Two weeks ago, I wrote the 5 Reasons How Analog Cameras are Better Than Digital Cameras, and it received some attention. Instead of raising eyebrows from the digital photography community, this article aims to balance out the argument.
There are advantages to digital photography over analog cameras; after all, we live in a digital society. For sharing images over the internet, a digital image is superior in ease and speed of use. They are also easier to capture, manage and print from, allowing you to do it from home.
5. Cheaper (after the initial cost)
Its true that you can collect an Analog camera cheaply, online or in thrift stores and even car boot sales. They are cheaper as they are older. Although they can be complex systems, their capturing medium is the photographic film you choose.
A digital camera's capturing medium (the sensor) sits at the heart of the camera body. Once you paid the initial cost, every image after that is free. You will need to pay for storage, and if you want to nitpick, the energy used in batteries). You can take 1000s of images, which would cost $100s if you took the same amount of images on film.
If you’re not looking for the most up to date sensor resolution, you can grab an entry level DSLR for around $500. That’s almost all you need.
4. Easier to Work With
A digital image captured by the cameras’ sensor is stored as a digital file. These image files are downloaded and read by your computer and editing software, such as Adobe Lightroom or Affinity Photo. These files can be taxing to get used to, especially if you own digital cameras from many brands. This is due to each company using their own extensions (.CR for Canon, .NEF for Nikon, et al). With a little research, and trial and error, you will get used to how to use and convert these files.
An analog camera will produce a negative, which is the opposite of what you are looking for. The negative needs a conversion to a positive via darkroom printing or scanning. Scanning also requires some knowledge, and even then the image isn’t quite ready. Photo editing software helps to bring your image up to the quality it deserves. But this requires yet another level of learning and practice, not to mention money. You could of course give the negatives to a company to do this for you, but at a cost.
3. Smaller Physical Storage Needed
A negative from a 35mm analog camera (called an SLR – Single Lens Reflex) is very small and very thin (3.5 cm from corner to corner), yet it has a size and a weight. A film of 36 exposures (35mm), 12/10/8 from medium format or 4/2/1 for large format will sit nicely in an A4 negative folder. After a few rolls, it starts to get heavier. After hundreds of rolls, you’re knee deep in folders that need time, organization and looking after. Plus, due to the material used, the films will last 100 years before they disintegrate. Forever. And that’s if you fixed the film correctly during its process.
Digital cameras need storage, yet it’s one you can take with you. They can sit on your computer, on a external/portable hard drive or sitting in the cloud. digital photo album Travel with hundreds of thousands of photos at no extra weight. These are images I can show to clients at a much easier and faster rate. As a digital camera produces a positive image immediately, you don't need to lug around a folder of negatives that need squinting.
2. Keeping Your Hands Clean
One of the reasons I am a practicing analog photographer is that I get my hands dirty – I get to feel the film, process it, print from it and store it. Analog photography comes with textures and smells, and it gives you a tangible product. This can be a rewarding take home (and sigh of relief) from a challenging day of shooting. Many would prefer to be in a darkroom than sitting next to a computer for hours, editing and manipulating 2D images on a screen.
But, it’s not for everyone. Few people have space for a full-fledged darkroom, or the finances that analog photography requires. A computer is all that’s needed to work on digital images, and from there, printing, or more likely, uploading to social media sites or a website. Amazing images come from the passion behind them, not the choice of tools.
1. More Options For (New) Equipment
There are a lot of analog cameras out there for sale. I am always on the verge of buying a large format analog camera to conduct masterpiece landscapes. Yet, I’m not sure I can find the lenses, or the other equipment if the item fails, locks up or gets damaged.
Equipment for digital cameras isn’t as much of a problem. They are newer, and everything is much easier to find. You wont have to scrawl through hundreds of forum groups finding an alternative piece of equipment. There are many digital camera manufacturers that make adaptable lenses, so lenses and bodies don't need to match. So, you can always find what you need if money and quality aren’t problems. Also, due to the fast advancement of digital cameras, they are being made obsolete fast. This means cheaper and more powerful models are entering the market constantly.