On 1 Jul 2004 at 6:12, Don Sanderson wrote: > To extract the two questions: > 1.) Can digital be expected to be ready to shoot when I need it to?
I can't offer responses relating to P&S digicams but most DSLRs have a small power on delay but once on/awake have quite a short shutter lag, that is until the buffer is full. The buffer problem is mainly a function of the speed of the NV memory cards vs the volume of data being generated. Shooting files with the *ist D RAW produces files in the vicinity of 12.5-15MB and most memory cards can't write faster than about 5MB/s. So NV RAM and interfaces have to get much faster for things to improve somewhat and the sad thing is that it only gets worse as sensor density increases. Obtaining similar performance to a film system with 250 exposure back, a fast MD and pellicle mirror is some while away in digiland. > 2.) Is high contrast lighting a much bigger problem with digital? Yes and no, most DSLRs can capture a contrast range which lies between slides and negative film. There have been attempts to produce wide contrast range sensors but at this stage they employ dual photo-sensors per site (Fujifilm Super CCD SR sensors) which introduces a new set of compromises. Make a list of film vs digi-capture pros and cons and you'll see how different the mediums are, maybe you can continue to use both? :-) Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
