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What's So Great About a Digital Camera? |
| By Kelly Ann Butterbaugh |
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| What's so Great about a Digital Camera? |
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Film
Film isn't cheap, and anyone who's snapped their way through twenty rolls of film while on vacation knows that. My best bargain was $1.75 per roll if I used a coupon. (However, I did find that offers on eBay often can snag rolls for $1 a piece if you're lucky.) On the average vacation, I bring home twenty rolls of film. (I'm clearly not the average vacationer.) That's a minimal of $35 in film costs alone. If I use fifty rolls of film a year, by investing in a digital camera I will save $88.
Processing
Film processing is another heavy investment when you're bringing home twenty rolls of film. I never pay for the one-hour developing; it's too expensive. Sending it out through our local wholesale club costs $3.50. Yet, that brings a bill of $70 for my twenty roll trip. Film processing isn't avoided by digital cameras, however; most people prefer to have real prints. The idea of printing at home is convenient, but with an average cost of $2 per 8x10 print, it's not the cheapest option.
I did find two savings in digital processing. One is that by seeing the pictures before I process them, I can decide to print only those which I love. With a digital camera I know which pictures are worth saving. In reality, out of the 480 pictures on my twenty rolls of film, only 260 are really great. The other savings I found are that digital prints are sometimes cheaper than film prints. With pharmacies advertising sales of $.09 a print, I can't process film for that price. The low end price of a digital print fall at $.012 while the low end price of a film print figures to be $.015. That saves $14.40 if I develop all 480 pictures.
Instant Gratification
Okay, let's be realistic for a moment. I love to save pennies wherever I can, but I also love seeing my pictures the minute I return from a trip. At what point is this instant satisfaction and ability to share pictures on the internet worth the cost of the camera? You know in a second if you caught Tommy blowing out his birthday candles, and you can see if Grandpa blinked during the family portrait.
The Camera
I'll be honest; digital cameras aren't cheap. In fact, they're twice as expensive as film cameras. However, the savings in film alone may justify your camera in a few years depending on your model. For some people, the film cameras will always be their choice of preservation; yet, for film wasters like me I can save money in the long run by going digital.
About The Author: Kelly Ann Butterbaugh is a freelance writer who regularly contributes to a variety of magazines and has written a history book for middle readers. Visit her website for writing help, lesson plans, history fun, or work for hire at http://www.kellybutterbaugh.com
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RE: What's So Great About a Digital Camera?
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Post By Cathy from Townsville. (Guest Post)
(06/14/2008)
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I will never go back to ordinary cameras. I spent 5 months travelling around the world, and lost approximately two rolls of film that I paid for to be developed on 'crap' photos that I threw out. With digital cameras, you can edit out the ones you don't want, with no wasted money. Download to your computer, edit them as you wish, then email them to friends and family. I love them!
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RE: What's So Great About a Digital Camera?
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Post By marilyn (Guest Post)
(05/27/2008)
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For a quick hardcopy, print on regular paper-- let it hang in front of you for a couple of days, then decide if you really want a photo-print. Most picture managing software will let you print index prints, too, so you can compare versions of the same shot. You can also crop and fiddle, then save, to see which you like best...
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RE: What's So Great About a Digital Camera?
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Post By HB (Guest Post)
(05/22/2008)
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Also, you don't have to wait for a whole roll of film to be used up, with a digital you can take one or two shots, and then go develop them.
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RE: What's So Great About a Digital Camera?
You can also use your digital photos, cropped or not, to make your own wall art.
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RE: What's So Great About a Digital Camera?
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Post By Linda (Guest Post)
(05/18/2008)
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Another thing I like is that you can crop the pictures so you can center things or get rid of tourists on the edge of your family picture.
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RE: What's So Great About a Digital Camera?
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Post By (Guest Post)
(05/18/2008)
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Hi:
I hesitated buying a digial camera a few years ago until our Daughter gave me some good reasons. First, it would take my almost a year to finish a roll of 24 exposes when we visited our family once a year. It seemed like such a waste. She explained that I could delete the photos I did not like, download them on the comuter and send them copies. What a saving of money, time, etc.
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RE: What's So Great About a Digital Camera?
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Post By londa (Guest Post)
(05/17/2008)
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I got one only last year, and it does save me money. I don't have that annoying gas using trip to drop off and pick up prints. I've used it to record tricky set building projects, and then just erased the pictures after I took them to the hardware store. And no more ruined photos you have to pay for, I just erase the bad ones.
It was a pain to learn how to use. It pays to have a teenager help. londa
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RE: What's So Great About a Digital Camera?
Also, if you have a digital camera, it can pay for itself. You can send photos to websites like Thriftyfun.com, enter their photo contest, and maybe win cash.
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RE: What's so Great about a Digital Camera?
The nice thing about digital cameras also is that you can have your files printed by a print house, but you can have them print only the files that you want. You don't need to print every file.
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