Can You Tell the Difference Between Digital B&W and Film?

A common remark I hear from photographers is that there's no need to shoot B&W film because it's so easy to convert digital files to monochrome. Why take on the extra work?

Generally speaking, I think that's a fair comment. We can make very, very nice B&W images on our computers choosing from a variety of tools and film simulations. And yet, film is still a bit different. Maybe it's the randomness of the silver crystals compared to organized patten of pixels, maybe it's something else.

So I thought we'd have a little fun with this. Here are two images. Both shot with a Nikon and a 50mm f/1.8 lens. One is digital, and the other is Tri-X film that I processed at the studio and scanned on a $160 Kodak Scanza. Which one is the digital, and which one is from Tri-X?

Dibs-Photo-1.jpeg Photo A - Dibs the Cat.

Dibs-Photo-2.jpeg Photo B - Dibs the Cat.

There are two ways you can vote. Inner Circle Members can cast their vote on our Patreon page. Members of our Facebook community can let their voice be heard on the TheDigitalStory FB Home Page.

And for a little extra fun, let us know which one you like better!