Film vs Digital Photography: 5 Reasons

Photographer Mattias Burling has a thing for film photography. You might say he’s a connoisseur of film photography. IT’s not that he doesn’t like digital, but a majority of his stills are shot with film. In this video, he shares the top five reasons why film photography is still relevant:

1. Analog Cameras

Analog cameras are cheap. You can probably find a mint condition analog camera for a throwaway price on eBay or a thrift store. The same is not true about digital cameras.

digital vs analog photography

Analog cameras are dirt cheap.

Plus, the lenses on these analog camera come in handy for shooting videos. Alternatively, you could choose to sell them off for a good amount of money. You might argue that film costs money, but it’s fairly inexpensive and certainly worth it.

film over digital

Shooting medium format is distinctly cheaper with film.

2. Medium Format

Medium format is a lot more accessible on film. In the digital world, medium format cameras are well out of the budget for most photographers. In the analog world, cameras like the Certo (pictured above) are available almost for free.

3. Processing

Processing film is a lot of fun. Not that you have to do it—some film labs are still in business. But if you do choose to develop your film yourself, it’s a lot like baking. You could easily buy a loaf of bread from the bakery, but it can be a tremendous source of satisfaction when you do it yourself.

film look

The organic look with film is irresistible for connoisseurs.

4. The Organic Look

One of the top reasons Burling cites for his affinity for film is that with film you get the distinct organic look—excellent tonality, dynamic range, skin tone—something that you can never hope to get with film.

5. Choice to Experiment

Lastly, with film you can experiment with different film stock, chemicals, and development processes. There’s far more room for trying new ways of doing things throughout the whole photography process.

What’s your take on this topic? Do you think film photography has a leg up on digital?

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