Slr Dslr

Slr Dslr

Cheapest alternative to a high-end DSLR is a film SLR?

I've got a good point & shoot Digital camera and looking into a DSLR. I was checking out various boards for recommendations on getting a good deal on a DSLR. One photographer was thinking beyond the box so to speak, and said the best way to save money on a DSLR is to use a film SLR. Since I already have a Canon SLR with an excellent lens set, I'm thinking that using both cameras I already own (digital point & shoot and my Canon film SLR) can sure save me a lot of money. If I'm not going to go for a really high end DSLR (over $1,000 say), am I going to lose any quality with what the cameras I already own?
What I meant about investing in a $1,000 DSLR is that I'd rather not have to if it won't make all that much difference based on the two cameras I have now. My point & shoot digital works great for most situations and I can use my film SLR features for a lot of the features people buy the dslr's for.

Remember where the costs lie with film and digital. If you currently have a film SLR, you won't have any additional up front costs, but you will have ongoing costs of film, developing and printing. I live in Australia, and this works out to be about $15 per 24 exposure roll. You can only take about 65 rolls before you will have spent the same money as you might have for a good DSLR. Only you will know how long that will take.

In contrast, once you have purchased the DSLR, ongoing costs are minimal. There will be some printing costs, but you can be more selective about what you print. You can take almost unlimited shots and work out what to keep later.

As a comparison, I recently took a film SLR with me on holiday together with a point and shoot digital. I took about 17 rolls of film over six weeks, and about 500 digital images. In a similar period two years before I only took the point and shoot, and took over 1800 images. My good image ratio for film is about double that for digital, because I take more care with film to get everything right. With a digital, I will take brackets of five, rather than three, and take a series of shots when I am on a bus to get a single good shot. Leave aside the fact that there was almost no cost, compared to about $200 for developing and printing for film just for this trip.

I like the combination, but I'm not so sure that it is good economics.