Why Go Digital? igital photography is not a replacement for traditional photography, but an additional tool. Think of a toolbox: most people have both a flathead and a Phillips-head screwdriver in it. One is no better than the other, but each has different applications. Advantages to Digital Photography Ñ Affordability With digital photography, there are no film costs or processing expenses (paper, chemicals or development costs). If a user makes a mistake or just does not like the image that was taken, the reusable PCMCIA cards or digital film allows the user to erase the picture and simply reshoot it. Ñ Communication Digital photography makes communication a simple process. A photo can easily be saved to a digital format, put into an Internet Web site, sent as e-mail, or even included as part of an electronic postcard sent to friends from far away. Ñ Control Digital cameras, combined with image manipulation software, let users resize, rotate, cut and paste, recolor, and otherwise manipulate their photos. Ñ Deletion The PCMCIA cards or digital film standard with digital cameras allows users to immediately determine if a picture is appropriate and simply delete it to make room for another picture. Ñ Duplication The image can be duplicated over and over without any degradation of picture quality. Ñ Ease of use With digital photography, there's no fuss, no muss. If a photographer doesn't have time or space or interest in mixing chemicals, the same effects can be achieved using a computer as a digital darkroom. Ñ Image storage PCMCIA cards or digital film allows users to store anywhere from 18 to 3,000 images at one time depending on the resolution of the image and the compression used. Ñ Immediacy A user can snap a photo, immediately see it on the digital camera's LCD screen, then instantly transfer it into a computer using a serial or parallel cable or removable PCMCIA cards. Digital images can be produced immediately, either printed or electronically distributed over the Internet.