Why would you want to use a digital camera?
Remember those instant Polaroid cameras … they were so great because you could see the pictures minutes after taking them. They were kind of bulky and film wasn’t cheap, but they were still very popular.
Then along came the 35mm cameras. Less bulky,crisp picture quality and those vibrant colors. People soon were switching, especially when 35mm prices became quite affordable. So is it time for another switch?
Digital cameras have come of age and are rapidly replacing film cameras as the camera of choice. You get the instant picture advantages of the polaroid days and the quality of the 35mm.
Digital cameras can give you photographic prints of high quality … digital photos have exceptional clarity and vibrant colors. Even a novice can produce professional quality pictures. And digital is much more forgiving than film.
Using simple photo editing software you can remove red-eye with a few mouse clicks, crop out unwanted background items, or adjust color and contrast to produce a truly outstanding photograph. Traditional film-based alternatives do not allow for this kind of photo correction unless you are a darkroom wizard or scan your film into digital images.
Another advantage that digital photography offers is greater efficiency. When you take a photo with film, you are committed to each and every shot. Each shot uses a frame of film. When you develop the film, you pay for every print, even the bad ones.
You have probably spent money on pictures of blurred thumbs, kitchen floors and that “accidental first shot” you took while making sure the film was loaded into the camera. Digital cameras allow you to preview every shot before deciding which ones to print.
This eliminates spending money printing poor quality and error-riddled pictures. If you take a great deal of photos, or don’t like paying for useless snapshots, a digital camera can save you a lot of money.
Digital photography also allows for far greater flexibility in use. Digital photographs are far more portable than traditional snapshots. You can share them with friends and relatives instantly via email. You can post them online to be shared with others, too. Digital photographers don’t worry about writing “Photos: Do Not Bend” on envelopes and hoping their photos arrive undamaged.
And digital photos allow for additional storage opportunities. A photo album is great for your old Polaroids, but what happens if it is misplaced or damaged? Digital photos can be safely stored on CD-roms or online, where they will always be immediately available for viewing and/or printing.
The graphics files of your digital photographs can be easily converted to other uses also. You can transform them into T-shirt iron-ons, put them on coffee mugs and create other novelty items using inexpensive photo software.
Considering the potential long-term cost savings and the greater flexibility offered by digital photography along with the improved picture quality the cameras offer, it becomes clear that anyone interested in taking photos should make the switch. It may be hard to put aside that old camera but there’s no reason to continue snapping film-based pictures and being disappointed with the results.
With a digital camera you can produce excellent photos. And if you don’t, then you won’t need to buy them or keep them. If you haven’t already switched to digital photography, there’s no better time than now. The advantages to digital photography are simply too overwhelming to ignore.
Here’s to better photography…
Al Hannigan
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