Film vs. Digital????? Digital vs. Film?????   By the way, we use both film and digital cameras and have backups for each and every one of them and we also take unlimited amounts of photographs during your session also, so keep this in mind.   Check out what one of our competitors websites are saying about this subject and how condescending these competitors can be to there fellow photographers.  I must agree with some of the points they make, however I feel they could have presented their case without criticising their competitors.  This is uncalled for and definitely NOT professional nor ethical.  If you would like to have their website, I would be happy to give it to you.  The question is, What are they really trying to say?????   List of photographers claims against FILM cameras from the above website and our rebuttals or agreement with each statement. And by the way, they copied the statements below from another photographers website in another state while adding a bit of a twist to their statements. Do these photographers not have any respect for ART in general and there predesessors that made the business of photographing images with creativity and heart a viable business for them today?   The Introduction:      The comparison below will settle many myths and misconceptions about digital wedding photography. This is a must read for anyone in the market to hire a professional photographer for their event, The professional wedding photography industry is in the middle of a major transformation. The negative to digital transition is the single most important change in wedding photography history for these reasons: IMAGE QUALITY : There is no quality loss going from a 4x6 to a 20x24 with our digital cameras because the original file is already a 20x24, therefore, you are reducing, not enlarging any photograph smaller than the original 20x24. In negative photography, a 20x24 will always look grainy and lose detail and sharpness compared to a 4x6, because your original is 20X smaller than the 20x24. Our response:   Yes, there will be some loss of quality using a negative when you enlarge to a 20 x 24 and above, however this is ALL dependent upon which NEGATIVE format is used.  Also, do you realize the equipment they use is only 6.1 mega-pixels?  The small point and shoot digital cameras available at certain retail stores and definitely online use 5 mega-pixels and above.  There are cameras available at present that are 22 mega-pixels and cost more than their whole set up.  This cost is for the body only.  No extras. CAMERA MALFUNCTION : Every wedding photographer's worst nightmare is to get the film back from the lab with nothing on it. This happens more than you want to imagine. Number one reason is undetected camera malfunction(UCM). These are malfunctions in the camera that don't allow the image to be recorded but allow the physical functions of the camera to work, therefore, fooling even the most experienced veteran photographer into thinking that everything is ok. Professional Digital cameras do not have the UCM problem. They have their share of malfunctions. The important difference is that they are detectable. Our cameras have a preview screen on the back. One second after taking a shot, the recorded image is displayed on this screen, assuring us that our camera is working properly. If we do not see an image, the camera is immediately replaced with our identical back up camera. I cannot stress enough how important this feature is to a wedding photographer and his/her wedding client. Our Response:    I would have to agree with the first sentence, however a TRUE professional uses PRO equipment and checks equipment reliability and does routine maintenance so this is unlikely to occur as often as they state above.  Over 20 years in this business with ONE camera malfunction that had an effect on the client and it was minimal.  We have 4 cameras, multiple lenses for our special effects shots (by the way, whatever happened to creativity behind the camera and NOT in front of a computer).  Of course I can insert images into 4 different software programs and do special effects also. (SPFX).  What malfunctions do they not mention using digital cameras?  Just because you see it on the screen does not always mean it will be saved on the digital imaging card.  If I were to ask, you probably have a digital camera yourself.  Do ALL the photos always look like they did on the image screen?  Shots can be lost on any of the digital formats used today whether it be CF, MD, SM, MS, SD, MMC and so on.  This is all technical terms that you should not have to be concerned about when planning a wedding.  You have enough on your mind as it is.  Enough said.   CORRECT EXPOSURE ASSURANCE: The preview screen is also handy in assuring that our exposure is correct. Negative photographers are taking an educated guess with every shot. They will not know if they miscalculated there exposure readings until a week or two after the wedding. Our Response:   Again, this is an assumption on the part of the digital photographer and by the way do you want a point and shoot PROFESSIONAL photographer shooting your wedding?  Why not hire a friend with their digital or film camera to shoot the most SPECIAL DAY of your life?  People do this quite often to save money and are very dissappointed in the final outcome.  As FILM photographers we have more exposure latitude than do digital photographers.  In other words we can be up to 4 stops off and the lab can assist in compensating for this.  That is a PRO lab of course, not your typical ONE HOUR lab. UNLIMITED STATE OF MIND : Digital photographers have what we like to call the "unlimited state of mind". Simply put, when we see a subject of interest at a wedding like two children dancing together on the dance floor, we immediately go into action and photograph several frames of the children, both near and far. We also photograph the reactions of people watching these two little children. When the moment is all said and done, 30-40 images may have been captured of this scene. In contrast, the negative photographer is still calculating how much film is left in his camera bag, so he/she can determine if the subject is worthy of his/her precious film. "Ok, it's worthy of one or two shots...hey, where did they go?" The negative photographer bases his/her fees on expenses, particularly film and developing. Therefore they are usually shooting between 60 and 300 images. They seldom volunteer to go over their contracted amount because it will come out of their pocket or they may give you a surprise post-honeymoon bill for the extra three rolls of film. The digital photographer does not have a film and developing per click cost, therefore we can shoot an unlimited amount of images(500-800 images). Our cost is based on the 20-30 hours of labor for each wedding and the use of $15,000 in equipment. Our Response:  Now this is a good one!  I have problems with most brides trying to pick 1 photo to enlarge for the bridal portrait out of usually 40-60 shots.......And why would you want 30-40 shots of ONE scene?  What are you missing elsewhere where that ONE shot could be possibly the most important shot of the day?  And you the PRO photographer missed it while capturing multiple digital images of one scene.  By the way, we do DJ services and it would be a stretch to say that two children would dance till completion of ONE song, much less long enough to capture 30-40 images of this scene.  I never calculate while I am shooting, although maybe some do.  This is unfortunate if this is true, however I tend to believe otherwise.  I usually shoot anywhere from 250-350 shots and sometimes more if needed.  This is all included in your package and I don't consider it, "wasting my precious film".  This is all contractual and is in writing prior to your wedding, so there is NO fine print stating if we use another roll of film, you will be charged for it when you return from your honeymoon.  By the way, you now have 500-800 images to pick from to have enlarged and placed in an album?  How many enlargements are included in your package?  I would caution you to have everything in contract form from whomever you use for ANY service at your wedding.  Do NOT overlook those possible hidden costs.  By the way, the average wedding lasts 5-6 hours.  Do the division.  How many shots per hour? 500 divided by 5 = 100 shots/hour.  800 divided by 5 = 160 shots/hour.  How many photographers are being used.  You have been to a wedding.  How long does it take the photographer to pose the subjects?  What I am saying is that most of the images you get in the 500-800 range would be almost duplications of many poses and you will most likely pick one or two of them to enlarge.  I am not saying they will be exact, because you can NEVER capture the same pose TWICE.  You can get close, however change is constant. This is why we, at Sudden Image have a pre-wedding consultations to discuss your desires and needs.  This includes the sizes and amount of photographs, coverage time, type of albums, frames, etc..  Never feel that any question should not be asked of your wedding vendors and again, I can't stress this enough, GET EVERYTHING ON PAPER IN CONTRACTUAL FORM.  Good Luck. COLOR, SEPIA TONE, AND BLACK & WHITE : If you want TRUE black & white and color photography at your wedding, be prepared to make some tough decisions between the two, you cannot have both with a negative photographer. Don't be fooled by the negative photographer that shoots in color and claims that he/she can make a black and white from the color image. It will not be a TRUE full tonal black and white. The digital photographer, however, does have the capability to shoot in color, and then compensate for the natural lack of contrast and turn into a full tonal black and white or sepia tone photograph. Our Response:  Five years ago or so, I would have to agree.  However, with Professional Labs today almost anything can be done.  And with computer generated photos, we the FILM photographers can use high resolution scans and import them into our software and do anything possible within your imagination with a photo.  So, the answer to this statement is they are fooling you into thinking that digital cameras can do everything correct from the start with NO mistakes, NO limitations.  They have their limitations also as mentioned above.  Remember exposure latitude?  They have a window of approximately 1.5 - 2 stops in exposure, whereas we the FILM photographers have 4 built into our cameras and more with the assistance of a PRO lab.  You want sepia, you get it.  We restore old photos with our computer software, why could we not give you a black and white if you desire one? INSTANT GRATIFICATION : Some digital photographers, including us, have the capability to download the first couple hundred images of the wedding into a laptop and run a slideshow during the reception. By renting a projector, we can even display the images on a white wall or even the ceiling of a white tent over the dance floor while people are dancing. Most of the guests will never see a single photo taken by the negative photographer. Our Response:  Well, they have us FILM photographers on this one.  However, are they going to charge you for this?  What about that statement, "renting a projector"?  You or them. You pay or do they pay?  Now, I have shown slideshows of the couple as they were growing up with background music.  This is very nice.  However, as a DJ service provider also, I rarely see the wedding day images displayed on a wall or screen during a reception.  There is just too much going on to justify the extra cost of doing this in my opinion.  Sounds like a great idea.  Oh, and about the guests will never see a single photo taken by the FILM (negative) photographer.  This is true, however they experienced YOUR wedding from a different viewpoint than you the couple even saw it.  The guests had the best seats in the house for making memories of the marriage of a couple they care about.  And by the way, most guests would rather have fun at the reception, rather than sit down to an hour long slideshow of wedding portraits.  You will always have your wedding previews and photos and if they want to see them, I imagine they would let you know.  Sounds like a sales presentation to me?  SUMMARY: Digital wedding photography is finally here. 60% of the leading professional photographers in this country have all ready made the transition. 30% want to but financially cannot ($15,000 upgrade per photographer) and the remaining 10% are still using a manual typewriter and wearing leisure suits to their clients' weddings. We are proud to say that all of our photographers use two Fuji/Nikon S2 Pro Digital DSLR Cameras with Nikon lenses and flashes. Our Summary:  I know a wedding photographer in TX that immediately went to digital photography when it first hit the scene.  He had his share of problems with the transition and learning the differences even lenses can make attached to a Digital camera.  Regular SLR lenses are not totally compatible with Digital SLR's (Single Lens Reflex) cameras.  Let's forget all the technical aspects of this profession and look at you, the client, and what YOU want.  You are how the TRUE professionals make a living doing what we do for YOU, the client.  There is a special relationships usually built between someone that is this close to you, and playing a MAJOR role in the outcome of your special day.  Whether it be photographers, videographers, DJ's, florist's, caterer's, minister's, wedding director, even down to the wedding attendants.  Each and everyone of these people can make your day memorable in a positive way or memorable in a negative way.  So, I say to you, be very careful when choosing these people when planning your wedding day.  And most of all, when you can, ALWAYS HIRE PROFESSIONALS IN THEIR FIELD OF WORK TO ASSIST YOU.  They will be an invaluable asset when all is said and done. I know I did'nt say much about their summary above, however if interested in doing some research on your own, you will find that they are not being totally honest with you in presenting this to you in this way.  There are still great FILM photographers out there.  Don't get caught up in all this hipe about Digital photography.  One day, we will probably all have to go digital, however I do not see this occurring within the next decade.  Probably not within the next century.  Honesty and Integrity????? Check this website:  You might even find something of interest yourself. www.bhphotovideo.com   Of course lenses and flashes would be extra.  But, $14,000.00 extra?????????????? Per photographer as they stated.  You do the Addition.  Again, if you want either of their websites I would be glad to give them to you and let you read yourself.  You might even decide to do business with them.  If that makes you more comfortable and meets your needs and budget, then I would recommend you do it.  However, first why not take a look at other photographers work, including mine before making a decision.  Knowledge is power and with that, hopefully you can make the wisest decision for yourselves.  At least you will be well informed. < body>