If you want the gist of this post without reading further, the short answer is:  It doesn't matter!

Remember that stuff some of you may have used some time ago called film?  Well I love film, still use film and will continue using film for years.  Does this mean I hate digital?  Not at all.  I love digital.

So what's better? Film or Digital?

My answer?

I simply answer this question with another question:

Why do you care in the first place?

What we have here is a Class 1 PATTA - Pointless, Annoying and Time-wasting Technical Argument.

(btw, I just made up the acronym PATTA)

You may remember this scenario from such arguments like:

1) HD DVD vs Blu Ray (62.4 million google search results)

2) Windows vs Mac (50.9 million google search results)

3) MP3 quality vs CD quality (41.2 million google search results)

4) Science vs Religion (14.5 million google search results)

According to these google search results alone, people care 4 times as much about the differences between high definition movies than the differences between science and religion.  Does this mean anything?  Not really because I'd say they are two pointless debates with no one right answer.  My answer?  It's up to you if you want to waste your time but the point I'm trying to make is that you can read millions of articles and thousands of books that show hundreds of test charts and graphs about the minute differences between film and digital photography, but why invest all that time and research in the first place?

Make up your own mind

This is very important when considering anything to do with art.  Decide why you want to know the difference before you start researching.  Does it really matter?  Will it help you make the decision to purchase a print, will it help you make a decision to purchase a camera?  I would argue no.

I find it useful to spend some time thinking why I like certain things.  I like things other don't like, and others like things I don't like.  I love some art, I hate some art and I simply don't understand some art (the latter 2 usually go together unfortunately).  Bringing things back to photography, I love the way film renders colours at certain times of the day, I love the sharpness of large sheets of film, I also love the instant feedback digital photography gives you.  I like the fact my film camera needs no batteries but sometimes prefer the short setup time of my digital camera.  The answer is it depends on the situation and it depends what I feel will work best at the time.  As a viewer of any art form (including photography),

I don't care how it's made because it doesn't make a difference.

All I care about is how the final product makes me feel and whether I like it or not!

Example

I witnessed a photography judge comment on a print at the APPAs and he said "anyone could make the same image by renting a car and stopping on the side of the road."  Another judge reminded him that "it doesn't matter whether an image is made on top of Mount Everest or outside your front door, what matters is whether the photographer was able see a great image where others could not and whether you like it or not." 

Image quality

This is usually where film vs digital debate ends up.  As mentioned on my info page, I use a mix of film and digital cameras to create my images.  The reason I still use film is that each 6x17cm transparency produces approximately 150 megapixels once drum scanned and the prints look amazing.  The same goes for digital.  The only limitation is that the prints cannot be printed as large.  This is why some of my images only have two, three or four print sizes as opposed to all five, as I will only print images as large as they will retain optimum sharpness.

Future formats

As super high resolution (100+ megapixels) digital photography progresses and becomes more affordable, I will look to experiment in this department.  But there is so much more to landscape photography than resolution, a few things to take into consideration are weight, battery life and speed of capture.  However I produce my images, the one thing that will remain constant is that I'll always love producing beautiful fine art landscape photography. 

Conclusion

It doesn't matter how a piece of art is produced, all that matters is whether you like the final product or not! (and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise)

Keep this in mind when viewing my photography and spend your time doing more important things than worrying about the differences between film vs digital (or any PATTA).

Want to let me know what you think?  Write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Best regards

Chris