21 replies to this topic

[Alex_Mustard]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to put together a fun article for UWP magazine on the subject of why digital photography is better than film photography underwater. (UWP mag)

I want to do this the lazy way by getting you guys and gals to do the hard thinking for me!

All the articles I have seen comparing film and digital are serious and talk about pixels, dynamic range, colour depth etc etc. I want to approach the issue from the point of view of why digital is more fun than film. Afterall most of us "hobbists" do UW photog mainly for the fun.

I'd like the article to have quotes attributed to a range of photographers and would like to author the article by "me and members of the Wetpixel forum". Is this OK Eric? I think it would be good publicity for the site.

Anyway to start the ball rolling my favourite feature of digital cameras is that image review is a great way to pass a safety (/decompression) stop!

Alex

p.s. anything goes from having a laptop on the plane to cool black Japanese camera housings!

[wetpixel]

I'd like the article to have quotes attributed to a range of photographers and would like to author the article by "me and members of the Wetpixel forum". Is this OK Eric? I think it would be good publicity for the site.

Perfect, Alex! Sounds like fun already.

[wetpixel]

Digital is more fun because...

... you can show someone a picture of that huge shark that was just behind them.

... you can review your photos with friends during a safety stop.

... you can shoot an arbitrary number of snapshots of boat life without feeling like you are wasting film.

[TedJ]

Hi Alex,

Digital is more fun because -

You can share so many moments in time with so many people so easily.

TedJ

[wetpixel]

Digital is also fun because you can shoot little video clips with still consumer cameras.

[james]

Digital is fun because:

When I get home from a divetrip, I can share my photos with friends all over the world using the 'net.

I can get the email address of my new "dive buddy" friends I just met and send them photos of themselves looking silly underwater.

I can give friends and family a CD of my photos and they can take it to Walmart to get $.29 prints

Cheers
James

[Ron Boyes]

Digital is fun because:

You can show the Pro using the F5 what they missed after the dive.
Then they buy you beers to take them to the "spot"


regards
ron

[wetpixel]

Digital is fun because digital divers with slaved flashguns (note my targetting a U.K. audience ) fire back at you when you photograph them. You can use them as remote flashgun holders.

[marriard]

Digital is fun because I don't have to ask for handchecks for 100 rolls of film and wonder whether my film has been damaged by the Radiation King X-RAY machine at Middleofnowhere Airport, Divespot.

Also digital is fun because I can justify buying more digital cameras and housings based on the fact I am saving money on development and film

Digital is fun because I can fix my mistakes while still underwater and then delete them before anyone else even gets to see them.

Digital is fun because it gives me an excuse to bring my laptop with me on vacation

:-)

M

[davephdv]

When you promiss pics you can claim you e-mailed them and claim they must have deleted them by accident.

blackmail for all those candid pics

LCD makes a great nightlite

you can make a hundred mistakes a day instead of only 36

Why it's not as much fun

- no longer can make excuses why you have to see that girl at the film developing counter

[Alex_Mustard]

This is great. i have been chuckling away all the way down the page. Thanks so much everyone.

For me digital is fun because you can upload all your best shots onto your microdrive the night before and then show them to people after the dive and pretend you've just taken them!

Keep 'em coming,

Alex

[MikeO]

Digital is fun because:

- you can instantly correct for mistakes instead of waiting until the film is developed to see that your exposure settings were off

- when you want to put your pictures on the web, you don't have to worry about how many slides the hopper on your scanner will hold

and of course, digital is fun because:

- chicks dig wet pixels (almost as much as they dig aluminum)!

Mike

[Craig Ruaux]

Digital is fun because of the adrenaline surge you get everytime you backroll in to salt water with $14K (12K Euro ) worth of moisture sensitive electronics in your lap.

[yahsemtough]

Digital is fun because...

when you are standing on the deck of the boat after the dive explaining how you saw the rare and elusive ____ and the boat does not believe you. You can pull the picture up on the LCD and show them right then and there.

When you are flying home on the plane editing your photos on the laptop you will have the rows of people around you trying hard not to stare at your screen in wonder and amazement.

You can swap pictures with others while still on your trip.

You can send pictures back to your office co-workers while you are still on your trip, just to torment them with all the fun you are having and what they are missing.

[wetpixel]

Digital is fun because...

... while everyone else is sleeping you can sit out on the bow of the boat swearing at the satellite phone for dropping your live-webcasting-call every 2 minutes while uploading at 9600 baud.

grrrr...

[PauP]

Digital is fun because.......

I can now buy your old film kit nice n' cheap




PauP

[Gerb]

Digital is fun because you don't have to convert a spare bedroom into a darkroom to process your images.
Now you can crop, dodge and burn, bathed in the blue glow of your computer monitor instead of the red tint of a safelite.
Now instead of darkroom disasters we have computer crashes.

Havin way to much fun to stop,

Gerb

[Alex_Mustard]

Digital is fun because when after half an hour or so underwater you bump into your buddy again, you can compare critters on your LCDs and decide which you want to show each other.

Digital is fun because you can use the light from your LCD to read your dive computer on a night dive.

[markswr]

Digital is fun because;
You can experiment as much as you wan't with anything that takes your fancy.
and not worry about it.
Total freedom
Your only limit is your imagination.
Mark

[Simon K.]

Digital is fun, ...

...because pulling out the Laptop Right after the dive is the ultimate kick for any gearhead.