Question to anyone who's a photographer...?

Question

In this day and age, is there any real value in learning photography with a film camera, or should I just learn with a digital SLR from the outset?

Answer 1

Only a small part of taking a photograph is associated with the storage medium (film or digital card). Composition, lighting, depth of field, timing, contrast, texture, and colour all have a more important part to play.

The benefit of digital over film is that while you are learning these essential skills you can view the results immediately rather than wait for the pictures to be developed. Furthermore the digital card can be wiped again and again giving you in a lower cost per shot. If you go the analogue route you will spend allot of money on film stock whilst you hone your skills in the areas stated above.

However a digital SLR camera is going to cost you more to buy and some great bargins can be had now with second hand film SLR cameras as most people are swapping them for digital and the second hand market is swamped.

To summarise, if you have access to cheap film stock and a darkroom, go for film, otherwise go for digital.

Answer 2

Pianojono is referring to the delay factor, a big problem with all fixed-mount digital cameras- even expensive ones like the Fuji S9500 or Nikon Coolpix 8700, but not digital SLRs (which have no delay)

The concepts of exposure and composition are the same, but I'd still start with a manual film camera. You can open up a film camera and see how stuff inside works- you can hold down the shutter button at the 2 second setting and see the results, maybe on the bulb setting and play with the aperture- you can see what the film advance lever and other mechanisms do. Digital cameras will suffer from dust getting on the sensor if try these same exercises, and you don't get quite the same insights from examining a bunch of plastic and electronics.

The big advantage of digital is seeing what your results are right away.

Answer 3

Learning to use a film camera will help you understand the values of exposure far better than digital.

You will also learn (very fast) composition as film is expensive. personally if you can try both, film for when you are really in the learning mood and digital to take everywhere. It's so tempting just to snap away with a digital and never learn a thing.

Get hold of some John Hedgecoe photography books for beginners and he will take you through everything you need to know, don't buy them most libraries have them.

Answer 4

I would have to say go with the digital camera. The skills that you will learn making images can be found in both the film and digital worlds. However, the best learning tool I know of is feedback. The time between the making of the image on film and the developed result can take hours, even days sometimes. Learning how to print B&W or color images is a great talent to have but it will soon pass into the world of specialty talents with a very limited clientel. With digital the photographer can see in a few seconds if they captured the image they were attempting. Digital also removes one of the biggest drawbacks to photography and that is developing and printing costs. If you shoot rolls of 24 or 36 images you will pay a fee for the developing and a per print cost on top of that. (Yes, you will also pay per print in digital but you can self-edit those down to a few) Some places let you reject the prints you don't want but I don't consider this a great teaching method. If you learn how to read the histogram you'll learn proper exposure. And the ability to correct mistakes in the computer is the natural progression of the skill set. Sure, I started doing B&W at 14 and taught myself color printing and color slide shooting but I wouldn't go back. I recently printed several 24x24 B&W prints. From start to finish (not including dry time for the fiber based paper) it took an average of three hours per print. That includes and lot of chemicals, water, and special equipment. Now I have much better control of the process and more important, repeatability. The ability to attain predictable results is the mark of a professional. To know what you are going to get in-camera is a great mental relief. With film you don't know if you screwed up until it's too late. Digital removes one of the greatest headaches of photography. (Digital photography does create a new set of headaches.....color space, printer calibration, battery power requirements....ect, but you still have the image and the ability to create the end result you see in your mind's eye.)

Answer 5

If you're really serious about your photography, I recommend you start with an SLR and ordinary film. The time it takes to get a film processes these days is negligible, and often no bad thing as you've time to sweat about your results. Also, your results are there in hard-copy, and you can study them to see what could be improved, etc., and the added edge of the financial penalty for making a mistake encourages you not to make any.
Once you're quite happy with your technique, then you can experiment with monochrome, (black-and-white), then, and you simply MUST do this, go on to slides. There's nothing like having the thrill of a superbly taken Kodachrome 64 projected onto a screen. Digital still can't touch it.
Then, if you so desire you can graduate to digital. All the skills you honed on film will stand you in good stead, because digital may, or even should, be treated in the same way - it's much more convenient and you'll have far greater understanding of the image-making process.

Answer 6

Digital photography is easy and almost to a point and shoot stage. I suggest you use film first and progress to digital photography. Using film will force you to learn to "See" light and how to capture it correctly, wihtout the aid of photoshop and such. When you to learn how to do this and when you make the step to all digital you'll have the basics down pat and be able to use that to make better digital images. As a photographer we capture light to tell a story, with either 1 image or a series to tell a story. Learn how to be photographer correctly, since film and slide is a lot more unforgiving than digital, it'll make you see your mistakes and force you to correct them in the camera instead of the computer, do this and you'll be a better photog for it. Either way you decide to go Good Luck and Happy Shooting!

Answer 7

its a preference. Film is so much more complex and natural, which I love. Digital, I'm trying not to get into. I remember the days we held a photo and looked at it, now we stream by a few 100 images and barely take notice...digital. It's artificial...yet many people create great pictures using digital. It's a preference. I would say start with the beginning...how photog started...film. Then work your way up. It's how it's taught in schools too. You will find your niche in photog. Try both.

Answer 8

If you want to know everything about photography, start with a film camera and progress to the digital.
A bit like knowing how to drive a manual car and an automatic. You' d be surprised how many people cannot drive a manual. Think about it.

Answer 9

do it the traditional way,... because with an traditional film camera you can use your skills much better. normally if you want to learn something you read about it first.. and with a camera you can easier try to realise it. like the different kinds of iso oder the use of a flash.. and so on..
its much more fun..

i love the normal pictures.

okay digitals are faster and you´ll see what you have taken at the moment.. but wheres the surprise? :)

if you only want to make holiday-picture.. use a digital

Answer 10

I believe that you will have a greater appreciation of photography if you first learn the wet process before going to the digital process. Digital is almost the easy way out.