Instant or near instant pictures are nothing new. For those of you old enough you will remember Polaroid cameras in the 1970s. However those cameras where big and heavy and the quality of the pictures left a lot to be desired. The onset of digital photography has removed these disadvantages. Digital cameras are compact and lightweight. You can see the picture you have taken instantly and if you don't like it you just delete it and retake. This last point is a godsend for amateur photographers. We have all taken photographs and chopped off someone's head, or jerked the camera producing a fuzzy picture or double exposed a film. All of these actions lead to wasted pictures and additional expense. These are no longer issues to be concerned about with digital photography.

The advantages of digital photography

There is an abundance of digital camera software available. This makes it possible to dramatically improve pictures before printing them. For example, red eye can be corrected, colours can be touched up, unwanted items or people can be brushed out. You can produce joke pictures by superimposing different bodies onto heads. In fact the opportunities to improve or play around with digital photos is virtually endless.

Once you have produced your digital photos to the standard you are happy with you can print them off on a photo printer or upload them onto websites. It is also possible to get your digital photos put onto tea shirts or mugs.

By posting your digital photos to the web you make it easier for relatives and friends to keep in touch. You can keep things private by making web pages password protected so that only people you want can see your pictures. It does mean that grandma in Australia can keep getting up to date pictures of her grand children.

Another big advantage is that digital photography is cost effective. The good news is that as the technology has matured the cost of digital cameras has reduced. A couple of years ago you would have had to pay a lot of money for the equipment. You can now pick up a very basic camera for just a few dollars. Obviously you can pay a lot more, but it depends what features you are looking for. The big savings though are that you only keep the pictures you are happy with. You can choose whether to print off the pictures or store them digitally on your computer hard drive.

A further advantage is that the vast majority of digital cameras are sold with software. This can be very basic such as being able to copy your digital photos onto your computer. However, much of the software is a lot more advanced than this, such as editing software. It is possible to buy software separately for advanced editing and publishing work. This might be necessary for experienced users, but for most users the software that comes with the camera is sufficient.

As you become more experience in digital photography you can purchase accessories such as an additional battery or an additional memory card. The technology is changing constantly. The quality of digital photos is now comparable to traditional film photos, and these have been produced for a lot less in both cost and in materials. There is less waste as well. People who have moved over to digital photography swear by it. If you are still using film it is time to think about a change.