographs are more than just pieces of paper, they are reminders of a life once lived, and cherish
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Matting Fine Art Photographs
Picking the right mat when framing fine art photographs and other pieces of art can enhance the visu - What Are Giclee and Digital Prints?
Digital images are created from photographs taken with a digital camera or from scanned images. Fine - Ten Tips For Working With Macro Digital Photography
Macro photography is a fun way to get close up shots look stunning. If you want to get technical, th - 32 Bit Images-Stunning New Style Of Photography
The new version of Photoshop which came out last year offers a whole new feature which allows photog - Merging Two or More Images in Photoshop
Have you ever noticed how magazines, newspapers and some web designers are able to combine multiple - Buying Limited and Open Edition Prints
When you're buying fine art photographs, lithographs and other printed art, you'll notice that they - Do You Have A Passion For People Photography?
Well, I'm sure you have a passion for photography and that's why you are reading this article.If you - What to Look for When Shopping for a Digital Camera
Shopping for digital camera for the first time can be a confusing and daunting experience. With so - Stock Photograhy Lesson - Quality Requirements for Online Stock Photograph Sales
Most online stock agencies require that your images be submitted in TIFF or JPEG format at resolutio - Hong Kong Photographer Stock Photography Royatly Free vs. Licensed
There are two types of licenses for the reproduction of photographs. One is called Traditional Licen