bestphotolessons

(Note: on the old server this forum was at, this message was posted by blue_hat.)

I just got an old Canon AE 1 Program camera as a gift, and frankly - it's one of the best gifts I've gotten in a while, I love the idea photography a lot but yeah digital is taking over and all, I do have a couple of digital cameras at my disposal and I love the quality of regular print so, Which do you think is better?

(And; My original response.)

I certainly have a fondness for film and have shots 1000s of meters of it in my time.

I personally like to shoot my digital more because I can find out right away if I'm close to having a good shot. I did a product shot of a pocket knife a while back and my first idea for it didn't turn out very well. Had I been shooting film it would have been three days before I knew I blew it. With the digital I knew right away and changed the whole set up getting a shot I liked. You could do that with a polaroid back on a medium format camera - but would go through five or ten dollars worth every time just trying different set ups and lighting (I know - I used to.)

I also like that my digital (Fuji s2Pro) has better resolution than 35mm film and even better than medium format print film. (Transparencies from my Hasleblad were amazingly nice though.)

The actual answer to the question of which is better depends on what you're doing with it and exactly what you're comparing. If you're using a 4MP point and shoot, comparing the photos to transparencies from a 'blad is a bit unfair. Just like comparing shots from a Canon 5D (12MP) digital SLR to a "disposable" film camera.

I'd rather shoot a 6MP dSLR than an equivalent film SLR, and I'd rather shoot an 8MP point and shoot than a film point and shoot.

And sometimes, it is the camera you wouldn't expect would be the right one for a particular shot - depending on the feel and look you're going for.

And sometimes, I'd love to have an 8x10 field camera (negatives that are 8x10 inches) and do b/w contact prints of mountains, rivers and forests.

So blue_hat, what kind of shooting do you mostly do?

(blue_hat, hope you come back and post some more)