AboutDave Nyce Expertise I have used SLR cameras for 30 years and have taught classes on photography at work for my co-workers. I had a darkroom for 20 years, but now am using mostly digital cameras. I can answer questions on equipment and techniques for photography, but am not an expert on specific model numbers of cameras or accessories.
Expert: Dave Nyce Date: 2/23/2008 Subject: teaching children: digital v analog
Question Hi... My 10 year old son is interested in taking photos and I have wondered whether his introduction to photography should start with analog or digital photography. I own a Canon EOS Rebel and took black and white photography courses years ago using this camera. My son sees his friends using digital cameras and is drawn to them. I was given a digital camera several years ago but I have never used it and reallly know nothing about digital photography.
I'm not sure whether I should nudge my son toward using my Canon camera or let him start with the digital one. Should this be an issue of which method he is more interested in (digital)...or the method that I am most comfortable with (analog), so that I can actually teach him something?
Also...do beginners actually learn anything about the principles of photography when they use digital cameras? Should the starting point be analog photography and then a migration to digital? Does it matter?
Thanks very much for your input! Jill
Answer The main components of a film camera include the lens, shutter, maybe a flash, and the film. With either an anolog (film) camera or a digital camera, everything works in the same way except for the film. A digital camera uses an electronic light sensor instead of film. With a digital camera, you still have to get the image focused onto the light sensor, and to give it the proper amount of light.
Digital cameras usually have a lot of extra features, but my last film camera (a Nikon N90) also had a lot of features. The digital camera, of course, has the additional capability of storing the image digitally, and also can easily be modified and printed at home instead of in a darkroom. I got rid of my darkroom a few years ago, and now use only digital.
My recommendation is to let him use the digital. You still control the amount of light with the combination of shutter and aperture, you still control the depth-of-field with the aperture, you still stop motion with a faster shutter speed or with a flash. So, all of the same theory still applies, but there are additional possibilities available with the digital camera.
