Film Camera or Digital Camera - Celebrate the Difference

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Are you picturing yourself with a new film camera or digital camera?

It's almost certain that photography is in your life one way or another. If you are like most people, you want to preserve your memories of family occasions, special events, precious moments and even the humdrum days of our lives. When it comes time to choose a new camera, we're faced with an incredible array of choices - each with a special pro or con.

Film cameras are the traditional approach, and always a good choice. However, the digital cameras available today are worth considering for their special features and flexibility.

In terms of how they work, a film camera and a digital camera are hugely different. When you push the shutter button on a film camera, the light passes through the lens where it burns an image onto a film. With a digital camera, the light reaches through the lens in much the same way, but once inside the camera, it records the light as computer data, also known as binary data. Then, the same as a computer, it stores this binary data in memory and ultimately on a media card.

While some of us find these differences fascinating, others show no interest in the cameras' inner working and merely want to know what these differences mean in terms of picture taking ability. In other words, they want to know what they can do with a digital camera that they can't do with a film camera, and vice versa.

A digital camera's versatility is something to consider. In addition to taking still images, many digital cameras can also capture video clips and audio files. Most film cameras do not do this. Additionally, a typical film camera is a specialized equipment item. A digital camera, on the other hand, is likely to be bundled with a cellular phone, smart phone or MP3 player. When you buy a digital camera, you may well be acquiring several technological devices in one - a compact item that fits easily n the palm of your hand.

When it comes to printing, digital cameras and film cameras require a much different approach. Film photographers may develop films in their own darkroom, or may take them to a printing service for developing. People using a digital camera have the option of uploading their electronic pictures to a computer where they can be printed, or of sending them directly to a printer for printing. They might also opt to upload the pictures to an online printing service, or take them to a service to be printed.

Regardless of whether you are using a film camera or a digital camera, you can choose between doing your own printing or developing or taking your pictures to a service where others will do the printing for you.

The third thing to consider is that digital cameras make it easy for you to correct and edit photos in your computer, using digital photo editing software. Since they are electronic data, you can upload them directly from your camera to the computer. If you are using a film camera, you can still edit the pictures in the computer, but you have the added step of scanning each one into your computer, or of having a photo printing service do this for you.

Your choice between a film camera and a digital camera represents an individual preference. The brave new world of digital cameras has much to attract the technology buff, but traditionalists will doubtless prefer the excellent film cameras. Both types are here to stay.