Film vs. Digital
By Karina | September 8, 2010
I think it’s a pretty obvious conclusion that a film camera is inherently less “green” than a digital one – after all, there’s all the chemicals involved in making and processing the film, to start with. (Anyone remember that smell of warm photos fresh from the 1-hr photomat? that’s the smell of volatile organic chemicals!) There’s lots of helpful sites out there - like this one - that say to use digital cameras over film to avoid all that mess. Plus when you really break down the traditional film market, you have so much waste – the film itself, the plastic container that many rolls of film come in, and the photographs that come printed out already, whether they’re good quality or not. It’s almost cheaper to get double prints than not to, any more, and that leads to
But you know what – there are flaws with digital cameras, too. They’re a fast growing electronic market that has a certain air of planned obsolescence about it. They can use lots of batteries if you’re not careful or get reusable/rechargeable ones. And I have to say, they’re just so darn EASY that sometimes it can feel like we’re hiding behind the lens in our efforts to document everything.
Lately I’ve been pretty lazy about bringing my digital camera out. Partly that’s because I can’t find my battery charger, and I really don’t want to buy another one! And partly it’s because I feel so busy that sometimes I just *can’t* take the time to photograph the minutia of my life the way I used to. So these days I’ve been bringing my 35mm “barn camera” around with me when I want to take some photographs. It’s really heavy, so I really have to want to use it in order to justify the weight. And it’s a barn camera because I bought it at a barn sale for $20, and it’s a good traditional pentax camera. It’s a totally different experience to use a film camera – you aren’t constantly double-checking to make sure your photo comes out correctly, rather, you have to just trust that it does (or not trust, and take another picture). The framing is slightly different with film than digital, probably only because you have to use a viewfinder. And it’s just really satisfying to hear the click and to wind the film manually.
But how can I get around the waste of film? This is how I’ve tried to minimize the impact:
- I try my hardest to buy film that doesn’t have the wasteful plastic container. Sure, they can be repurposed, but it’s just plain better to avoid them.
- I use a mail order film developing service – I have been using snapfish for a while – it’s more affordable, for one, than the local drug store, but also it’s a centralized developing location that, theoretically, has better control over the hazardous chemicals required for developing than your local photomat.
- I also don’t get photo CDs or double prints. Snapfish allows me to download the highres photos that I actually *want* to keep electronically for an additional fee, and that saves the CD waste.
They’re little things, but being thoughtful about my film consumption does help mitigate the waste, a tiny bit anyway!
When’s the last time you used a film camera?
[[Photo by flickr user Josa Jr via creative commons license.]]
Topics: Media | 1 Comment »
As a photographer, I only use film cameras unless I’m on the go and pulling out my Android phone to snap something with. As someone who tries to reduce ze’s carbon footprint, I understand that harsh chemicals are used to develop film and process the photographs, however, there is something real, something meaningful in the hands on approach, on the necessity of being involved and knowing how to use the camera rather than just snapping slide after slide with a plastic digital toy. And truly, digital cameras can eat battery after battery if rechargeable ones aren’t used, adding to toxic landfill waste.
My Nikon FM10 is a year or so older than I am and I turn 30 this year.