Analog Film vs Digital Photo Cost Calculator
How this film vs digital cost calculator works
This calculator estimates and compares the financial cost of shooting analog film versus digital photography over a planned number of photos. It focuses on the big-ticket items that most photographers actually pay for: cameras, film rolls, development, and memory cards.
To use it, you enter your expected costs for a film camera, film rolls, development per roll, and how many photos each roll provides. Then you enter your digital camera cost, memory card cost, and how many total photos you expect to take over the life of this gear. The calculator then estimates:
- Total cost for film and for digital over that photo count.
- Cost per photo for each option.
- How the totals change as you shoot more images.
Formulas used in the calculator
The core idea is simple: film has lower upfront gear cost but ongoing per-roll expenses, while digital has higher upfront cost but very low per-photo cost after that. The calculator turns those ideas into a few formulas.
Number of film rolls needed
If you plan to shoot a total of P photos and you get R photos per roll of film (for example, 36 exposures), the number of rolls you need is:
In practice you may need to round this up to the next whole roll, but the calculator will typically treat this as a continuous approximation.
Total and per-photo cost for film
Let:
- Cc,f = film camera cost
- F = film roll cost
- D = development cost per roll
- P = total photos planned
- R = photos per roll
- N = number of rolls needed
The number of rolls is:
Total cost of film shooting is:
The cost per photo for film is then:
Total and per-photo cost for digital
For digital, we assume you buy a camera and at least one memory card that can handle the total photos you plan to take. Let:
- Cc,d = digital camera cost
- M = memory card cost
- P = total photos planned
Total digital cost:
Per-photo digital cost:
As you increase P, the total digital cost stays almost flat (apart from any extra cards or storage you choose to add yourself), so cost per photo falls quickly.
Interpreting the results
Once you enter your numbers and run the calculator, you will typically see total and per-photo costs for both film and digital. Here is how to read those outputs:
- Total film cost – This combines the film camera purchase and all the rolls and development needed to reach your planned photo count. It grows steadily as you raise the number of photos.
- Film cost per photo – This is your effective “all-in” price per image, amortizing the camera and every roll and development fee across all photos.
- Total digital cost – This is basically fixed at camera + memory card, regardless of how many photos you take (within the rough capacity you assume for your card).
- Digital cost per photo – This starts high when you only plan to shoot a small number of images, but rapidly drops as you plan for thousands of shots.
If the digital cost per photo is lower than the film cost per photo at your planned volume, then digital is cheaper on a purely financial basis. If film is cheaper per photo at very low volumes, it only stays that way until you cross a certain number of images, after which the ongoing roll and development costs overtake digital’s upfront cost.
Worked example
Suppose a film enthusiast buys a used film camera for $200. Each roll of film costs $8, and development costs $12 per roll. The camera uses 36-exposure rolls. They expect to shoot 3,000 photos over the next few years. They are comparing this to buying a digital camera for $900 plus a $40 memory card.
Film side
- Film camera cost, Cc,f = $200
- Film roll cost, F = $8
- Development cost per roll, D = $12
- Photos per roll, R = 36
- Total planned photos, P = 3,000
Number of rolls:
N = P / R = 3,000 / 36 ≈ 83.33 rolls (you would effectively need 84 rolls).
Total film cost:
Ctotal,f = 200 + 84 × (8 + 12) = 200 + 84 × 20 = 200 + 1,680 = $1,880.
Cost per photo:
Cper,f = 1,880 / 3,000 ≈ $0.63 per image.
Digital side
- Digital camera cost, Cc,d = $900
- Memory card cost, M = $40
- Total planned photos, P = 3,000
Total digital cost:
Ctotal,d = 900 + 40 = $940.
Cost per photo:
Cper,d = 940 / 3,000 ≈ $0.31 per image.
In this scenario, digital is roughly half the cost per photo compared with film. If the photographer instead planned to shoot only 500 photos total, film might come closer in cost, because the film camera cost is spread over fewer images and the number of rolls is lower.
Scenario comparison table
The table below illustrates how costs can diverge at different shooting volumes, based on one set of sample prices. Your own numbers will be different, but the pattern is typically similar.
| Scenario | Planned photos | Film total cost (example) | Digital total cost (example) | Cheaper medium (cost only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: Casual shooter | 500 | $1,180 | $940 | Digital |
| B: Committed hobbyist | 10,000 | $6,200 | $940 | Digital |
Scenario A represents someone who shoots only a few hundred photos over several years. Even there, digital often wins because the camera and card can be reused for many more shots than originally planned, while every roll of film requires new spending.
Scenario B shows a photographer who shoots tens of thousands of images. Here, the cumulative cost of rolls and development makes film dramatically more expensive than digital. As the photo count rises, each additional frame is almost free with digital but stays relatively expensive on film.
When film might still make sense financially
Although digital usually becomes cheaper beyond a modest number of photos, there are cases where film can be competitive or even cheaper over the short term:
- Very low shooting volume – If you only plan to shoot a few rolls per year and own a very inexpensive film camera (or already have one), the extra cost of a new digital camera might not be justified.
- Low-cost development options – Home developing or local community darkrooms can lower the per-roll cost dramatically, improving the film side of the equation.
- Shared gear – If you can borrow a film camera or digital camera for free, your effective cost structure changes. The calculator assumes you are bearing the full cost of each camera.
However, as soon as you regularly shoot large volumes or do paid work, the recurring cost of film rolls and development will usually outweigh digital’s upfront investment.
Non-financial factors to keep in mind
This calculator is strictly about money. Many photographers choose film or digital based on other considerations, such as:
- Aesthetic preferences – Film grain, color response, dynamic range, and highlight roll-off can all influence the look of your images.
- Workflow – Film may encourage slower, more deliberate shooting, while digital is suited to rapid iteration, instant review, and high-volume work.
- Archiving and backup – Negatives and slides are physical objects that can be stored long term; digital files require ongoing backup and management.
- Learning and experimentation – With digital, the marginal cost of extra practice shots is near zero, which can be useful for learning quickly.
Use the numbers from the calculator as one input into your decision, but balance them against the experience and artistic results you value most.
Key assumptions and limitations
To keep the tool simple and fast, several assumptions are made. Understanding them will help you interpret the results correctly:
- One-time camera and card costs – The calculator assumes you buy each camera and memory card once and use them for the entire planned photo count. It does not model multiple upgrades or replacements.
- No resale value – Any future resale value of your film or digital camera is ignored. In reality, selling gear later could reduce your effective total cost.
- No maintenance or repair – Costs for sensor cleaning, CLA services, shutter replacements, or other maintenance are not included.
- Fixed film and development prices – Film roll and development prices are treated as constant, even though they may change over time or vary between labs and regions.
- Memory card capacity is sufficient – The memory card cost is treated as a one-time expense, assuming one card (or the set of cards you budget for) can reasonably cover the total photos you plan to take.
- No printing or scanning – Printing photos, scanning negatives, and any lab add-ons (push/pull processing, high-resolution scans) are not included.
- No storage or backup costs – Hard drives, cloud storage, and backup subscriptions are ignored on the digital side; physical storage boxes and archival sleeves are ignored on the film side.
- No time value of money – Paying for film and development over time may feel different from paying a large amount upfront for digital gear, but the calculator does not discount future spending.
- Excludes smartphones – Smartphone photography is not modeled. If you already own a smartphone, your marginal cost per photo is often close to zero, but image quality and workflow may differ from dedicated cameras.
Because of these simplifications, treat the outputs as a first-order estimate rather than an exact prediction of your lifetime photography costs. For most people, the relative comparison between film and digital is more important than any one precise number.
Using the calculator effectively
For best results, try entering a realistic range of total photos you might shoot: for example, 500, 3,000, and 10,000 photos. Watch how the film and digital cost per photo change at each level. This helps you see at what point digital becomes clearly cheaper, and whether your own habits are closer to a casual shooter or a high-volume photographer.
You can also experiment with different film and development prices or with a cheaper used digital camera to see how sensitive the break-even point is to each input. This kind of quick scenario testing is exactly what the calculator is designed to support.