What's better....digital cameras or non digital for photography use (professional/amateur)?

Question

I am going to be starting school next year for photography and wanted to find one for myself that I could get started using and learning with......but will last a long time.

Answer 1

Years ago when I studied photography, the the most common camara was the standard Single Lens Reflex. If you want to learn the science of photography,I believe that by using a manual camera you will force yourself to learn the fundamentals of lighting and contrast ratios that often get overlooked when using an automatic camerea that does all the work for you.

About 20 years ago, the Nikon F2A was the standard in professional field photography.Stepping back 20 years from a digital SLR to the Nikon F2A, you lose the following:

1) low-contrast low-sharpness slow cheap zoom lenses; I used a Nikkor 50/1.4 on the F2A, allowing me to take pictures in light that is 1/8th as bright as the light required by a modern yuppie with his f/4 zoom. 2)surprises at the photo lab; the F2A shows you 100% of the image in the viewfinder and has a convenient depth of field preview button, 3) the fun of getting down on your stomach for wasit-level composition (for low-angle shots; the F2A lets you have a choice of viewfinders for different kinds of work/metering).
4)vibration from mirror slap; the F2A has a mirror lock-up button,
5)the terror of running out of battery power; except for the meter, the F2A will function perfectly without batteries.

Well, you get the idea. The F2A has a lot of useful features that most modern cameras do not have. There are some who think it is the best camera that Nikon ever made.

Don't get me wrong, modern digital photography is great, and has tremendous advantages, just as the word processor has advantages over the pencil. My four year old boy is learning to write, and the tool of choice... well, goes without saying.

BTW, you can pick up an F2A in mint condition for less than a couple hundred bucks.
--John

Answer 2

As much as I've been using digital since the first consumer ones (Casio QV10) came out, I was a film die-hard until I finally cracked and bought a DSLR about 18 months ago. I'm a convert. I kept the old camera, but I probably haven't used in in about a year.
My argument for film was always about megapixels: a 400 ISO film is about 19 megapixels and 200 ISO is about 27 megapixels. But with digital, you have so many more options.
As a learning tool, you can't beat digital. I used to shoot a ton of experimental shots to see what worked and what didn't. With digital, you can see the results, re-shoot, delete, etc.
I think you're going to be left behind in the dust if you buy film, so I'd definitely recommend digital.
My recommendation as a "starter" camera is either a Nikon D80 or Canon Rebel XTi. If it's a serious camera school you're going to, you'll probably run into the Canon vs Nikon debate. Both cameras are great (and will last a long time) and are priced in about the same range ($1,000 for the camera, plus lenses), and you can take great pictures with either of them.
My opinion, and it's only my opinion, is that Canon builds technicians' cameras; Nikon builds photographers' cameras.

Answer 3

Digital is best for both amateur and pro. It lets you learn quickly as well as leting you select iso without changing films. It is also a lot easier to store and backup digital files than all of the negatives. Also you won't be spending so much money on wasted film when you decide to experiment with exposures and other variables or just all those pictures that didn't quite turn out right. You can also save massive amounts on the memory cards so you won't have to spend time rewinding the film and puting new in and you will never accidentally send a blank roll of film to get processed since you just plug in the card and see whats there. Digital also has a wider light sensitivity range than film. It also is a heck of a lot easier to edit. Several times I've taken a picture that on film I would have thrown out but with digital I can make it work like taking pictures with powerlines in the way. A few minutes in photoshop and those powerlines are gone.
With the higher megapixel ratings of today there is also no loss in quality. Even my old 3.2mp camera could do good 8x10 enlargements and with 8mp I can now crop 70% of picture out and still get a good 8x10.
Well good luck with your photography!

Answer 4

It depends on what you can afford. If you're serious about photography you're going to want an SLR, and if you can afford a digital one, the instant feedback will help you learn much faster. If you don't have ~$600 to drop on an entry level starter kit (camera back plus a somewhat cheap lens), a 35mm SLR is going to be better than a pocket-size digital toy, especially now that the cost of high-end lenses is dropping due to decreased demand. Most experts agree that it takes between 8 and 12 megapixels to equal the quality of 35mm film. Some of the toy cameras--especially the ones with full manual control of the settings--will take very good pictures, but they simply don't have precise control of things like focus or depth of field, and they certainly don't have the ability to use high ISO settings without adding serious noise to the picture.

In the movie "City of God," they point out that to be an expert at something, you have to start out at the bottom. I began my photography career using gas-station disposable cameras, and didn't upgrade until I understood the limitations of those. I got a better camera, learned how to use it, and upgraded again as I came to see all the things the new camera couldn't do.

Anyway, the link below is to a very good camera review site, and they have some good tutorials explaining why a clean image at high ISOs is important and other things. Good luck!

Answer 5

All of the major brands perform about the same in reality, but that doesn't mean they are all equal. The main reason to choose one of the main two brands (Canon and Nikon) is that they have a huge range of lenses and accessories available for them, at a wide range of prices, and from a wide range of suppliers. It's also easy to rent equipment for them. If you choose a smaller brand, you're limited to their smaller product line, and there is a real risk that they could go out of business, particularly considering the sea-change happening in the industry because of digital SLRs. On a side note, Nikon will cease film camera production in the near future. This is probably because digital can take almost identical quality pictures at the 35mm level, and anyone demanding higher quality is probably using a medium or large format camera anyway. If you want to go cheap, consider a used film camera, which should take very nice pictures for little money. The canon EOS Elan series can be picked up for not much money at all. Just remember that you want to consider future compatibility with any cameras you might buy. Most people stick with one camera maker because they've invested so much money in lenses which can last a lifetime, but change camera bodies as they wear out. Also, consider a D-SLR if you don't already have one, simply because you'll save so much money on film and developing. While I want a film option, I'll likely go with medium or large format.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

1

Answer 8

digital

Answer 9

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Answer 10

digital if you have a computer.