Film Versus Digital Photography

We are now at the point where film has become almost completely obsolete. However, film had some advantages over digital photography that are perhaps not completely understood. In this article, I will discuss the differences between film and digital photography.

Resolution

With digital photography, we are used to thinking of digital images in terms of the number of pixels that they are in dimensions. For instance, a particular image might be 900×440 pixels. This is because digital photography works by having specific color values for each of the pixels in a large shape. Note, however, that, at the end of the day, a digital picture is made of a collection of atomic pixels, each of which is square and made of exactly one color.

On the other hand, film does not have pixellation. Rather, the image includes shapes that approximate the way in which the light hit the negative. In other words, film is capable of including curves. At the end of the day, a pixellated image will be a series of steps approximating a curve, while a photographic image allows for true curves. This is not to say that a filmed image has higher resolution than a digital image; it is simply that the concept of pixellation doesn’t apply.

Image Production

One of the interesting things about film is that the final picture is actually the result of two separate photochemical processes. First, the light affects the negative, imprinting an image. Then, the light is shone on the film paper, causing the final image. This has the odd effect that there are actually two places where film production can go wrong. On the one hand, there can be a problem with the original production on the negative. On the other hand, however, the paper itself may age or decay.

This has important results for film restoration. Often, restorers do not have access to the negative of the film or picture. Therefore, the image that they produce is literally the copy of a copy of a copy. However, when restorers have access to the original negatives, they will be able to produce much higher quality restorations, as the negatives have the image of which the picture is only a picture.

Digital photography, too, can go wrong in two places. First, it can go wrong in the actual creation of the digital file. The image will only every have as high resolution as that original file, though it can ultimately be reduced. Second, it can go wrong in the printing of the file. Many people take high quality digital photographs and then print them off using a lower quality printer. As a result, the overall image quality is compromised.

Film and digital photography have some rather important similarities and differences.

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