Dec 9, 2010

Charm vs. convenience

I thought it'd be fun to start a possible series on comparing the same scene captured in film vs. digital. I spotted this berry tree in Central Park last weekend and practically made a beeline for it. I loved the way the red popped against a sort of cooler winter palette. Below, I have Fuji Pro 400H on a Canon EOS 3 with 50mm f1.8 lens against my 5Dmkii with 50mm f1.4. Both are just about straight out of the camera.

I'm actually not sure which I prefer in this case. I think I usually like indoor film shots more because of that nice obvious film tone. Outdoors, it's a little less apparent. The digital definitely looks warmer but I like the slightly subtler contrast in the film. Haha does anyone else even care? :P

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comments.

14 comments :

  1. I love comparisons like these! Personally, I like the film more just because the digital is more vivid and I like my tones more desaturated. :)

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  2. I second you on the film-bias. I particularly like the blurred yet defined background on the film - the digital is more messy blurred background. Guess the film contrast helps my interpretation of the picture.

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  3. that´s a lovely idea for a project.. I love it. can´t wait to see more ;)

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  4. I second Jacqueline - you can't beat the film! ;)

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  5. Really interesting comparison! I never knew they could look so different. What a contrast!

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  6. mm, definitely the film more for some reason. The tones seem more deep, like its real or something. Like I can put my hand through the photo lol

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  7. i'm not sure either! i think for me it's the digital :)

    xo Alison

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  8. I think that with film, whites are not as hot as with digital. Which means less dodge and burn when processing.

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  9. I think this would make a lovely series! Looking forward to seeing more. (& I think I prefer the film photo.)

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  10. Nice to see the differences, like both for different reasons. Are these both at the same exposure levels, e.g. "film speed," aperture and shutter?

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  11. I don't really know the slightest when it comes to photography but in this photoset, I really like the digital. It makes the reds pop so much more.

    Oh and happy belated! Hope it was memorable!

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  12. Neat comparison! I stumbled upon your blog via your Flickr, via Explore a long while back (was looking at my bookmarked streams and figured I'd see what you have been up to lately).

    Definitely inspired me to bust out my old SLR, though, when I have time - I'm not much of a photographer (ah, the life of a grad student - no time to practice!) but this seems like a good experiment that might also improve general technique.

    Thanks for the idea, keep it up!

    http://thegreenlight.tumblr.com/

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  13. really hard to choose between the two. both are pretty in its own ways, i wouldn't necessarily prefer one over the other in this case. i tend to prefer film when it comes to skin tones, but otherwise i think digital images are pretty darn good, esp yours!

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  14. wonderful idea for a series.
    here I prefer the film but both are gorgeous

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