In the age of digital photography, why use film?

I'm an aspiring photographer, and I primarily use a 35mm film camera. People I know often ask me why. During a highly technological age, in which a digital SLR camera can be used to create high resolution images in large formats, and show the results instantaneously, why do I prefer to use an "outdated" piece of equipment?

__Image quality__
Film cameras generally pick up colors and details better than the sensors of digital cameras. The colors are more vivid, and the details more crisp. There's also a classic feel to it, but maybe that's just me.

__Situational benefits__
Let's conceptualize a brightness scale. This scale ranges from complete black darkness to complete white light. Within that scale, the ranges in which a digital camera works well, is very narrow. Too dark, and you get noise. Noise is the aberrations of inexplicable dots of colors that shouldn't be there, created by the digital camera in a seemingly haphazard manner. Too bright, and you get purple fringing. Look closely at any pictures you've taken in a situation that was very bright, and you will probably see purple fringes around the edges of anything that borders the lightest areas. Also, on both sides of the scale, the digital camera's sensors don't pick up as much detail as a traditional film camera. If it's dark, the dark areas will quickly transition to black; whereas bright areas will quickly transition to white. This is a problem for anybody concerned with details, because where there were slight gradations in color within the actual image, the digital camera has translated that to a simple black or white.

The film camera isn't as susceptible to these problems, and there's a larger range of brightness values in which it can properly function. Film cameras can work well in brighter or darker situations, and with less noise or fringing. For this reason, film is the obvious choice for night photography. I am especially fond of chasing lightning storms, in hopes of catching a shot of lightning. The details that can be picked up by film in these dark situations far surpasses the capabilities of a digital camera.

__Image size__
I like to print big. Someday, I want to create massive posters from the best images that I have captured. You may think that digital boasts greater print output sizes than film. But digital film scanners can scan the negative of an image into digital form, into file sizes that make your 10 megapixel image look tiny.

__Manual focus__
It could just be the digital camera I have, and some of the ones I've tried out, but the manual focusing ring isn't as precise as I want it to be. Sometimes slight turns aren't registered, and sometimes the turns change the focusing distance too dramatically. The manual focusing mechanism on my film SLR is much more reliable.

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Now you must be wondering: "If the image quality, functional range, and potential image size of film photography is so much better, why would anybody use digital cameras?"

__Convenience__
Instant feedback: A digital camera will show you your image right after it is taken. You know whether it was a good or bad image a few moments after you press the shutter. Instant feedback. Is it blurry? Was it framed well? Did something unexpected move into the composition? Did somebody blink? If you see something that you don't like, you know whether or not to take another shot. With film, you must take the film to be developed. For most situations, by the time you see the results, it's too late to do a reshoot. You have a great image, or you don't. No redo.

Unlimited ammo: Another convenience of the digital camera is the fact that you can take as many pictures as you want, until your memory storage is full. You delete what you don't like, and continue. This is useful for beginner photographers especially, because it allows for a lot of practice without worry. There is no financial penalty for wasted shots.

No reloading: There is also the obvious convenience of not having to stop after every set amount of shots to change film. Sometimes a change of film can mean a missed opportunity.

ISO change: Digital cameras can easily switch ISO settings between each picture. However, film is sold according to ISO numbers. If you have an 800 ISO film loaded, and you actually wanted to shoot an image in 200 ISO, too bad. You either finish off the film then switch to what you want to shoot with, or push the button that will rewind the film. Either way wastes however many frames you still have remaining. And each frame is money.

White balance change: Digital cameras can also change white balance settings with ease. Most film is daylight balanced, and other types of lighting would require specialty film to produce the correct colors on the film.

Compact and portable: And if we're not talking strictly about digital SLR cameras, point-and-shoot digital cameras easily fit into your pocket for more convenient transport.

__Expenses__
Digital photography actually comes out to be cheaper than film photography, despite the large differential between the prices of digital SLR cameras and traditional 35mm film SLR cameras. The film and processing costs add up quickly for an active film photographer. Every shot counts, and every frame of every roll costs you something.

__Distribution__
For people that want to share their pictures easily, they think that digital cameras will allow them to share pictures via the internet faster. However, the reality is that the digital distribution of film photography images doesn't lag behind by very much. Film processing centers offer a photo cd from your roll of film, which you can then upload to your computer and send wherever you want. So what's the time differential for sharing images on the internet? A little over an hour. 1 hour photo processing.

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Those are the pros and cons of film vs digital.

It's not my intention to attack digital cameras, I just wanted to lay out a fair comparison of the two for anybody that would be interested.

I generally use my digital SLR to take test shots, and find the ideal manual settings to use. Then, from those results, I start shooting with my film camera. It's somewhat of a symbiosis. I use fully manual settings, because it gives me more control over the images I produce. Both digital and film SLRs function in the same way, aside from the exceptions I wrote about above, the mechanisms are all the same. Using a SLR camera on fully manual is probably a lot simpler than you think, and it will greatly expand what you're capable of. I'll write a hub on that another day. If I can teach 7 and 8 year old girls how to do it, I'm sure you can do it too.