Weall know how as times change, technology changes along with it. When boomerswere growing up, good old film was used to take photos. I myself am an echoboomer, in my mid 30s, but I remember the 110 film, the 35mm film, as well asPolaroid Instant Film. The film was also sold based on how many photos youwanted to take. These amounts were usually 24 exposures, or 36 exposures. Iknow you can still purchase a Polaroid Instant Camera, as well as cameras thatwill use the 35mm film. However, according to the research I have done, theonly way to find cameras that take the 110 film, are through a site such asEbay.
Digitalphotography became popular with consumers in the 1990s . The first digitalcamera that was available commercially was the Dycam Model 1; which also soldas the Logitech
Fotoman.Instead of different types of film like the older cameras, digital cameras aredesigned to produce photos of different levels of megapixels. For those of youwho may not know, a megapixel is 1 million pixels. A pixel is a tiny square ona computerized display that is so small it appears as a dot. The display screenis a solid grid of these squares or dots. I have seen digital cameras thatproduce photos with as little as 1 megapixel up to as many as 10 megapixels.The more mega pixels you have the better quality the print. My personal digitalcamera is a 3.1 megapixel and the photos are impeccable both on the computerand when printed. Digital cameras have affordable memory cards to insert intothe camera to store hundreds of photos without having to print them.
Thereare pros and cons to both digital and print. Here's just a few:
FilmPhotography: Pros: A film camera is slightly more affordable. Cons: You don't know how the photo will look until it's printed. You have topurchase film each time you use the allotted exposures for that roll. You arepaying for the film, and then paying to have each photo printed, which canbecome rather costly. Once they are printed, you have no other way to preservethe photos other than in an album book.
DigitalPhotography: Pros: You can view the photo before printing. You don't have topurchase film each time you want to use the camera. You can take hundreds ofpictures with just one memory card and won't have to worry about missing thatgreat photo opportunity. You have the option of picking which photos toactually print. You can store the photos on the camera or upload them to yourcomputer for safe-keeping in case the prints get destroyed. Cons: Adigital camera is slightly less affordable.
Asyou can see, baby boomer photography may have evolved, and I along with otherechoes probably prefer digital photography. I rarely took photos before digitalcameras were available, but now, if given a choice, I am digital all the way.Especially as a parent, I cant imagine having to change the film in order tocapture my son's handsome smile when he opens gifts or sees the animals at thezoo.
Sofor those of you that have used both kinds of photography, do you have apreference? If you are stuck in the boomer years and still use the filmcameras, tell us why? Head over to and share yourthoughts with us.
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