Bird photography has never been easy. Most birds are relatively small subjects and make for fast moving targets. Serious amateurs as well as seasoned professionals require medium to long telephoto lenses and camera bodies with high frames per second rates to get quality images of our avian friends. Technological advancements in the last two years have enabled many of us to convert from traditional 35mm film format to digital photography. What are the reasons for this major paradigm shift, and what advantages does a bird photographer gain by switching to digital? Is there still a place for film, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each format?

Film--the long and short of it

Contrary to popular belief, film will be around for a long time. Many bird photographers prefer slides, and enjoy going through stacks of them on their light tables. Slides or negatives produced from film cameras are tangible fruit of their labor and can be stored and retrieved easily, as opposed to searching for digital image files on computer hard drives. Initial cost of film bodies is less than comparable digital bodies, but that can quickly be offset by film and processing fees. All film cameras are “full frame,” offering an advantage to those who like wide-angle lenses and panoramic scenes. Film cameras are typically less prone to elements of weather and electronic problems.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Occasional bird photographers can make the decision to shoot film based on their personal preference, but serious amateurs and professionals who sell images for a living are driven by the market and their client base. Many stock agencies and publications will only accept film images, but this is rapidly changing. Most book and magazine publishers now willingly accept digital files as well as slides. 

Film has disadvantages as well. Exposure and composition must be near perfect with slides, and photographers are never sure until they get the film or slides back from the processing lab. It is often too late by then to retake the photos. Cost can be prohibitive if they shoot a lot of film. Slides and negatives must be carefully protected from light and harsh temperatures. Film at medium and high ISO exhibits excessive noise or grain, much more so than digital. Photographers must carry a lot of bulky film on long shoots, and often several different types to accommodate varied lighting conditions.

Digital--the long and short of it

Point and shoot digital cameras have their place, but they are not ideal for birds. Cameras that accept several lenses are preferred. If you already own an assortment of lenses, chances are good a digital body of the same brand will perform nicely with all of them. Competition among the major manufacturers in recent years has driven down the cost of digital cameras. Affordable bodies in the 4-6 megapixel range are capable of up to 24" x 30" prints and larger.  Another big plus for bird photographers is most digital bodies have a 1.3X to 1.6X crop factor built in. This equates to shooting with a 1.4X teleconverter, allowing more reach. A 300mm lens on a 35mm camera becomes a 420mm lens attached to a digital camera.

Painted Bunting

No longer do you have to wait for film to come back from the processing lab. Bird photographers using digital equipment instantly see the results of their work. They can make in-the-field adjustments for exposure and composition. If lighting conditions change suddenly, they merely adjust ISO speed settings on the fly--using 35mm, they had to carry several different types of film. Gone also is the cost of 35mm film and processing. Image quality with major brand cameras is exceptionally good, on a par with, if not better than 35mm in many cases.

Digital cameras should be treated with care as with a computer because in fact, they are a computer. When an image is taken, the camera writes it to an internal removable storage device. Image files are later transferred to home computers, and they should always be backed up to alternate drives or other media such as a CD-ROM. Preservation of files is crucial because you can no longer fall back to slides or negatives.

To get the most out of bird photography in the digital world, you must become more than just a photographer. Achieving optimum image quality requires developing an efficient workflow. Workflow is the process of fine tuning your images as they come from your camera into the finished product on your personal computer using image editing software. High quality digital cameras provide the user with a choice of file sizes and formats for saving images. Part of the planning of your work flow will include the selection of your preferred image format.

Saving images in the jpg format is popular with many photographers.  Maximum image quality is obtained by "shooting raw," but images saved as raw files are very large and require specialized software for editing.

Some editing programs are more sophisticated than others, but all demand a certain skill level. All of your images will need some adjustments such as sharpening, adding contrast, and color saturation. Mastering these skills takes some time but pays substantial dividends. 

Breezebrowser (Windows only,) Adobe Capture Raw (packaged with Photoshop CS) and CaptureOne are the preferred software choices for converting raw images. Photoshop CS and the less expensive Photoshop Elements are the preferred image editing software. Almost all professionals use Photoshop CS, as it is the industry standard.

If you are still photographing birds with 35mm equipment, maybe you should consider making the switch to digital. Digital photography has arrived and is the future of bird photography. But does that mean film is dead? No, it is far from that. If you prefer to photograph birds using a film body, by all means do so--after all, it is your choice!

See more of Bill's images and learn more about his photography in the All About Birds featured photographer gallery.