burkphoto wrote:
I helped guide a pro portrait lab through the transition from film to digital. Having made that journey, I am convinced by the entirety of it that I need never use film again.
The best recent full frame digital cameras are better than most 120 film when that film is exposed to 6x4.5 cm images. Only a handful of specialty films can resolve more, until you get up to 9x6cm, 4"x5", and larger films.
It used to be that most of us dreaded making any prints larger than about 11x14 from medium and high speed (ISO 125 and 400) 35mm films. These days, even lowly Micro 4/3 cameras generate very nice images at ISO 800 that are acceptable at 16x20. APS-C bumps that up by 2/3 to 1 stop, and full frame by another stop for roughly equivalent image quality.
There are so many advantages to digital imaging that we never had with film, I can't list them all.
For all but THE most critical uses, digital cameras are — or can be — better than film.
If you're a film photographer, that's fine. Many still enjoy the processing and printing, and the care and thought that goes into full manual exposure. I used film for 40 years. I made B&W and color prints, slides and transparencies, and processed it all. But we live in a different world now, one which travels at the speed of light. My Lumix camera WiFi can send images to my iPhone, for immediate tweaking and upload to the Internet. The same camera I use for stills can capture stunning 4K video with great audio from external audio sources. And it's smaller than my Nikon F3.
Does digital imaging take a lot of getting used to, with a long, steep learning curve? Oh, HELL yes! But it's sort of like scratching through a brick wall with your fingernails, or learning a computer. Once you break through that wall, once you know what you're doing, you're in this giant toy store with all the coolest things you could ever want to play with!
Just a reality check... Here's a list of the things you'll need to do digital photography right:
dSLR or MILC/DSLC/EVIL camera and lens(es)
Fast computer (Mac or Windows) (dual or quad core, fast video, 8 to 16 GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, more resources would be better)
Really good monitor (not a laptop monitor!) (at least 1920x1080 pixel resolution)
Real, hardware-and-software monitor calibration kit (from DataColor or X-Rite)
Software such as Adobe Photographer Bundle (Lightroom Classic CC, Photoshop CC, Bridge, ACR...) or Affinity Photo or Capture One Pro, or Photoshop Elements or...)
Relationship with a good pro lab OR a photo quality inkjet printer, OEM ink, and inkjet photo papers with ICC profiles
TRAINING AND EDUCATION AND TENACITY AND PATIENCE
EXPERIENCE
Fortunately, practically everything you knew/know about film photography has a matching counterpart in digital photography. The physics of light have not changed!
I helped guide a pro portrait lab through the tran... (
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Fantastic answer, very comprehensive, and none of the "my way or the highway bias". I have been shooting for 58 years, amateur and semi-pro, and I learned something. Very glad you are a hog.
Mark P.