Film vs Digital - which is better in 2025

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Technology keeps moving forward. Cameras and lenses being made to day are making images of increddible quality.

In this video I take a look at which better and why - film or digital?

[stevenbrown]

I’ve been a photographic artist since I was twelve years old, I started with a 35mm film camera. I shoot mostly digital now, occasionally film, but as you said film can become very expensive. The question of slowing down and looking more carefully, to me is a mental thing, not a gear thing. If you put yourself into the mindset of slowing down and carefully looking you can achieve this approach whether using film or digital.

[wilbertvandenberg]

I've been a professional photographer until 2013, entirely digital for more than a decade. I still have my professional digital Nikon and... I never use it anymore ! Except for friends and family. After an initial pause, I'm completely back to 6x6 and 4x5, and I couldn't be happier. Because I shoot very selectively again, printing in the darkroom actually turns out a lot cheaper than on my Epson Stylus 7900.

[jimgam]

You hit the nail on the head when you said that film is better for some things and digital is better for others. I'm getting back into photography after a long hiatus and will be using a 35mm film camera. A Nikon F100. Can't wait. Thanks for sharing this video.

[FTropper]

“The absence of limitations is the enemy of art.” - When I take pictures with my Z6 and a modern lenses, the resulting pictures feel cheap and worthless to me most of the time. There is no skill involved in spray and pray - except the discipline of deleting hundredths of bad pictures afterwards. If I take a picture on film, develop and print it myself, it feels like I created somewhat. And even if the result is not perfect - to me the picture is worth something. If I shoot my Z6 nowadays, I use old lenses. To me that is the real beauty of modern mirrorless camera: you can buy so much good old stuff pretty cheap and use it on your modern body.

[Negatively.Positive]

Completely agree with what you have mentioned. Few more reasons why I shoot film as my primary medium. 1) the negatives archive really well. I don’t have to worry about a hard disk fail or take some expensive online storage to store my images. Negatives also give an option of having a physical (negatives and contact sheet) to shift through and also scans to archive or share/store online. You can revisit these negatives anytime in the future. I have most of my kid’s key moments shot on film. They can print or scan these negatives when they are older. 2) there is a lot of commitment with your pictures. You just don’t click and forget, you need to develop them, scan or print them. You choose what to shoot and what you want to save as an image. You are a lot more deliberate in photography than randomly clicking without thinking and then have 1000s of pics that are meaningless and then have to decide what to do with. 3) there is no desire for a social media dopamine shot. You have no reason to share and get appreciation from others. The satisfaction getting good shots is internal and not dependant on others.

[culleysmith]

You said something right toward the end that really resonated. When I'm consistently shooting film, it changes the way I see. Even when I put down the camera, there's this after effect that can last for a few days or longer. Where the light just looks different; and the texture and geometry of the world too. It's like I've taken some substance that's heightened my perception. And, I have never experienced this phenomena with digital. It sounded like you get this. Anyhow! Stay warm up there, buddy!

[fredlar]

The cameras take better photos than any phone in most case.
But it’s odd holding a camera while others are using the phones. My kids always asked me not to bring the camera to their ceremony.
The vinyls, cassettes, films, cameras, will never die, just get old.

[chocolatecatdad]

I find with a digital camera what helps to slow down when taking a shot is using a tripod. Taking the time to set up a tripod makes more deliberate about my shots and spend more time thinking about what I'm doing.

[bastiencarel]

You’ve hit the nail on the head—I feel the same way. Digital photography has taken a lot of the joy out of the process for me. Going back to film and a mechanical camera feels like I’m in control again, owning both the good and the bad. On top of that the lack of instant feedback, which has become so normal these days, actually adds to the experience. It makes the process more thoughtful and rewarding. Thanks for a great series of videos in 2024. Looking forward to more in 2025 !

[dangilmore]

I still shoot a lot of film for customers, but a nice vintage lens on a digital camera can produce beautiful images.

[GrandadsReviews]

Couldn’t have said it better myself, I also use digital for professional shoots and film for pleasure.

[thewildgoose]

As a photographer for 40+ years I can see both sides. I've shot film, switched to digital, went back to film for a while and now I mainly shoot digital.
I think a game changer for me was Fuji and particularly the Fuji 50r, and how I use it. I only shoot jpegs, don't post process, and basically use it as if it were a medium format film camera so try and get everything right when taking the image.
Once the camera is set up there are no menus to go into as everything has a button or dial to change settings, making it more tactile akin to a film camera.
However, instead of requiring multiple backs in order to change film I can switch from Velvia to Acros to Provia in an instant and I don't need multiple cameras to shoot in 6x6, panoramic, 4x5 etc.
I also use vintage lenses a lot which means manual focusing and manual aperture, again bringing it much closer to the film experience. Two of my favorite lenses to use are the Nikkor 105mm f2.5 and a Canon FD 55mm f1.2 which with the crop factor effectively become an 85mm f2 and a 44mm f1. The images these lenses produce are unique.

I still occasionally run a roll through my old 6x6 Mamiya c330 or Rolleicord, but it's becoming less and less.
Something few mention about film cameras is that they're old and mechanical which means a lot of moving parts.
This means that they wear out or break, light seals need replacing etc. and the pool of camera repairers is shrinking as they retire or pass away.

[vgcguwc]

It's kind of like when someone asked Ansel Adams how big of a camera he used, he replied 'the biggest one I can carry'.

[sbills]

I 100% agree with you on this topic. I do work in IT and the last thing I want after a long day is to come home and sit in front of my computer again to process images. I love the manual process of developing film and prints. I do have a Nikon D800 which is good enough for what I do. I specifically use it as an artist would for thumbnail sketches. I like it for that purpose. Miles from the "Expired Film Club" is the only person I've seen that uses a film camera for sporting events. I'm sure there's others but it's refreshing to see someone is still shooting film for those events.

Thank you to have presented both sides equally. This is how it should always be.
For business trips I drive my car. For pleasure I ride my bike. And they peacefully stand side-by-side in my garage.

[AManWhoWasntThere]

I got into photography with a digital point & shoot. Then I got a DSLR which taught me all the technical aspects of photography faster than film could have (instant feedback).

Then I shot mostly film for a while, which taught me discipline and patience.

Now I'm back to shooting mostly digital with a mirrorless camera and only occasionally film.

The thing with digital cameras and all their bells and whistles is that you don't have to use them. You can set the camera up to how you like to shoot and then pretty much never have to look at the menus again. And you can be as hands on manual or as automatic as you like. And you can be just as disciplined with it as with film.

[jamespowers]

Sorry, that question was answered 20 years ago. I'm old. I've shot thousands of rolls of film in my 74 years. I've spent hours in a darkroom processing and printing film. Film is an artifact of another time, and I don't understand why it has become a fad. Nostalgia I guess. Starring at grainy film through an enlarging focusing magnifier showed the real flaw of film. As soon as the Nikon D1x hit the market, I put away the film cameras and never looked back. I find it amusing that folks spend a fortune shooting film, only to scan it to put it online. Fetishizing film to then convert it to digital, because the world isn't analog anymore.

Just don't get it.

[timmeisburger]

I also sit in front of a computer for work, so when I'm off I want to make things by hand, either wood or metal or film. If I had to shoot for a living I'd use digital, but I don't.

[FinnishSuperSomebody]

Last year I started to develop my own film and then developed over 30 rolls on couple of months. For some reason or another I went back again to digital cameras, maybe because it is just fun to shoot with different cameras, but slowly I started to get feeling that I need to go back to film camera so this year I started again shooting film and developing my own rolls. First roll I developed last friday and so far I have developed three rolls (today was the third). It just feels comfy and the joy of development just feels something what I cannot get with digital cameras. I also love the aesthetics of the film.

Surely if I would be shooting photos for somebody else (eg. a friend asks me to take photos) then of course I would shoot digital cameras because there is external exceptation of the end results. This film camera and film shooting is just for my internal exceptations where the good end result is a great if I achieve it, but the process itself is what makes it worthwhile. It just "feels fun" and that is what is the most important thing in photography for me when it is a hobby.

All cameras needs love, so I except that I will again take digital photos too in future as well just for fun also, but now the film is way to go.

[cerulean]

You do you, but I shot and processed film professionally for 45 years. Then 22 years ago I bought my first digital camera and Photoshop, and never - looked - back. Sold my Super Chromega XL last year. The only thing I miss is having archivally processed B&W prints.