Taj Mahal is made of Granite.
Vs
Taj Mahal was made of Granite.
Which one's more correct?
Similarly,
This film was shot using the Nikon D700.
Vs
The film is shot using the Nikon D700.
As far as I know, we use past simple for something that happened at a specific point in the past which may/may not have significance in the present. But we use simple present to talk about facts or truth. For example:
Bread is made of flour.
So which one of the above expressions are correct in both cases?
It's dependant on your perspective.
The Taj Mahal is made of marble... it's still standing, people go visit it every day.
The Taj Mahal was made of marble, even though most buildings of the time were made from sandstone... if you are discussing its construction, 400 years ago, then 'was' would work.
Conversely...
Old London Bridge was made of wood - it's long-gone, you can't go visit it. Both its construction & its physical presence are in the past.
Similarly for the camera. [The D700 is a DSLR, btw, not a film camera.]
I'm holding a roll of exposed film in my hand. "This film was shot using the Nikon F6".
It's done, it's over & what we now have is the result.
Watching a documentary of a photographer at work. We see him put film in a camera & then start shooting. The commentary says "The film is shot using the Nikon F6"
