Film vs Digital does it matter?
There have been a lot of articles and discussions on the merits of each method of creating images. The simple truth is to shoot with what you are comfortable using as long as it fits your needs. Do not be afraid to use both as many do.
I have been asked many times lately why I am going back to film for some of my work. I currently shoot landscapes with my Nikon D810. The images are quite good but there are some things I notice. The questions are about how you are going to use the images. If they are going to be downsized or prepared for internet display digital is a good choice. However, if you are after a high impact image with better resolution and more detail then a good film camera and a professional film is a better option in my opinion.
The math does not lie and neither do the images. There are many articles with examples for you to see but I am putting one here for you to see. This image is from a very good article from thedarkroom.com. It is an older article but it still holds. The article can be found here.
I posted this image larger so you can see the detail in the foreground and the mountains The image has two parts, film on the left and high resolution digital on the right. Of course, there will be many people who will say that they can make them the same but you cannot add detail without photoshop like work.
35mm negative = 24×36 mm or 864 sq. mm. To get that much detail when shooting digital you would need to have about an 87 mp camera. (864 x.01)
The real number is much higher than 87 and then you realize that the pros rarely shot 35mm much outside of sports and news. Running the math is scary for 2 1\4 and 4×5. The numbers for those are staggering and will be added to a chart I am going to do and add to this article.
One main issue here is that to shoot film images requires the photographer to know how to shoot high-quality images without doing all the computer work. If you shoot and get the film developed at a pro lab instead of some retail store or wholesale club you can get high-quality images printed and put into digital form without the loss of quality.