Where can you develop good quality digital pictures?

Question

I am a film camera lover and have been trying to get "with it" and get a digital camera, but every time I see my friends' digital pictures, compared to my film ones, I am not convinced ( they usually use snapfish ). They seem totally happy with thier mediocre pictures, but I have really high standards when it comes to quality. Is there such a thing as a perfect digital picture?

Answer 1

I am a photo lab manager, so I see lots of prints, both film (printed on an analog optical printer) and digital (printed on dye-sub printers, we have 3 different ones in my lab)

I believe it is harder to get a great digital print than it is to get a great film print, assuming the cameras are comparable in quality

With film, there is more exposure latitude, a greater range from light to dark that can be captured. I constantly see blown highlights from point & shoot digicams. Digital capture also depends on white balance control, which many people don't understand or maybe even have never heard of.

Also, 800 speed film outperforms consumer digicam high iso in every way, except for a couple of camera models which do a pretty good job of controlling noise.

That's not to say you can't get fabulous photos from a digital camera! You just have to take control of more variables. Professional photographers calibrate their systems, including the moniter and printer to make sure they get the right colors. You also need an image working program, such as Adobe Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, or Adobe Elements to make sure you get the most out of your images.

There are many other online printers. Try M-pix or Shutterfly. The same place you get your film printed probably has digital services as well. Or you can set up your own system at home. Inkjet printers produce stunning, archival prints now that rival anything from a pro lab. Or you can get a 4x6 printer if you want album sized prints.

I am also a film shooter, but I enjoy digital as well. In fact, I find my film percentage is shrinking and I now shoot more digital than film. At this point, there is no reason not to use and enjoy either or both. But that is changing daily. Film and processing is a rapidly shrinking market. Film labs are converting to digital or leaving the business. Film itself is getting harder to find. In my lab, the film counter has shrunk from 6+ feet, not including the disposable cameras, to a 3 foot section, which includes the disposables and accessories.

My suggestion: Continue using film, if you like it. But get yourself a nice (prosumer or high end) digicam and start wading into digital photography. Or you can jump fully into digital, and get a dslr. Every camera manufacturer has a nice entry level dslr, and many would work with any lenses you may already have. You might find you like having total control over your prints from start to finish!

Good luck!

Answer 2

My local drug store (walgreens) does the job for me. I can even pick it up in an hour or two after I sent over my picture files. The key is to have a good photo taken just like film camera. Mega Pixel is somewhat important but if you are using a newer model (2005 or later), the Mega Pixel count should be good enough to have a good print. Other than the benefits mentioned above, some of the benefit of using digital are:

You can check and re-take the picture on the spot as needed without worrying wasting film and develop unwanted picture.

You will never have to buy film again and print only the one you want to print.

If you take a lots of pictures, it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Answer 3

You cannot get the same results twice, unless you are printing back to back.
Film variables...company of film, lot number, speed, age, photo paper, processing chemicals, exposures, camera, user
digital variables...processing machine, printer, ink quality, age, photo paper, camera, user

is there a thing as a perfect digital picture? No, same answer as to perfect film picture. What you think is perfect might ot be same for me. You yourself can determine the perfect picture if you do everything yourself. If you are a perfectionist, then nothing you do will be perfect.

Answer 4

You develop them with software on your own PC. That is the whole point. You have control of the quality and you can even adjust for things like red eye, soft focus, skin tone, sharpness, light etc via the software. You also can choose your preferred photo paper quality, surface and what printer you use.

The only control you have with film is in your camera technique but with digital you have that plus control of every part of the production right to the finished photo.

Answer 5

There is a thing as a perfect digital picture... I recommend using a home photo printer for anything like a 4x6 otherwise just go to your local photo store... they can normally point you in the right direction... just make sure your camera has enough megapixils otherwise they will all be way too grainy.

Answer 6

purely movie desires coming up, digital information are waiting to flow. if you're utilizing the low priced image labs that you locate on the internet then what do you anticipate? come across a specialist Printing Lab, the single i exploit assure the prints received't fade or discolour in any respect in favour of a minimum of 40 years and are stunning high quality, yet I even ought to (fortunately) pay a real price for such high quality. an similar utilized to prints from movie by how. Chris

Answer 7

My sister-in-law just got a lot of prints back from snapfish and they were excellent quality. I was quite surprised. I would definitely use snapfish.com if I had a good quality digital camera that took good quality pictures.