Which statement correctly contrasts analog film images with digital images?

• A. Analog film images are discrete in size and distribution; digital images are continuous and analog.
• B. Analog film images measure color only; digital images measure brightness only.
• C. Analog film images are continuous in size and distribution; digital images are numeric and discrete.
• D. Analog film images have color channels; digital have grayscale only.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is how information is stored: analog film records light as a continuous variation, while digital images are produced by sampling and quantizing. On film, the density and color across the emulsion change smoothly, so you get a seamless range of tones and a continuous image in space. Digital images, however, are built from a grid of pixels; each pixel captures a sample of brightness (and color) and then stores those values as finite numbers. That means both the spatial layout and the tonal/color information are represented discretely, with steps determined by resolution and bit depth.

So the statement that aligns with this is that analog images are continuous in size and distribution, whereas digital images are numeric and discrete. The other options mix up what’s continuous versus discrete or what aspects are captured (color versus brightness) and don’t reflect the fundamental shift from continuous to sampled, quantized data. Digital color isn’t limited to grayscale; it uses multiple channels and discrete levels, just as film can convey color through its dye layers, but with digital it’s expressed in finite, discrete values.