Progress and Future Prospects of Silver Halide Photography Compared with Digital Imaging

Abstract

The progress and future prospect of silver halide photography are analyzed by comparing the structure and efficiency of image formation of color films with those of CCDs in digital still cameras for amateur consumers. It is predicted that the efficiency of image formation by a color film, which is based on the efficiencies of absorption of incident photons and conversion of absorbed photons into latent image centers by silver halide grains, will be increased by several times in the future. It is also predicted that the superiority of color films over digital still cameras in terms of image quality and cost will remain in the future, because the efficiency of image formation by CCD is based on the efficiencies of absorption of incident photons and conversion of absorbed photons into photoelectrons, both of which are very high and have therefore little room for improvement. The characteristics of photographic systems with color films were also analyzed in comparison with those of digital imaging systems with CCDs.