My first camera with was a 35mm film camera where you had to insert the film with correctly and take photos. There was never any guarantee or preview of the photo that you had taken.

Today we are spoilt with digital cameras. There is no such thing as inserting film any longer as everything has turned to digital. Now we even have mobile phones that have 10 mega-pixel cameras.

1. The cost of a digital camera in the end, works out far cheaper than the SLR 35mm film camera. When you buy a digital camera it may have internal memory, but you can also add a memory card for extra space. This storage space can be re-used over and over and you only need to develop what pictures you choose to. With the SLR 35mm film camera you had to develop the entire film, regardless of whether they were good pictures or not. You also had to buy film that would only store 24 or 36 pictures at the most each time your film was finished. This was a definite waste of money. This is just one example of how cost effective a digital camera can be.
2. Better Picture quality. Well now days the sky’s the limit. It depends on how much you want to spend as to what quality your photos will be. With the SLR 35mm film camera you did not have the choices that we have with digital cameras. Only the professionals new what their cameras could do and what quality they were. You can get a 4 megapixel camera now, which is one of the cheapest, and take mind blowing pictures thanks to all the automatic settings. If you really want to spend thousands of dollars you can buy a SLR Digital camera that can act like an automatic digital cameras, or you can change settings manually.
3. The convenience. If you already have a digital camera, you must know how great they really are. You can take as many pictures as you want without changing films or having to get them developed. The cameras are smaller and more compact, and easy to carry around in your pocket or handbag. Some people have a camera necklace or a digital camera mobile phone. Why carry around a SLR camera when you can snap away with you digital camera.
4. The easy computer connection. Most new digital cameras transfer your photos to your computer as soon as they are plugged in. All you have to do is tell it where to store them. To transfer your pictures you can use the Scanner and Camera wizard that is built into Windows or you can use the software that came with your camera. If you wanted to transfer your photos from the SLR 35mm film camera you needed to scan the photos into the computer. Now you only need to plug your camera into the computer. Of course the new SLR digital cameras connect to the computer, however the cost is a big issue.
5. More Options. The options and choices are endless. Most digital cameras have options to zoom in and out, takes landscapes, close-ups, put a frame around your picture, take video clips, delayed timers, menus, and numerous other settings. Each brand has different options available depending on how much you have paid for your camera. The SLR 35mm film camera basically had a button that you could press to take a photo. The higher range ones had adjustments you could make, however you needed to know your stuff. A digital camera does it all for you.
6. Makes sharing easy and cost free. If someone wanted a copy of a photo you would have to develop a picture for them. However now you can simply send them a digital copy through your email and they can print it out if they wish. This way it costs you nothing. Here are other ways to share pictures and photos.

7. No more bad pictures. Not only can you see what picture you are taking on the LCD screen, but if you don’t like it you can simply delete the picture. This way bad pictures are not taking up space on your memory card.

8. Edit your own pictures. Most digital cameras come with photo editing software which makes it very easy to simply brighten a picture or even remove redeye. In the old days you had to get a professional to do that for you. You can also use a free online picture editor.

9. Memory cards can be upgraded and reused. We were always limited with how many photos we could take, however now we can just buy a bigger memory card that stores more photos on it. I have a 2GB memory card in my camera and it will fit 1800 pictures on the best quality setting at 6 megapixels. Needless to say, I have never filled my cameras memory storage and probably never will.

10. You don’t need to be a professional photographer. When you took photos with the SLR 35mm film camera you never new if it would turn out until you developed it. However now digital cameras are so fantastic on the ordinary automatic setting, that not even a monkey can take a bad picture. Every now and then I come across some mind blowing pictures that I have taken. Thank god I didn’t have to adjust the lighting and focus myself.

Notes:

• Digital cameras are also incorporated into mobile phones and have now reached the 10 megapixel mark and still climbing.

• A 5 megapixel will take great photos, however now you can get 7 megapixel digital cameras for under $100.
• The new SLR digital cameras are definitely great, however they are still bulky, and very expensive. If you just do photography for a hobby or a home user then an automatic digital cameras is for you.
• SLR digital cameras are better suited to professional use.