Going Digital – Part 2
Making the switch to digital can be anywhere from simply buying a another appliance to be being emotionally traumatic depending on your circumstances. For me – it was traumatic!
Most of the people I new, simply traded in their film camera bodies for a digital body and continued to use their existing lenses which were compatible. Of course, I’m now talking about SLR’s (Single Lens Reflex) Cameras. Those who had Nikon, bought Nikon digital bodies, and those who had Canon, bought Canon digital bodies. In my case, I had a whole slew of Minolta Equipment and Minolta had somehow failed to see the future. This meant that I had to trade in everything and start afresh. The emotional part was – I had two very excellent film cameras, cameras that I had at one time in my career, I only dreamed of owning, and now I was contemplating selling both of them to pursue a whole knew technology which I knew so little about.
At events, I talked to every photographer I could corner, and asked as many questions as I could. I even listened to the Nay Sayers – who claimed film was pure – film was good, and I respected their opinions, but I was still getting a clear view of the future. I remembered back when colour film was considered a gimmick – a fad that would go as quickly as it came. And so it came to pass – I made the switch – took the leap of faith. Let me tell you this – I have never looked back.
There is absolutely nothing I could do with film that I cannot do better with digital.
Now having said that, I just want to touch on something important – if you are going to some remote area to take photographs, think carefully. A digital camera is basically a single minded computer, and computers need power. Film cameras on the other hand are mechanical devices that do not need power. So if in your assignment, it is necessary for you to swim across oceans, trek across mountain ranges, and hire guides to lead you through a remote rainforest to a place where you can photograph the last two members of a near extinct species of tree frog during their mating ritual, a dead battery may ruin the moment – yours, not their’s. Think wisely.
Side Benefits
When I think of the money involved in switching to digital – in the first year the cost savings alone paid for the investment, and again in the second year, and again in the third year, and will do so again this year. That’s just the financial side – there were side benefits.
I never expected this, but my photography improved noticeably. In hindsight, there were a couple of reasons for this -
- Firstly, I now take a lot more pictures. Taking more pictures is not necessarily going to improve things if all you do is take more pictures, but I found, I am now able to experiment more without having to worry about the cost. It’s like going on an “all inclusive holiday” and being able to relax because everything had been paid for up front. Just as you can’t relax while budgeting your daily spending while on holiday, you can’t learn if you are always worrying about the accumulating cost of film and developing.
- Secondly, when I used film I would take test shots and write notes. When I got the prints back, I’d look at the test shot and despite the detailed notes, the motivation had long gone and I was left wonder what it was I was really trying to discover. Now, I can take a shot, watch it come up on the screen of my laptop and see straight away the effect of my experiment. I can then adjust whatever needs to be adjusted, and try again. Even in the field, I can recall the test shot on the view screen.
Another side benefit is – one thin CD can hold a lot of images – pictures that would normally take up a lot of storage space. I had never given this much in the way of thought at the time I was contemplating switching to digital photography, but now that I have down-sized to a small apartment, every bit of space saved is a godsend.
We all have our reasons to stay with film or to move onto digital. I hope my experiences will help you make the right decision for you.