A very brief comparison of some of the key points between
film versus digital cameras, and automatic versus manually controlled
cameras.
Film versus digital
| Film |
Digital |
| Supports a wide contrast range |
Can only manage a fraction of film's contrast range |
| Very high resolution. 35 mm is the same
as used on the huge screens at the cinema |
Generally, comparibly, very low |
| Spectral, and other image, responses selectable by the film you
load |
The camera requires replacing if you don't like the response |
| May give 40 years of good service |
Probably hopelessly outdated in two years |
| Batteries not essential |
Batteries unavoidable |
| Through the lens viewfinders let you see what you'll take a
picture of (that the image is in- or out-of-focus), and you can use
them in broad daylight |
Optical viewfinders are generally just an frame around what'll be
in shot. Electronic viewfinders use yet more battery power, are
too low in resolution to really check focus, and are almost
impossible to view in daylight. |
| Delay before you can see your pictures |
Near-instant results. |
Automatic versus manual
| Automatic |
Manual |
| Usually requires no thought to take an average shot, but requires
considerable knowledge (of photographic prinicples, and how the
particular camera works) to override automatic settings in a useful
manner, when the automatic settings are wrong, or when you want to
create certain effects |
It's generally second nature to any reasonably experience
photographer to manually set the focus to take a
non-blurry picture (i.e. turn the lens to picture
looks sharp, take picture, and that's all) |
| The system doesn't know what's important to the shot |
The user knows to focus on the person, not the background, nor
the object in front of them. The user knows to set exposure for the desired object, not the view through
the window behind them. |
| Every shot requires time for the camera to adjust before taking
photos |
You only have to change the settings when the scene changes, so
three photos of almost the same moment only take as long as it takes
you to click and wind on. |