Photography is truly one of the most effective means of mass communication in today’s society. Photographs portray a message in one of the quickest ways imaginable. A picture is really worth a thousand words. The Internet is home to many unique types of photographs from album photos, profile pictures, memes, social media outlets, and a host of royalty free websites. Digital photographs are here to stay for the long run.
At the beginning, digital photography had many limitations. In general, the photos were at a much lower quality, had a higher initial cost, and easily lost details in whites and blacks (Masoner). Also digital grain is a lot more noticeable than film grain, making the images appear of a lesser quality. “The downside of digital photography is that it actually takes more time, effort, skills and knowledge from you if you are serious about your photos (Law 2005).” Digital photography adds the extra process of previewing and editing your photographs on a computer. If you don’t have that ability or knowledge then your photos won’t come out how you intended. I suppose similar problems exist with film photography in the sense that you must plan your shots accordingly. There are no instant results as in a digital camera because there is no viewfinder. A viewfinder is an LCD screen that allows you to view your images immediately after. The plus side to not knowing is that when you develop your film it’s like getting a surprise gift every time. You never truly know what you get until you get them printed. For me, that is a negative side to film cameras. Personally, I use digital cameras not for photography – rather for videography. I know for a fact that I have to shoot flat in order to capture the highest degree of digital information as possible. This means that the image I capture will look washed out and displeasing to the eye. The reason being that later on in postproduction I will edit the footage to make it appear anyway I wish. I will have more creative options because I shot the footage flat.
The same goes for digital photographers. Shooting an image flat will get you the most digital information possible. Then in Photoshop you could alter the image anyway you please. Another prominent issue of shooting digital is the battery consumption. “If you shoot with a CCD instead of a CMOS sensor you will only have hours of shooting time. This can be a problem on a long field shoot in areas where electricity to recharge batteries is not available (Bourne 2008).” The biggest issue for digital photography is more frequent obsolescence. As technology keeps advancing, then current technologies become less desirable. This is a current issue now but I predict this will become less frequent as digital photography becomes the norm and there will be less advancement in the technology. I’ve read many articles from established videographers and photographers and they all have the same advice: invest in your glass. “The average digital camera has a ‘cycle’ of about 3 years, which means that just as you are getting comfortable with your camera, the next piece of eye candy is out there on the shelf flaunting its megapixels at you…invest some money in good glass. Good lenses pay dividends, and will far outlast your camera (Kim 2011).” They are basically saying to invest in your lenses because the camera bodies will become obsolete as newer versions are released. A lens is a lens and will remain the same quality no matter what camera body you put it on.
There are many advantages to shooting digital. One advantage is the ability to preview your image on a viewfinder immediately after you take the shot. This is great because it helps you see what kind of adjustments (if any) need to be done in order to correctly expose the shot or get a more pleasing picture. Secondly, digital photos are cheaper to develop. Traditional film cameras use film rolls that are fairly expensive – especially nowadays considering they are becoming obsolete. With a digital camera you can take and erase as many photographs as you please. When/if you decide to print your photos you can do it yourself through your home printer or you could get them developed. Most people upload them online which costs nothing. The third advantage is complete control over your settings – this includes your f/stop (aperture), ISO, and white balance. This is great because it’s like having multiple film stocks in one camera. With film cameras, if you wanted a more sensitive ISO you would have to change the roll of film. This is a tricky process because you would need a black bag in order not to expose the entire roll; otherwise you just wasted a roll and your money. In digital photography this is just one button away.
Digital cameras also shoot in a variety of formats. You could shoot in TIF, JPEG, BMP, GIF, or RAW. These formats all have their limitations and uses. In general, most photographers shoot in RAW or JPEG. RAW is the highest data possible that the photographs are being taken. It allows for maximum results for editing your photographs. This in tandem with shooting flat gives you complete control in post. Be wary as to what format you choose because certain formats require more digital data to be stored on your card (Cavanaugh 1997).
There are many types of digital cameras in the market. For this paper, I focused mostly on DSLR cameras but I failed to mention other popular cameras such as point-and-shoot cameras. These cameras are portable handheld cameras that fit into your pockets. They are extremely affordable. Most lack control over the cameras settings such as ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. Instead they offer modes that you could shoot in depending on the situation. In general, these cameras operate automatically and are easy to operate for most consumers.
Remedial technologies are technologies that are created or added to a former technology in order to improve or enhance functionality. The digital camera itself is a remedial technology in the sense that it’s technology can be found in multiple forms. For example, cell phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets, and desktops all have internal digital cameras built in them. This is a huge advancement for the technology simply because it gave everyone the access and ability to take, store, and share digital photographs. This trend began with cell phones and has continued to spread into all different forms of technology. Websites, phone applications and functionalities (like Facetime) use the phone’s internal camera. This has paved the way for many successful websites and apps to remain financially successful.
Of course, with any new technology there are trade offs. In “The Soft Edge” article we read in class, a trade off is described as a negative or positive result of a new form of technology being introduced. There are pros and cons. The biggest con is that popular and profitable companies like Kodak are having trouble maintaining their success. Film stock purchases have dramatically decreased since the introduction of digital photography. This has causes many companies to go bankrupt or change their tactics. Also as I have mentioned earlier, photo manipulation is much more accessible for digital photography. Anyone and everyone have the ability to use programs to alter their images. This is a controversial topic for many. Also, it’s important to note that many film photographers see digital photography as a “cop out” in the sense that taking photographs is an easier process without having to work hard at it. “If you are shooting digital, it doesn’t matter if you screw up, just delete and try again. I shoot film…I have to make sure I am getting it right (Kim 2011).” Ken Rockwell sees both mediums as important and both serve different purposes (Rockwell 2006). At this point, it’s really all a matter of taste.
As of now there aren’t many competitors to digital photography. In a sense, digital photography is the evolution of photography as a whole. I suppose there is competition amongst the different forms of digital photography such as DSLR’s, point-and-shoot, and camera phones. But all in all, the technologies are practically the same. It’s all a matter of cost, performance, and preference. Most users aren’t professionals; they are either hobbyists or consumers. They don’t necessarily need or want the bells and whistles of professional equipment, and that’s okay. The only competition I see is that of smart phones competing with point-and-shoot cameras. Considering that smart phone cameras have become increasingly more powerful over the years it’s understandable why many companies fear that their point-and-shoot cameras may become obsolete. Samsung has come up with a solution and developed an Android camera that gives users the ability to upload directly to Facebook. Because it uses Android’s operating system this gives the camera unique abilities to upload, store, and share their pictures to a variety of different social media platforms. “The Galaxy camera, which is available in the UK for £349, features a 4.8-inch LCD touch screen and a 21x optical zoom lens. Users can send photos instantly to other mobile devices via a 4G network, access the Internet, email and social network sites, edit photos and even play games (Gayle 2012).” Other companies like Canon, considered similar options but instead opted to reduce those funds due to their plummeting compact camera sales. Smartphone technology continues to advance leaving many companies to establish different means of profiting off of their technology. I suppose this is an unintended consequence of introducing digital cameras into smart phones. In the end, this is a positive advancement considering many people communicate and upload photos daily from their handheld devices. Smart phones are essentially handheld computers that have many capabilities – this being another one to add to the list. Whether it’s taking a photograph from your phone, or using a professional DSLR – the digital way of life is here and will continue to advance for many years to come.
Works Cited
Bourne, Scott. “Advantages v. Disadvantages of Digital Photography.” Photographers Marketplace | Digital Photography and models . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. <http://www.prophotos.net/digital_article03.html>.
Cavanaugh, Terence, and Catherine Cavanaugh. “Educational Applications For Digital Cameras.” Technology Connection 4.6 (1997): 22-23,33. ERIC. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.
Gayle, Damien. “Samsung takes aim at Japanese rivals with Android camera that can upload pictures directly to Facebook | Mail Online.” Home | Mail Online. N.p., 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2240299/Samsung-takes-aim-Japanese-rivals-Android-camera-upload-pictures-directly-Facebook.html>.
Kim, Eric. “Is Your Glass Half Empty? What You Should Be Thinking When Buying a Lens — Eric Kim Street Photography.” Eric Kim : International Street Photographer. N.p., 30 Aug. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. <http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/08/is-your-glass-half-empty-what-you-should-be-thinking-when-buying-a-lens/>.
Law, Dr. Chun-bon. “Photography.” Lifestyle Dec. 2005: 21-22. http://www.fmshk.org/. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.
Masoner, Liz. “Film Photography vs Digital Photography – Advantages and Disadvantages of Film Photography and Digital Photography.” About Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. <http://photography.about.com/od/filmvsdigital/a/FilmVsDigital.htm>.
Rockwell, Ken. “Film vs. Digital.” KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2013. <http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/filmdig.htm>.
Digital Photography 