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Panorama – March 2002

GOING DIGITAL

From overpriced playthings to serious tools, the age of digital cameras has arrived. By Shelley Grell

UNTIL RECENTLY, people thought it ridiculous to fork out thousands for a digital camera when the quality of film photography was far superior. But as e-mail and the Internet has become more accessible and popular, a new world of communication has opened up to us. Our lives have also changed. We are working differently, exploring more and living life to the full – and faster too.

Yet articles that compare digital cameras with film cameras appear to be missing a few points. Apparently factors like convenience, flexibility and functionality have become more important to us than how precisely the digital image compares to the quality of film.

One of the most compelling arguments for digital photography has to be its unique ability to help soften the emotional barrier of physical distance. Unlike film cameras, digital cameras let you take a photograph and send it to family and friends away from home, or on the other side of the world, in a matter of minutes.

The only important prerequisite – often a hurdle for the older generation and the computer illiterate - is that you both have to have access to a computer, an internet connection, an email address and the ability to send and open email attachments.

Likewise the competitive nature of business has fastened the pace, increased the demands for smart technology and raised service expectations. Businesses can no longer afford to wait a week for a photographer to turn around a photograph – they want the image in the newsletter or on their website that day.

Couple the mounting needs with the improved features and quality being offered by today’s digital cameras, and the reasons to go digital become more clear.

Ten years since digital cameras first entered the market, consumers now have the pick of third generation technology that offers more value, more features and functionality for our money.

All digital cameras come with cables to download the images you have taken onto a computer, and photo editing software that allows you to view and manipulate your photographs. For instance, if the image has red-eye or a thumb in the way, a little modification using the software, such as PhotoDeluxe or Photoshop, can fix it up in a jiffy.

Simple digital cameras can be as easy to use as an instamatic film camera. The cheaper range offers fewer features and functions. They are as easy to use as any small compact film camera: just point, check out the image on the screen on the back of the camera, and click.

Technophobes and people who have never used an SLR (single lens reflex) camera, however, might find the more advanced models a bit more challenging. These can allow you to modify aperture, set the flash, reduce red-eye, focus with the zoom, switch lenses, and much more.

For in-depth information on the many cameras and features on offer, you can visit www.dpreview.com. This website is rated the best independent digital camera information resource on the Internet, but the cornucopia of digital cameras and features can be overwhelming.

To give an example of how digital photography is being used today meet Dr Jane Shearer, General Manager of Museum Programmes at the Canterbury Museum. She is one of the team responsible for ensuring that the museum’s 2.1 million exhibits are transposed from the old card indexing system onto the computer database.

“Because we are now required to provide regular audits of our exhibits, we agreed that the quickest way to audit all 2.1 million exhibits would be to match each exhibit with a photographic image. Before we could only refer to the text descriptions on the old card indexing system. We started adding digital images to the new computer database when we bought our first digital camera in July 2001. We’ve photographed over 5,000 already and hope to have all 2.1 million exhibit images on the database by 2010,” she explained.

“To do this using film cameras would have cost a fortune,” Jane continued. “It didn’t take much convincing to agree to collectively dip into our 15 departmental pockets and buy a 3.3 megapixel digital camera. We estimate it has already saved us $10,000 in just film and processing alone.”

On a personal level however, Jane felt that she wouldn’t trade in her own SLR and compact cameras for a digital camera just yet. “I would rather wait until digital cameras dropped in price. For the features and quality I want, $2,000 is double the amount I’m prepared to spend.”

The Illustrations Editor of the Christchurch Press Dave Wethey also lectures at the Canterbury University on digital photography.

The 11 dark rooms at the Press have almost become obsolete since the newspaper made the move to go digital, he says. Eight photographers were provided with professional digital cameras worth $14,000 each. “The investment paid for itself in a year,” said Dave. “We have also seen major savings in time and operations.”

But what about taking photos when on holiday or at a party, and then emailing them our friends or putting them up on the website? Aren’t the $299 digital cameras worth a look? Yes, if that’s all you want to do, but if you want to print your images on paper, then no, for you will be disappointed with the definition quality.

Dave teaches all levels of photographers from amateur to professionals. “A photo taken with a digital camera that offers less than 2 megapixel resolution cannot match the quality of the same image taken with an ordinary film camera.”

Megapixels, as Jeff Moen from Ken Cameras explained to me, are the number of colour dots in an image. The more dots an image has, the sharper it will be. The camera allows you to select which size image you want to take – the larger the image the more dots are stored and the more memory it consumes on the camera’s memory card.

Dave, who claims he will never buy a film camera again, advises that we chose a digital camera for the photographic features it has rather than its price. “People should buy the best quality camera that they can afford, because they will inevitably want to do more with it than what the camera is capable of. Must have features include a zoom lens, lots of memory space, high megapixel resolution, a reliable flash and good file compression.”

Jeff says that the first question people have to ask themselves when buying a digital camera is ‘what do I want to do with it?’ If all you want is to see simple images on screen and never on paper, then a lower-end digital camera will suffice. If you want film quality definition and the ability to print the images onto photographic paper then you need a higher-level camera with more features.

0.3 – 1 megapixel cameras (from $299) are suitable for screen use but not acceptable quality for print.

1-2 megapixel cameras (from $449) are suitable for screen use and basic (postcard size) printing. It is fine for snap shots at a party, but not for enlargements.

2-3 megapixel cameras ($1100 - $2500) are the most popular range suitable for general use including emailing, printing and enlarging. The more you spend, the more features you get.

3-6 megapixel cameras are the semi-professional to full professional cameras and cost from $2,500 to $18,000. These cameras offer the most photographic features and capture top quality images.

When buying a digital camera you also need to consider memory size, battery life, and how and where you are going to store the images once your memory card is used up. This may mean you will need to take more than one memory card on your trip overseas and a battery re-charger.

All cameras come with cables and photo imaging software to enable you to download and manipulate images on a computer. If your computer is getting on in age and doesn’t have a USB connection, you may need to buy the hardware and software that will allow you to download the images onto a floppy disk or a CD.

It seems a lot of fuss and money, but I’ve balanced this with the many benefits and there’s a definite attraction. Firstly there’s the convenience of instant digital images and then the thought of never having to pay for film and processing again!

Okay let’s see, it costs me $70 to buy and process two rolls of films a month. Times that by 12 months equals $840 that I spend on photography every year! Maybe a $2000 digital camera isn’t so dear after all.