What is the difference between film and digital sensors?
The difference between film and digital sensors is almost the same as the difference between traditional film cameras and newer digital cameras of today. The major difference between the two is that film capture is limited to the visible and near infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS), ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and thermal energy, because it is a photochemical process. In a digital sensor, the light is never exposed to film or chemicals. Light is recorded directly as a digital value, making it ideal for working in the computer environment. The digital sensor uses a prism to split light into its individual components, or bands, and records the amount of photons (packets of light) in each band. Therefore, digital sensors can collect light from the upper end of the ultraviolet to the thermal portions of the spectrum.
