What Did We Do Before... Digital Photography

Remember the day when you took your instamatic Kodak camera on a day out; took the camera to a development shop, like Boots; and waited a week for them to be sent back?

Sometimes, there would be stickers on the really bad ones, saying things like "Hold steady to prevent blurring"!



Do you remember the 'smell' of the chemicals on the roll of film, as you loaded your SLR?

Today, there's a whole generation who haven't experienced photography with the medium of film.  Today, it's all about digital.  A small memory card to store images.

Whilst I'm an old romantic at heart (OK, less of the old!) I do think progress is important, but, is digital photography progress?

SLR cameras, in particular, with 35mm film can take photos far superior than digital cameras.  Indeed, when the digital cameras first arrived, they were all, pretty much, instant style; point and shoot.  Giving very little control to the photographer.

Also; there is an inherent 'lag' between pressing the button and the shutter reacting.  So the picture you thought you're taking is slightly different.  The pose, lost in that second of lag...

That's changed now, and today it's possible to buy a digital SLR, that has just as much control, only with a small viewfinder on the back of the camera.

So, the question today, is have we benefited from digital photography?  There is no wastage; we can take our pictures, store them electronically; delete the ones we don't like, store and re-use the memory card.
The modern digital camera is far removed from the earlier models, affording greater quality and control.

On the other had, the romance of photography is lost, with the dark-room now all but a memory; and a program in your PC.

What do you think?