Film Or Digital: A Snapshot of Canadians And Their Photo Preferences

Toronto, ON - Digital photography appears to be leaving traditional film photography in the dust, with seven in ten (68%) Canadians indicating that they typically use digital cameras (66%) or camera phones (3%) to take their pictures. For traditionalists, one in six (17%) indicate that they typically still use film while 14% of Canadians say they do not take pictures. And, while one might expect differences to exist among age categories--and they do--even Canadians aged 55 and older have been swept up in the digital age with nearly one half (44%) indicating that they typically use digital photography compared with three in ten (27%) who prefer the use of film to take their photos.

But while the new digital revolution has eschewed most of the click and film enthusiasts, when it comes to sharing their photos Canadians seem to prefer more traditional means: seven in ten (68%) say they are `very' (37%) or `somewhat' (31%) likely to share their photos by simply giving their friends and families printed photos, and a similar proportion (68%) say they are `very' (46%) or `somewhat' (22%) likely to share their photos with their friends and family through email.

This compares with the newer forms of photo sharing that land further down the list: three in ten (29%) say that they are `very' (16%) or `somewhat likely' (13%) to share their photos on facebook or a similar networking website; one quarter (26%) say they are `very' (11%) or' somewhat' (15%) likely to share their photos via an online photo sharing website; and slightly less (24%) indicate suggest that they are `very' (11%) or `somewhat likely' (13%) to post their photos on personal websites or blogs.

With greater capacity for digital snaps and storage, it's really no surprise that four in ten (42%) Canadians say that the amount of pictures that they personally take has increased over the past five years, compared to those who say that the amount of pictures they have taken has stayed the same (39%) or decreased (15%). And those snappers are storing, on average, approximately 470 printed photos, and 430 digital photos. In fact, one quarter (23%) say that they have over 1000 printed photos, and one in five (19%) say that they have at least 1000 digital photos. This number is rapidly increasing for many, especially since the same number (19%) say they receive over 25 digital photos per month from friends and families over the internet.

Focusing specifically on digital storage, this crowd is most likely to use their computer's own hard drive (82%), a CD ROM or DVD (70%), or memory cards (51%) to store their photos. However, a majority of Canadians (53%) maintain that they print their digital photos and store them in an album.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Kodak from July 31-Aug 2, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1002 was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

Seven In Ten (68%) Using Digital Photography;

Two In Ten (17%) Using Film...

Seven in ten (68%) Canadians indicate that they typically use digital cameras (66%) or camera phones (3%) to take their pictures, while two in ten (17%) indicate that they typically still use film. 14% of Canadians report that they don't take pictures.

• A large difference exists among age categories with almost all (87%) Canadians aged 18 to 34 reporting that they use digital photography, compared to three quarters (74%) of Canadians aged 35 to 54, and 44% of Canadians aged 55 and older (compared with film photography at 27%).
• Just 7% of Canadians aged 18 to 34 use film photography.
• Residents of Alberta (77%) and British Columbia (75%) are more likely to use digital photography than are residents of the Prairie Provinces (67%) and Quebec (60%). Those in the Prairie Provinces are, in fact, the most likely to typically use film (26%) photography than the least likely Ontarians (17%).
• Men (71%) cite using digital photography more than women (66%).

Canadians More Likely To Use Traditional Means Of Sharing Photos...

Canadians seem to prefer more traditional means of photo sharing with seven in ten (68%) saying that they are `very' (37%) or `somewhat' (31%) likely to share their photos by simply giving their friends and families printed photos, and a similar proportion (68%) saying that they are `very' (46%) or `somewhat' (22%) likely to share their photos with their friends and family through email.

• British Columbia photo-buffs are the most likely to say that they are likely to email their photos to friends and family (78%) compared with Quebec residents who are the least likely (61%).
• 43% of Atlantic Canadian snappers say that they are likely to use facebook, or similar social networking sites as a photo sharing tool, while just 21% of those in Quebec say that they are likely to do the same.
• Not surprisingly, older Canadians are to be less inclined to share photos at all but the opposite is true for younger Canadians.

Canadians Taking More Photos...

Canadians photo-buffs appear to be taking more photos these days: 42% indicate that the amount of photos that they've taken over the past five years has increased compared with just 15% saying that it is decreased. Four in ten (39%) report it has stayed about the same.

• Six in ten (59%) younger Canadians report that the amount of pictures that they have taken in the past five years has increased, while just three in ten (31%) say that it has decreased.
• Older Canadians are the most likely to say that the amount of pictures that they have taken has decreased (22%).

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2902
[email protected]

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