Film or digital?
Who cares?
The debate has long raged in the photography press over which is best, film
or digital. Both camps have staged vociferous defences, and numerous reasons
have been put forward to justify each argument. Digital can't match the
quality of film. Film can't match the flexibility of digital. Digital is
cheaper on running costs. Film doesn't require investment in expensive gear
and a computer. And so on, and so on, and so on...
Both camps are right of course but the thing is, when all said and done,
it really doesn't matter.
When photography first became a reality, way back in 18something or other,
much wailing and gnashing of teeth no doubt occurred over the impending
death of painting as an art form. No one would want to spend days, or even
weeks, slaving over an easel when they could bang off a picture in seconds
with their new fangled camera thingy. Or so the argument went. Of course
painting is alive and well and as respected and sort after as it ever was.
Then someone had the audacity to invent colour photography! Lord preserve
us, this will be the end of black and white photography! No one will want
to waste time with boring old monochrome when they can have glorious technicolour.
Nothing could have been further from the truth of course, with black and
white maintaining an appeal alongside colour. In some circles monochrome
is even the preferred medium with many equating it with 'fine art' images.
If you put your mind to it you can repeat this debate numerous times. Large
format against medium format. Medium format against 35mm. Auto-focus against
manual focus. I'm sure you can think of others. Fast-forward to today, digital
arrives on the scene and suddenly it's the end of film etc, etc, etc. Of
course there has been shift in the market. Of course sales of film and film
cameras have fallen, as they now have to share a finite market that previously
they had a monopoly of. But all that is a long way from ringing down the
curtain on the future of film.
In my photographic career thus far I have used medium format film in a Bronica,
35mm film in a Minolta and a Nikon and currently digital, again in a Nikon.
So I think I have experience enough to compare and comment. Yes I sold all
my film gear to fund a switch to digital but that does not mean I don't
want to use film ever again. In my specific circumstances, as they are right
now, digital wins the day. But that decision was based on purely commercial
reasoning. When I have sufficient spare funds I intend to find myself another
Bronica that I can keep for purely selfish personal photography. I loved
that camera. It was almost completely manual (apart from the metered prism
I had attached) but it was just so enjoyable to use. I really didn't want
to let mine go but harsh economics forced my hand. For many others who don't
have to make such a choice, for whom photography is nothing more than a
pleasurable hobby, along side some well respected landscape professionals
who still use large format cameras complete with black cloth over the head,
film will continue to be their medium of choice. And I whole-heartedly support
their decision.
There has been a worrying undercurrent in some of the pieces I have read
recently, perhaps a symptom of a wider issue within society, that seems
to follow the line of "I'm right, your wrong." or "You're either with us
or against us." This is a rather sad state of affairs and ultimately futile
as at the end of the day the future of film is unlikely to be decided by
the posturing of a handful of individuals, regardless of in which camp they
reside.
I would suggest that the future will be decided by nothing more than market
forces. It is a fact of life that where there is a demand, and money to
be made, someone will supply the product. As long as people want to use
film, then film and film cameras will be produced. The fact that a small
but significant number of people are still more than willing to part with
sizeable chunks of money for a film-using, manual focus, fixed lens, rangefinder
like certain models of Leica for example, when all singing all dancing digital
SLRs are available for half the price speaks volumes to me, not only of
the quality of Leica cameras, but of the power of supply and demand. If
you want another example then what about Fuji Velvia, the landscape photographers
standard slide film? When it was withdrawn from sale it was heralded as
yet another nail in the coffin of film. But following a significant and
collective howl of protest from consumers it is back on sale. I know that
the reason for it's original withdrawal was actually due to a lack of a
certain raw material, but the fact that Fuji saw fit to invest time and
money in finding an alternative says to me that they are confident in getting
a return on their investment and that means a future for film users.
At the end of the day the digital over film argument is at best pointless
and at worst divisive. It really, and I can't stress this strongly enough,
doesn't matter. If you like film and you want to use it then use it. If
you have a preference for digital, for whatever reason, then feel free to
use digital. If enough people want it then suppliers will make it. Film
may find itself a niche market, as digital asserts its dominance, but a
niche market is a market none the less.
What has always been, and still is, behind all this is the activity of taking
photographs. The end result is really all that matters. When I look at an
image I can honestly say that the question of whether it was captured on
film or digital is a very long way down my list. Because at the end of the
day, who cares?
About the author: David Stanley is a freelance photographer concentrating
on landscape
and travel images. He has growing portfolios of royalty free images
with Alamy
and istockphoto.
For more articles and reviews, along with a selection of his work available
as open and limited edition prints, please visit his website at www.davidstanleyphotography.com.
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