Sharpness & Grain
In general, film has more grain than digital. And film grain has a specific look. Granted, I was shooting ISO 400 film vs. ISO 100 digital, but even digital images at ISO 400 are going to have much less grain than film. Again, grain is going to vary not only with the film but also with the camera, the lens, scan, and the post processing. But here are my comparisons from the basic edits I had:In this first instance, the film actually appears “sharper” but also grainier. I would have probably sharpened the eyes more in post on the digital file. But you can also see the difference in grain in all the shadow areas. In this case, the digital file looks a lot smoother Based on this example, I think film tends to soften hard light. Look at the shadows cast by her eyelashes– soft and feathery vs. individual lines. Again, the film is grainy; you can see the texture of the grain as if it’s a layer of ground glass over the image, but it’s not unpleasant, depending on your taste. However, the digital file is much more crisp and clean. It’s definitely a matter of preference and also depends to a certain extent on the scan quality. I’m torn on this one. I prefer a little less grain, but I love the soft shading over crisp hard lines. So… it’s a tie?