Digital for instant photographs or old fashioned film and waiting for them to be developed?

Question

I have just discovered photography using the old fashioned methord of film processing taking it into the shop and either having it developed in an hour or leaving it and returning to collect later on in the week.

Now digital have arrived you get instant photographs that you can enhance,change background then print off along with a million other options.
Which do you prefer slow snail pace or fast instant photograph?

My choice the snail but in time we will not have the option.

Answer 1

well i work in a photo lab. Alot of people are digital yes which is great you can still leave your memory card with shops and they will process it and alter for you, i know i do. But then again there are many people out there to who still love there 35mm spool and aps cameras. People say i am into digital can see what the point in 35mms but they forget they use throw aways camera which is 35mm.
My opinion is with both though, i perfer digital cause you dont have hassle of changing spools at an event etc.... but then again i dont mind the old way as i can still alter them for me!

The shop i work in offers hour service at the same price if you pick them up a month later that is why hour is so popular!
My view is hour service if busy doesnt get same attention as leaving for a day!

Answer 2

I am a photo lab manager, using both film and digital. There's nothing quite like the anticipation of seeing how your film pictures are going to be! Or sloshing B & W in a wet darkroom.

Digital has a bigger workflow, fun in a different way.

At my lab, our film roll volume has dropped well over 50% in the last 5 years. However, our digital output averages over 10,000 prints a month, and climbing. We have gone to 3 digital printers now, one for the lab staff, two for customer use, and two digital enlargement printers.

I hope 35mm film will be with us for some time to come. (Although even film is becoming digital in the production process. I happen to have an optical printer, using a lens, lightbulb, filters, chemistry and photographic paper, but most labs use either wet or dry digital printers now, where the film is scanned and converted to digital files before printing.)

Enjoy your film while you can!

Answer 3

For mainstream photography, digital is the future. It's cheaper on the long run, faster and lets you use your pictures in several ways, you can print as many copies as you like. You can retouch them at the computer and email them to your friends or your customers. You can take as many pics as you want without worrying how much it will cost to process them.

But, I think that there are several areas or aspects in photography. Some people just like taking snapshots of friends, family, vacations and Uncle Fred's Bday Party... For others, they want to make money... and others are just learning and see what they grow into. For this a digital is the way to go.

But also, part of photography can be art. Not any picture is artfull, but you might strive to create art with pictures. Part of the feeling or reward is to choose your medium and tools. It's not just that you want a nice picture, you want to love making that picture, and part might be doing it in a lightroom, or maybe photoshop, take your pick.

If I look it in time, digital is the way to go, it's just faster 99% of the time.

But probably I think that film is a little better in quality.

Answer 4

Oh me too. I love the total manual. Being able to set the depth of field through aperature is my favorite. I love working in the darkroom too. Something about creating a photo from rolling my own film to the end result hanging on my wall is so much fun.

Answer 5

I am all digital... even scan the prints for file... experimenting with the varieties of filters of PSCS2 is not only fun but educational...

beaux