Advantages of Digital Photography

The quality of the images on the new digital cameras, and the time limits that are so vitally important in the newspaper industry, have made digital photography the norm with most professional news photographers.

Many amateur photographers have also adopted the digital camera as their camera of choice. They enjoy the convenience of sending photos by email, being able to put them on the web, and displaying them in digital picture frames.  Many cell phones now have digital cameras included in them, even though the small lens size of these phones reduces the quality of the pictures, making them unsuitable for making prints.

The quality of pictures taken on even the best digital cameras is not considered to be anywhere near the quality of regular film. Therefore, many commercial photographers and even some artistic amateurs resist using digital technology for their photography purposes.

Film also has a much greater resolution than even the best of digital projectors. Other professionals have embraced with enthusiasm the digital cameras, believing that the lower long-term costs in flexibility outweigh the initial high costs.

Unlike film photography, which requires constant expenditures to update and maintain equipment, nearly all expense in digital photography is the initial cost of the equipment.  However, film equipment lasts longer and doesn't become obsolete as quickly as digital cameras.

Many professionals have changed to digital photography because of the advantages of editing on a computer. This includes the ability to balance the color and manipulate images in a way that are not possible with conventional film photography.

A further disadvantage to digital photography is the need to have electrical outlets to charge batteries on digital cameras. Digital cameras are also much more sensitive to climate, extreme cold, and moisture than standard cameras, which cause photographers who work in remote areas to prefer the more conventional film camera.

Some fear that the changing technology of computers will eventually make the digital photography taken today inaccessible in the future. Digital photography in the courts is also held to be very questionable because of the inability to prove the photograph's authenticity.