Digital BW, The Print

Peter writes:

> The ONLY variable being discussed is whether it's
> cheaper to use a film camera or a digital camera.
> My claim is that for a serious photographer who does
> lots of shooting digital is cheaper.

That is debatable even for color, and is even shakier for black and white.

Electronic cameras are a very poor choice for black and white photography,
unless they are special-purpose cameras dedicated _specifically_ to black
and white (i.e., no filter over the CCD).  Even then, they must be of good
quality to match the range of just about any film (typically 10-12 stops).

> Why is film more convenient and what can't
> you do with digital down the road?

Why is it necessary to justify _not_ going to digital?  If film works, why
change?

Claude writes:

> All negative films, color or Black and White
> can handle more linear information than can be
> printed on paper with a 7 stop density range, so how
> do you make it fit?

By selecting the parts you want to print in Photoshop and moving them into
the printable range.  The procedure is the same for both film and electronic
capture.