Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

Well, yes and no.
If you're specifically referring to 8x10 wet plate, then yes.
Or maybe that landscape guy using a 4x5 for 20 minutes hoping the wind don't blow at 5am.
Where/when the shot you took is the shock you got,
As I've often said, I'm not just taking pictures, I'm making memories.
I can cut and crop, blur, fade or decolor some of the "unwanted" parts.
I can also reaaly eff things up if I desire.
A fave nieces wedding- party as werewolves and vampires, zombies, cyborgs, etc.
Every year, for their anniversary.

If you're specifically referring to the shot you took is the shock you got, then yes.
I used to use an ammo bag - with a divider. to separate used casings from shells, for film.
A day at RenFaire might mean a dozen "minimum" rolls. Then I borrowed a 6mp Canon.
Renfaire, Ren wedding, and long reception,
I took over 600 pictures. No reloading film, just one extra battery. I was hooked.

If you're specifically referring to the standard two identical and one extra body, seven lenses, then yes.
I started divesting my old film cameras, and I kept my Nikons. Might fit in a D150 bed.
My old walking goto was a 70-210 and a Pentacon6 90 with an adapter.
Have you seen- amd felt- the size and weight of an 18-200, or a 28-300? With vr!
ONE lens and a dslr could do almost anything almost everyone wanted to do.

If you're specifically referring to an Elmer Fudd with a camera on a strap,, then yes.
The "young folks" don't want to be bothered.
Have you seen the pictures the phones have taken the last couple of years?
OK, they may not be suitable (yet!) for 14x20s. So what?!?! They may get 4x6s.
Mostly just shared their shots with other phones, social media and some PCs.
Many of us complain of the unwanted attention we get with a "pro looking" camera in public.
News bites even show "Freedom!" groups targeting cameras on tripods.
Whip out a phone and it's not an issue. No problem.

Just evolution. We may someday complain of the plug in our neck recording for us.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Very good point. Regardless, we measure our lives in coffee spoons.

ELNikkor

I also shot film until 2006, and have hardly gone back since. But, I shoot digital much like I did film. 99% single frame, spot focus, neutral, natural daylight, ISO 200. If I modify in post, it is usually only bringing up the shadows, or adjusting contrast, & cropping. (Now that I have Topaz, I use sharpen on some.)

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Art is a major distraction from the technology of photography.

ScottWardwell Loc: Maine

I became aware of digital in 1999 with the introduction of the Nikon D1 and D100 at a Nikon School event in Boston. During a break in the program, I went out into the lobby where a couple of Nikon reps were displaying them and giving people a chance to handle them. The thing that took my breath away was the price. It was way more than I thought I would ever be able to afford and I just dialed back my expectations and stayed pat with film.
It wasn't until 2007 that my wife's department at the University retired their D995 and I got it. A year later I bought a refurbished D70s for about $400 which I mated with my Nikkor AF lenses being used on my N80. Today I shoot with a D850 which I paid full retail for. A price point that back in 1999, made me sick to my stomach.

Nosaj Loc: Sarasota, Florida

Bingo! Photography is technology-based. If someone wants techno-art, they only need to download some clip art and photoshop the hell out of it!

Nosaj Loc: Sarasota, Florida

One of the most common DSLRs I now see on camera for-sale lists is the Nikon 850, with the Canon 5D not far behind. Big, heavy, lenses are starting to be sold off in larger numbers. Cell phone with enhanced cameras and more compact mirrorless cameras are gaining higher sales than they had a few years ago.

bruswen Loc: Eugene OR

This sounds remarkably like a person seeing their first impressionist painting and declaring that this is not a painting. I think photography is a form of art and art is a personal interpretation of what the artist sees. There is room under that umbrella for each artist’s personal expression. Like painting, I like what I like, but I wouldn’t denounce another artist’s style as not meeting my standard for art.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Perception...

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Capturing an image has been made easier. Making a good photo still requires a creative eye.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

A good photo really only needs 30MP, or a mirrorless camera, whichever is easier.

petrochemist Loc: UK

Except the question was 'saviour or destruction' digital has been neither.
It has made photography much more available & common place (hardly destruction), but if there was no digital analogue techniques would still be in widespread use for snapshots as well as higher grade photography (so not a saviour).

Digital processing has allowed easy & extensive alteration of digital images, sometimes this creates great art & sometimes its nearer to making a silk purse into a sow's ear (usually not as extreme of course).

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yup, everyone sees different attributes and detriments.
Some agree, some don't.

srt101fan

Good words as usual, Ed. Got me thinking about photographers and their creations. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Ed, but weren't there "professional printers" during the old film days? I mean darkroom pros, superb craftsmen, who printed for pro photographers who didn't have the time or inclination to print their own photos? I seem to remember reading that W. Eugene Smith, for example, would have a printer do at least some of his images (he knew the printer well and knew that he would produce final images to his liking).

I don't know how this fits in with the OP's topic, but to me its another example of how vast, complex, and ramified the field known as "photography" is. And how useless and counter-productive it is to generalize and pigeonhole our photographic endeavours. If done well, it's all good stuff and fun regardless of technologies used.