Dixons is the latest retailer to give up on traditional 35mm film cameras in favour of their digital brethren. To mark the moment, Roger Tooth - the Guardian's picture editor - has written on our sister Newsblog about the rise of digital photography
The first cameras the Guardian bought were around £11,000 each. The latest model being bought by the paper is still a not inconsiderable £4,500, but the quality is as good as - if not better than – film, and the images are instantly available.
However, for the average person and their holiday/wedding/family snaps, the 35mm film has always seemed the cheapest and most convenient solution. It was never foolproof, as most people have found when prints have been returned from being developed with "overexposed" or "out of focus" stickers on them. But you could hand round your snaps, showing your friends and family your latest exploits.
