crystal display screen to give you instant feedback even as you take the shot. At the
time of this writing, most digital single-lens-refl ex cameras (dSLRs) don’t have a live
view, but new releases from some major manufacturers do have this feature. Check
to see of your preferred model has it. With fi lm cameras, you have to wait for the
fi lm to be developed.- Adjustable ISO. Now this is really useful and unique to digital cameras (except for
medium-format cameras with removable fi lm backs). We discussed in Chapter 5
why you should use low ISO whenever possible, but many modern cameras have
excellent high ISO performance that is useful to combat camera shake in low light.
With fi lm, you are stuck with the speed rating of the fi lm you have loaded, unless
you “push process” the entire fi lm. - The ability to delete unwanted images. With digital, there’s no need to pay for the
development of bad images along with the good. - High capacity. Rolls of 35-mm fi lm usually hold a maximum of 36 images.
With a decent-sized memory card, you can shoot and store hundreds of images
for later review. This can introduce storage problems, but they are easily solved
with cheap mass storage devices and hard backup on digital versatile discs
(DVDs). - No fi lm grain. All fi lm has grain, and at 100% magnifi cation you’ll see it. This was
never a problem before the mass acceptance of digital cameras, but it can be a
problem now, particularly as many image reviewers on microstock sites have never
used a fi lm camera and may see normal fi lm grain as “noise,” leading to the rejection
of your images. My experience with this is a bit hit and miss regarding whether fi lm
grain is seen as a problem or not by a particular library or reviewer. Some libraries
like iStockphoto allow the photographer to tick a box to advise the reviewer whether
the shot being uploaded was taken with a digital or fi lm camera. Others like Dreams-
time, Fotolia, and Shutterstock have a place where you can include comments for
the reviewer. - No need for a scanner. Once you have your fi lm developed, you still have to scan
it, or pay to have it scanned, to digitize the images. Film is useless for microstock
purposes (and for most other stock libraries) unless it is scanned. The quality of
affordable scanners is not bad, but a dedicated fi lm scanner for 35-mm fi lm will still
cost a few hundred dollars; then you have to factor in the learning curve to get
decent results. You could use the money to buy Photoshop or a new lens instead.
If you shoot formats larger than 35 mm, then scanner choices become more
limited. - Great gadgets! We all like gadgets. Enough said.
So, is fi lm no good? Well, although I consider fi lm a second-best
choice for microstock photography, many still like it. It is possible to
pick up some great used fi lm camera bargains to get started. Film also
has a certain look that many like, and fi lm still offers incredible resolu-
tion in larger formats like 4 × 5 and 8 × 10 as yet unmatched by
affordable digital equipment. I still shoot some 8 × 10 fi lm, but not for
FILM OR DIGITAL? 105