Has going Digital ruined Photography?

Posted on May 8th, 2008 by Keith in Photography

We are in a technologically advanced age where it seems that every new product that hits the market has to be smaller and more crammed with features than the previous version. In some cases the desire to create an iconic design (usually housed in sleek looking, smooth faced, casings…you know the type) seems to be at the expense of practicality and durability. This is especially the case with digital cameras and mobile phones. But, and it’s a big but, there must surely come a time when they are simply too small to be used effectively?

Film cameras have been around for decades and though they are now out of fashion we should maybe reconsider the years of R&D that went into producing them. The one key feature they all shared was a viewfinder. Its purpose? It was an aperture through which you had to look to compose your photographs. This invariably also meant you had to hold the camera correctly, close to your eye, thus ensuring a firm, steady grip. The advent of digital compact cameras, and camera phones, has seen a growing trend to replace the viewfinder with an LCD screen. Curiously, while manufacturers are striving to create smaller cameras they are starting to boast about increasing the size of LCD screens!? This has also created a spin-off in the accessories market with manufacturers now starting to offer protective covers to prevent the LCD screen getting scratched, while others are offering shades so that you can see the image clearer. Sound like ‘one step forward, two steps back’?
How many times do you see people waving their mobile phones and compact digital cameras at arms- length trying to take a photograph or record a few seconds of video. Maybe you’ve done it yourself? The results will almost certainly be blurred from camera shake. You’d think the solution would be to put viewfinders back, but no, in their desire to offer cameras with yet more features, the chosen solution is to build mechanical or computer trickery inside the camera to reduce vibrations.
I wonder how many people actually bother to download or print off their digital images, and of those that do, how many are disappointed with the results? About all they’re good for is uploading to one of those social networking websites or onto Youtube.
So what of the historical aspects? What? I hear you say. Historical? Who gives a… Well, take a minute to think about it. I bet every household in the country has at least one shoebox or album stuffed with old photographs probably tucked away at the back of the wardrobe, but it’s there. It represents your history or your family’s history. They are tangible, captured moments…treasured memories. If we don’t print our digital images or keep them backed up on CD/DVD/Disk then why bother taking them in the first place? And what then will future generations have to look back on to see who we were, how we lived, what our surroundings were like. Food for thought…