I just ordered a K-7 against what may may be my better judgement... I'm optimistic that it will meet my present needs, though I'm pretty sure it's far too noisy for any astrophotography.
It has started me thinking though about the tradeoffs between film and digital. WIth film (E6 or positives specifically): One had to wait for the results. What you saw is what you got. Notwithstanding the development process, the largest variables in the result was the metering accuracy of the camera body (MX or Pz-1P, both overall excellent), the attributes of the film that was selected, and the judgement of the photographer. When I scanned a transparency, I pretty much considered that it was, as recorded, based upon my decisions at exposure time. It was a 1st generation image. With digital (shooting RAW): I see the 'results' (almost immediately). I'm unsure what processing has occurred in camera. I'm unsure how the sensor has responded to the scene and how the software in the camera has adjusted the image. I can guess, but I'm not sure. I'm unsure if the image shown on the playback screen is an accurate representation of the scene or if it will match what I see on the computer screen. I'm unsure if Photoshop or ACR, or whatever software used, is displaying an accurate representation of the recorded image. Screen calibration is an issue unto itself. Maybe there was just as many variables with E6 and they were taken for granted at the time, because we didn't (or I didn't) have the knowledge 6 - 10 years ago to know the difference. Certainly all the post-capture and transposition to digital issues existed. Nevertheless, with the advent of digital capture, it seems or feels as if the process is far more complicated. Maybe my RAW image is the equivalent of my transparency, but it just does not feel the same. It seemed that I could look at a transparency and say "Wow, that looks exactly like what I saw" or "Wow, I messed that one up". With digital I feel much more insecure. Was it me, the camera, the software, the hardware? It seems the almost instant gratification of digital capture and the speediness of results has been eclipsed by the, OMG factor, and 'what do I have to do to adjust this image?'. Time saved by instant results is erased by time spent post-capture processing. Does it seem that way to others as well? Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
