wrote:

I sick of seeing all these film Vs Digital pages on the net comparing
film and digital SLRs. For a start no matter what result they get
(either in favour of film or digital) its nearly always inacurate since
they are comparing the images rather than prints and the film images
are rarly Drum scanned and even if they were they are still 3rd party
images, I am bored of them and no longer bother.

What I would like to see is a Film Compact Vs Digital Compact test, Ill
be putting my Fuji F10 up against my Olypus XA soon. Ill then get the
results printed at 9x6 and then scan the prints, Pointless I know, but
its really to settle an argument I got into and to be honist at ISO 400
(witch the test will be caried out at) I think the result is a forgone
conclusion.

Are there any other links to Film P&S Vs Digital P&S tests.

If you use 400 ISO film the digital will produce a cleaner image than
the film. Most tests use 50 or 100 ISO transparency film, and even then
the digital will be cleaner. It seems that photogs who stay with film
claim that they like the colors and gradation of film over digital, and
that they like the appearance of grain which to them makes the
photograph. To each his own.

The physical size of the sensor is less important than the pixel count.
Most compact sensors are about 6x8 millimetres and about 5 megapixels.
If you want an absolute comparison, enlarge a 6x8 mm section of a film
image to your 9x6 and compare that to the digital. The digi will p***
all over the film, from a great height.

Drum scanning is not a goer for ordinary shooting, as the costs are very
high, $60 and up for one frame, so 'tests' of digital against drum scans
are not representative of reality for the average amateur.

The final nail in film's coffin is cost. Every film you buy and have
processed costs in NZ dollars about $25 - $7 for the film and $18 for
good processing. Then you have 24 prints, of which you might keep 5 or
6, if you are selective. So each print has cost you about $4 each.

Weighing it all up, image quality, cost, etc., digital wins hands down.

Colin D.