Single lens reflex cameras lose out to digital ones

Berlin, April 5:

The single lens reflex (SLR) film camera, which was a must for anyone serious about taking pictures, is slowly losing out to digital technology. However, artistic photographers still swe-ar by it. Rapid advances in digital technology have cast a shadow over analog SLR cameras, which record images on film rather than on a microchip.

While analogue SLR ca-meras are in steady decline, there remains one question to be answered: does this overhauled technology ha-ve a future? “People who use film cameras are not old fashioned. They are utilising the advantages th-at film has over a micro-chip,” says Constanze Clau-ss from the German Photo Industry Association.

A photographer in an Asian rainforest or a remote spot in Siberia is better eq-uipped with a film camera than a digital model becau-se traditional SLR cameras are not so dependent on electricity supply. However, in the long term, film development is to become more expensive and may force analogue photography into a niche segment. “Camera makers have responded to consumers’ expectations by pricing digital camera bodies at between $600 and $1200. You can buy good analogue models for $244, but they are cameras that shop owners cannot sell.” Sales figures are one sign that analogue has already made way for digital technology. According to the German Photography Industry Association, analogue models last year accounted for only seven per cent of the total sales of all SLR cameras in Germany.