All of this may be true for color film (i.e. reproductions in color digital are better) but I have yet to see a digital black and white image equal to the subtlety of a good B&W neg printed on premium B&W paper. This is where films advantage still lies (as noted in Joe's email).
We'll also see how long these digital cameras can "last" - we all are aware of Pentaxi that are still in great working condition after 30 or 35 years. Do you really think a Canon D30/D60/10D or Nikon D100 will be able to hold up that long? Cheers Dave Original Message: ----------------- From: Joe Wilensky [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 11:36:02 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Tough times in Rochester I guess it's really not surprising. We just had a presentation this morning from Cornell University's photo department on their new procedures and archive system, which should go into effect by September as they switch completely to digital. They have purchased five of the new Kodak DCS 14n cameras and have four or five new Mac G5's on the way. This will replace virtually all of their 35mm, medium format and 4x5 shooting. They are going to try to use up as much of their film stock as possible, before they have to unload it aftermarket at 25 to 50 cents on the dollar when they have made the switch. Editors and designers here, long suspicious of digital as being reproduction quality (probably because people constantly send them stuff at 72 dpi) were placated by the three photos the photo director had out on the table -- 11 x 14 digital prints of a detailed still life, taken with 35mm, medium format, and the new digital camera ... people were asked to guess which was which. The digital was far more detailed and nuanced than the 35mm, and the medium format shot was perhaps a tad sharper than the digital, but it was about as fine a distinction as could be made by eye at this size. The photo director said film's only edge (for them, at this point) is its better handling of specular highlights (bright spots with virtually no data, or all white, and how they transition to some data as the color and detail comes back). I don't know how much film the photo department uses, but they won't be buying much of it any more. Joe -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .
