If you were to have a discussion on any topic and invite a number of individuals, chances are that for each individual represented you would have the same number of varied opinions on that topic. For example, if you were to discuss the best place to live you would get a variety of answers and arguments as to why a person would select their particular choice. Their answer could be based on economic figures that reflect higher pay or a simple way of life which may appeal to their rearing of a family or they may choose a certain locale's that is noted for its natural beauty.
Other differences of opinion that may occur could surround discussions based on the best film ever produced, best actor or actress, best sport, best hobby, etc.
One of the best hobbies that may be indicated is the hobby of photography and even in this category there may arise a difference in opinion regarding traditional vs. digital photography. One of the arguments between traditional vs. digital photography may include the ease of use and the ease of developing the picture.
Ease Of Use
When comparing traditional vs. digital photography one of the arguments may be the ease of use. In utilizing a digital camera it is simply a matter of pointing and shooting. The image is captured by the digital camera and imbedded on the memory stick contained within the digital camera.
Also, using the easy viewing screen on the camera, the photographer can instantly see whether the picture is what they wanted or if it needs to be taken again. In fact if the picture has movement or does not capture the image that the photographer wants, it is easy to delete the picture from the memory stick.
On the other hand the difference between traditional vs. digital photography makes the taking of pictures more difficult. One of those time consuming tasks is the changing of film and installing a new roll. Of course, the quality of the photo is greater than a digital camera.
Ease Of The Development Process
The next comparison of ease between the traditional vs. digital photography is how the picture is developed. The image on the memory stick can be downloaded onto software for easy viewing. In addition, the digital photo can be printed out or saved in a file within the computer.
With a traditional camera the film needs to be chemically developed in order for the image to be visualized. This process not only takes time, but requires the added expense of utilizing a film developing service or purchase the chemicals needed to develop the film in an individual's own dark room.
Digital photography represents nothing less than a revolution in the way we take and manipulate images. Even so, the basic fundamentals of film photography apply with digital. Both require a lens to focus light and a shutter to let that light pass into the camera. The principal difference between digital and film photography is how the image is captured.
Traditionally, you needed to have your film developed in a darkroom using various chemicals (none of which were very environmentally friendly). The process of developing the film produces ?negatives? that needed to be further processed and printed before any usable image was produced. Needless to say, the moment that the shutter was originally snapped is long gone by the time you actually see the product of your image making. With digital, the image is captured using an electronic sensor. This sensor is made up of millions of individual ?pixels?, or picture elements, that convert light into a zero or one (binary code). Thus, instead of waiting days or weeks (at best, hours) to see your image, with a digital camera, you see it almost instantaneously.
The quality of the image with a digital camera depends in large part to the number of pixels it has. This is commonly referred to as the ?resolution? of the digital camera, and can be expressed as a dimension (800 x 600), or the number of pixels per inch. 800 x 600 is a common resolution for computer screens. A screen with this resolution will display 800 pixels from side to side, and 600 from top to bottom, totaling 480,000 pixels. Modern digital photography normally uses a much higher resolution than your average computer screen, going up into the millions of pixels, or megapixels. Thus, a camera with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 represents 3.1 megapixels.
We know that each pixel is represented by a number. The color scale of that pixel is determined by the size of the number. Black and white images can be produced by pixels a mere 8 bits in length. A quick refresher in binary arithmetic tells us that an 8 bit number represents a decimal number between 0 and 256. Therefore, and black and white image can have 255 shades of gray, plus black, 0, and white, 256.
For color, we need more bits. At 16 bits per pixel, we can have a color scale with 65,536 different shades. 24 bits brings that into the millions. Most digital cameras nowadays use 24 bits, with some professional equipment utilizing all of 48 bits for a whopping 280 billion shades. That's a lot of color!
Several factors affect the quality of a digital camera. Pixel resolution is normally considered the most important one. To choose and adequate pixel resolution, you should take into consideration the size of images you wish to print ? or if you are going to print your images at all. The number of pixels in an image doesn't change, so larger images will have fewer pixels per inch, resulting in a loss of detail that will continually degrade the larger the picture gets.
Most photo labs print images at 300 pixels per inch. Use this as a base to calculate the megapixel resolution for your digital camera. A two megapixel camera at 300 pixels per inch will produce a maximum print size of 5.8? x 3.8?, less than the standard 4'x8?. Considering a four megapixel camera will produce a print, at 300 pixels per inch, of 8.2? x 5.4?.
There is nothing stopping you from printing larger pictures, of course. These are just guidelines. A 200-pixel-per-inch image isn't as sharp as the standard 300 pixels per inch, but for many purposes can still be quite acceptable. At this resolution, you can bet images up to 8.7? x 5.8? with a two megapixel camera, all the way up to a 12.2? x 8.2? image from a four megapixel camera.
Now that we have pixels and megapixels swimming in your head, it's time to step back and just enjoy all the advantages offered by modern digital photography.
Both Roland Parris Jefferson Iii & Thomas Schueneman are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Roland Parris Jefferson Iii has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Cosmetic Surgery and Home Improvement. Roland Parris Jefferson III is an online researcher based out of Los Angeles, California. Need more details and expert advice on Digital Photography? Then please visit our. Roland Parris Jefferson Iii's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.
Thomas Schueneman has sinced written about articles on various topics from Entertainment Guide, Global Warming and Digital Photography. Tom Schueneman is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in San Francisco. He also publishes a digital photography resource site at