Film Vs. Digital Costs

[danpclements]

Thought everyone might find this interesting:

http://www.editorialphoto.com/outreachep/digital_manifesto.asp

I personally think that his estimates on how much it costs for digital is absurd, nobody would buy ALL new equipment every 5 years. What do you all think?

 

[darich]

so he says digital will be replaced every 3-5 years along with all the extras but film equipment will last longer??
I can see how technology advancing will make camera resolution higher and computers faster but if you buy a 13mp DSLR and pc just now and consider it good enough, it'll still be good enough in 3-5 years. Unless of course human evolution accelerates and our eyes improve 10fold!!!

I'm all for appropriate pricing and wouldn't reduce prices because of digital having less cost but his comparison is a bit weak.

 

[Kingpatzer]

The other consideration is that lens mountings won't likely change with product changes.

Digital bodies do have a lot more to go wrong with them, and a heavily used digital camera probably will need to be replaced in about 5 years, but a heavily used film camera will need a substantial servicing in the same time as well. The difference is that a manual film camera can be fixed. Digital cameras are designed to be "throw away" items if the electronics go south.

 

[Don Simon]

The difference is that a manual film camera can be fixed. Digital cameras are designed to be "throw away" items if the electronics go south.

To be honest I think that depends on the camera in question. A point & shoot, absolutely no question if it stops working after the warranty runs out you throw it away. Entry-level dSLRs, they're worth fixing thought obviously as the years go by it may become harder to justify paying for repairs. However with a professional-grade digital SLR, if something went wrong either tomorrow or in a couple of years I think you'd pay to have it fixed, with a D2X just like with an F5 for example. Mechanical film cameras may be easier to fix, but consider that if shooting professionally, chances are you would not be using a manual mechanical system but an electronic autofocus system, so there would still be a lot to potentially go wrong and need servicing.

 

[Seefutlung]

Firstly, man what a poorly written article. It is written more to impress than to communicate ... like a kid trying to impress a teacher.

In many ways he's right. A professional needs to deliver a high quality product. With film ... it's all about film the camera is little more than a box connecting film and lens. With digital, the camera is 50% of the shot and a professional must keep up with the enhancements to cameras which allow/create a visually superior product.

For non-professionals it doesn't matter ... whatever you are happy with or can afford is just fine.

Gary