Digital cameras are one of the best inventions of recent years, as far as I’m concerned. I’m all in favour of technology if it saves me time or effort, and if it improves on previous versions. For hobby photographers, digital cameras are considerably better than their predecessors, with the hassles of film. Here are some of the benefits of using a digital camera.
Before, when you took a bad shot, the first you knew about it was when you had the film developed. So that shot was a wasted print. And since you had a maximum of 36 pics in a film, wasting any was annoying. Now, if you don’t like a picture, you can simply delete it and take as many as you like, until you get the result you want.
I’m not a great photographer, but when I got my first digital camera I soon found that I was taking much better pictures. Before, I used to get terrible camera shake! That just doesn’t seem to happen now (and if it did, I could simply take another). Perhaps also the results are better because with the large viewer on digital cameras, you are able to frame the picture much better than before.
Imagine if you were going on a long trip – chances are that you would want to take hundreds of photos. With old cameras, you would need to take dozens of films, and have them all developed when you got back. Now, you can store hundreds of photos on just one memory chip, and share them with friends as soon as you have access to a computer.
Be honest – if you used to use cameras with film, how often did you look at the prints once you had them developed? Let’s face it – they never got to be placed in an album, but just ended up in a box, never to be seen again. Now, with digital prints, it is easier (and better) to view and share them on a computer.
This is a really great aspect of digital cameras. Before, you had no idea about the quality of what you had just taken (hence the multitude of pictures with headless subjects). Now, you can see straight away what you’ve taken, and if you don’t like it then you can try again. It’s particularly useful for important pictures like weddings or situations that won’t be repeated.
Like most technology, digital cameras get smaller, cheaper and better. Now they’re barely the size of a credit card, unlike the first models, and slip easily into a pocket or bag. Much less cumbersome than traditional cameras.
With digital cameras, you don’t need to take a film to be developed or send it off, and there’s no risk of it being lost in the post, or spoiled while being developed. Instead, you can be your own developer – and it’s so easy! In a few minutes, your pictures will be uploaded. And of course, if you want some prints, you can take the chip and print some pictures out, or order them online.
So, I think that digital cameras are a great improvement, but do you agree – or are you a film devotee?
Top Photo Credit: data.whicdn.com