The battle between using conventional film while hunting for ghosts and adopting a digital medium has been raging since digital cameras first entered the scene and both have their pros and cons. But with far more digital fakes coming up in film now than ever, the idea has some ghost hunters returning to more conventional forms of filming. Is your ghost group ready to go digital? Here are some of the pros and cons of using digital film while tracking the paranormal.
First is a con and it’s the most widely quoted. If you catch a photograph that is incredibly compelling and it’s only on a digital medium there is a chance many will say it’s digitally altered. If your goal is to absolutely gather evidence that will once and for all prove the existence of spirits and other paranormal phenomena this is something that should be taken very seriously and you may wish to stick to film that must be developed. While this is enough to make some more hard-core ghost hunters make the switch back, it should be noted that several interesting ghost photos have been taken with digital cameras.
Now for the plus side of digital film. A digital camera can take very large high definition photos in very large quantities. If you plan on taking hundreds upon hundreds of photos, but don’t have the budget of a Hollywood producer, you may want to consider using the digital medium. Not only will you be able to gather evidence at even the slightest hint of an upcoming paranormal event, you will have enough space to document the less paranormal things that are happening as well.
And the digital medium leaves less room for error when it comes to filing. Most modern cameras will convert the medium into a form that can be named or work with a software that does this for you. You can categorize an entire folder of digital captures and then name them accordingly. These can be looked at again later to decide if their contents contain nothing out of the ordinary or they actually require further review.
Conventional photos do, however, give you a lot of hard copies of photographs that will not need to be converted if technology changes thirty years from now. And if you are wanting something to hang on your wall or keep in a filing cabinet you may benefit from using conventional film.
But conventional photography does leave room for errors. In a field where every trick of the light and every hair on the lens can be interpreted as a purposeful hoax or proof of a paranormal encounter, you may wish to reduce the number of things that can happen that yield false positives. Digital film does not require the photos be processed in a lab and so there is one fewer step for mistakes to happen.
And finally a practical note, conventional film requires you carry the film around. If space in your carrying bag is an issue, and you plan on taking several photos you may want to stick to digital.
Regardless of your medium, the content is going to be scrutinized by those you share your findings with. Stay safe, good luck, and good hunting!
