Hi all, I am posting this as a new thread, as it has come up separately in several others relating to digital workflow and I would like to hear other opinions.
Are there any businesses/ business models out there handling this sort of stuff: Fee for service postproduction of camera raw files, File numbering, output in choice of colour space, format, and level of USM along with preview thumbnail proofs and possibly prints 10x15cm/13x18cm, when required? At a professional level of course, with quick turnarounds. If I could download my cards at such an imaginary lab, and hours or next day get back a CD/DVD and some Thumbnail proofs, all I would have to do would be cull the job, which is time consuming in itself, write the invoice and deliver. So far as I know there are no Pro Labs, at least in Australia, providing a service to process camera Raw image files. I have found website services such as Bellamax.com (U.S.A.) that seem to be set up for specific image retouching such as portraits and real estate with costs around $5.00 - $10.00 US per Image. This seems reasonable, but they aren't set up to handle quantities ie. +100's and certainly not RAW. I don't think a web service would work anyway, at least for me. I think what's needed, (at least for me- Editorial/ PR/ Commercial Industrial) is conventional style labs on the ground as I can't see, even with broadband, transmitting back a couple of gigabytes of Tiffs! I can certainly see the commercial difficulties for the Labs. Every Camera produces different Raw files, staff that could process them (retired E6, enlarger, drum scanner operators etc?) probably don't exist yet and software to do it is scarce on the ground (Really, only PShop, Phase One/Capture One, Camera manf. SWare). Although digital capture IS exciting and has definitely put some oomph back into my work, I am finding the never ending minor/major problems cropping up, regular upgrading and testing of hardware/software/methods is getting rather wearing and leaving me with little or no time to experiment with Photography itself and explore the photographic possibilities of this new way of working. Outsourcing the image processing may give me some of this precious time back. Am I the only one this sounds like a good idea to? Any other points of view, comments? Regards, Frank Styevko, from Australia =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
