14 DAY TRIAL // Ladies and gentlemen, straight from the darkroom, Softpedia is proud to present the fight of the century. In the left corner, wearing CCD and CMOS sensors and fast memory cards, the digital cameras, and in the right corner, with 100 years of experience and at the end of the road (some say), the analogue camera.
We remind you that this game started in 1986, when Kodak launched the first digital camera which had 1MP. In the beginning, digital didn't stand a chance against film, the quality of the images obtained on the latter being much better. But the digital recovered from the devastating blows, such as the huge price paid for such a camera and the print quality, and managed through repeated uppercuts, impressive technological progresses, to scar the film.
And here they are in the last round, fighting to the death. Digital delivers a deadly strike and dismembers two film producers (Nikon and Konica Minolta), pushing it into the ropes. An amazing show, ladies and gentlemen, here on Softpedia's boxing ring. We'll take a short commercial break and we'll be right back.
Ok, now that everybody is relaxed and hopefully amused, let's get serious for a moment and analyze this conflict, which has become a favorite topic for magazines and websites alike.
First of all, let's get one thing straight. Film is dying and it will soon become a rare bird, but this shouldn't come as a shock, since it's the natural technological evolution.
Think for a moment about the evolution of music storage solutions. The first device were the gramophone, followed by the turntable, all of these with discs (vinyls); they were followed by the magnetic tape devices: tape recorders and cassette recorders, replaced by the optical ones, CDs and DVDs.
It's obvious that photographic films will share that same fate as the vinyls and cassettes, which means that they will become rare commodities and that they will be used by a small number of enthusiasts. They will continue to say that the fidelity of digital reproductions doesn't match the film's.
The same way in which the vinyl has a certain sound warmness and a feeling that will never be shared by the CD or DVD, so does film has a certain special touch and it's likely it will continue to be among us for a long time, and some producers might even come up with some new models of cameras.
Obviously, digital technology is a huge leap for professional photographers and even for those who want to learn how to take quality photos.
Still, this evolution hasn't led to a substantial increase in quality, and I'm talking of course about the amateur segment. The digital camera can considerably shorten the time necessary to learn photography. Unfortunately, most users don't even try to improve their knowledge in this field.
It's interesting to note that some spend impressive sums of money on cameras packed with features, such as top-notch metering systems, high-end start-up times and shutter release lags, decreased noise, in other words, veritable technological jewels.
The result? Photos with cats, dogs and other apartment pets, awful macros of flowers and bugs, portraits burned by the flash held too close. The cameras are kept on Auto, and the only effort the photographer makes is to press the shutter release button. I don't even dare to talk about composition, the subject being way too complex (so complex that many don't even think about it).
If you take into account the millions of photos made in this manner and you combine them with the generosity of the Internet sites willing to put them on their servers, you get billions of poor pictures crowding the cyber space.
And now think about film cameras. How many people afforded to throw hundreds of dollars on film rolls and developing so that they would get lousy images?
On film, before pressing the shutter release button, the person behind the camera has to consider all the factors involved: composition, correct exposure and focusing, film type, otherwise he has just wasted his money.
The recent acquisition of a digital camera has allowed me to learn about photography much faster than if I had stayed on film. But this learning process cannot take place if all the decisions are left to the camera, and the only effort the photographer makes is to press the shutter release button. Under these circumstances, you can take thousands of photos, their quality will not improve.
From this perspective, I feel sorry for the defeat suffered by film, and one of the main reason is that digital has a tendency of making people stop thinking a photograph, their only concern being to press the button>.
