There are three main reasons for the sales success of digital cameras: one of the most intensive marketing campaigns in history, peer pressure to be up to date and yes, digital has some advantages over film.

The major advantages? (1) No film or processing costs; (2) Ability to preview the results immediately for a quality check; (3) Automatic white balance; (4) Immediate results – view and transmit images via the Internet or as prints, in minutes; (5) No waiting to complete a roll of film; and (6) Easy to carry, compact size.

The rationale of these articles is to cover technical information generally not in camera magazines, without replacing the 200-page manual supplied with prosumer cameras.

Without film and processing costs, digital photography is effectively free, so it’s a breeze to take more images. This invariably leads to more choices, enabling amateurs to produce better images, plus professionals save time and know how their images will look.

Digital x-rays (right) need less power than conventional (left) and exhibit much more detail. In this case, the dark area seen in the digital x -ray is very important. The very light area of filling is not a problem, as the software has brightness and contrast controls.

There are industrial and business advantages too, like incredibly detailed, lower power x-rays – safer, more informative and quicker than conventional technology. Results are easily viewed, stored and transmitted, with computer controls like brightness, cropping and sharpness.

Automatic white balance is a brilliant exclusive-to-digital feature. Of all the advantages, the immediacy leads as the standout attraction.

Some of the digital advantages can also have their own disadvantages:

(1) No film/processing cost for images means the photographer usually takes many more shots of the same thing.

(2) Previewing the results immediately for a quality check takes time.

(3) Considerable computer time and "grunt", plus quite detailed knowledge of image processing software, is needed to achieve the best images.