A digital or digitized photograph is in the form of bits and bytes or zeros and ones.  Confused?  Just think of it as a computer file.  The original photograph could have been taken with a film camera and then scanned into the computer using a scanner.  When working with digital photos, your computer becomes your darkroom giving your the ability to not only to take photos but to make or create them.

Like computers, the availability of digital cameras has made it possible to skip a number of steps in the process.  There is no need for film processing and scanning.  It cost very little or nothing in terms of materials to take photos with a digital camera.  It is so very easy and inexpensive to take pictures using a digital camera.  On a trip to Japan with the Mililani High School band, I took about 800 pictures.

One drawback with digital cameras is that things change very quickly.  Like computers, they get better and cheaper in terms of months.  Film cameras are like hand tools that are useful for decades.  I still have some 35mm SLR reflex cameras and lens that I purchased more than 30 years ago and they still work!

Many of the reasons for sticking with film cameras are becoming outdated.  Better digital cameras, lower prices and more options make choosing digital easier.  High digital camera prices were once a major factor.  In the past, my recommendation in choosing between film and digital was based on whether you wanted prints for all or most of the pictures taken.  If having prints of all or most of the pictures taken was desired, then film was the obvious choice in the past due to the low cost of film processing and the high cost of printing digital images on a color printer.  But things have changed.  With many photo processing services offering prints from digital media at about the same price of making reprints from film, digital cameras may have some advantages over film.  Unlike film, there is no need to finish the whole roll of film before processing.  It is possible to print only one image.

Because there is little or no material cost in taking pictures with a digital camera, it is easy take lots of pictures of anything and everything.   As a result, your picture taking skills will more than likely improve.  Practice makes perfect!
 

Is Digital for You?	Yes	No
1.  I take or want to take lots of pictures
2.  I have and use computers.
3.  I want view and use my photos on computers.
4.  I want to publish electronically or create publications using computers.
5.  I want to enhance and modify my images before printing.

If you answered yes to all or most of the questions above, the time has come for you to get a digital camera.