on 31/05/2003 3:09 PM, Stephen Greenfield at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I'm looking for real world experiences from those who photograph on location > architecture and interiors using digital capture. While I have seen some > images using digital, most are daylight (bright light) exteriors.
Hi Stephen, I regularly snap exceptionally dark Museum interiors using my Phase One back. After 15 years of using mostly 5x4 and latterly 6x9 (Silvestri with 47 /65 / 90 Schneiders) I have been delighted with the results. Mixed lighting (every type of light you can imagine) and very low light levels mixed with exceptionally high spot light levels are the norm in the modern museum exhibition. Where I used to travel with two assistants and get 5 or 6 shots a day completed (using the existing lighting - only 1 a day if we had to light the shot with our gear!) I'm now using one assistant just for company - I could easily work alone and double the number of shots can be crammed into a long day. Re-processing the RAW files for different colour balances and blending through with layers in Photoshop has revolutionised this type of work for me. (Anybody want a Peli case full of hundreds of filters and a Minolta col temp meter - unused for the last three years?!) We do spend a lot more time "post processing" the shots but they are more natural and, dare I say it,more " creative" than ever before. Discussing composition and previewing colour balance with the client on site are invaluable. I'd give serious consideration to maximum exposure times possible and resolution - both of which are somewhat limited with my present back. I can get results equivalent to scans from 6x9 film with exposure times of down to 8 seconds (F8-11) which suit my client's needs just fine. Wide angle lenses and how to mate them with the back are issues which would need far too long to discuss here and you should give this serious thought. The tiling solution to this issue by moving the back around on a 5x4 camera will give you bigger files and wider angles of view but I personally wouldn't even consider this without dedicated digital lenses and I strongly suspect that the only system that really works well here is something like Sinar's macroscanning where the moving of the back is done for you. I find it quite difficult getting manually moved images to stitch without inducing errors through the whole camera shifting in a car studio but I've never found great success with it in "live" architectural interiors. You certainly need a really stable set up to stand a chance of it working seamlessly. Sinar's 22MP back and Phase One's new 22MP back (due in July) mated with a 645 system camera (Mamiya have a 26mm lens out soon) or a small monorail (Schneider 24mm lens with their own shutter system also out soon) would seem to be the way to go but NOT cheap. The Phase One back promises to be as fast as 400ASA equivalent - a great advantage over the 40ASA of the 6MP Phillips chipped backs. Single shot backs are fine for me in this arena but if you have other uses which include fine text or fabrics or very exact colour matching you may have to put up with a multi shot back. I can't imagine using 16 pops in an architectural shot with any real pleasure<BG>. Hope that helps. Alan. -- Alan Russell ZED Photography Bristol +44 (0)117 9420977 =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
