Re: [Paddlewise] Digital cameras? Why?

Richard G. Mitchell, Jr. wrote:
> 
> While this is more a camera issue, the questions has been asked, so...
> 
> Digital cameras are in their infancy in terms of quality and
> ergonomics.  35mm film in its many forms still offers far greater
> resolution, color density, and versatility.  If a digital record is
> desirable you can now do it yourself at home with a desktop film scanner
> (not the same thing as a print scanner).  The HP Photo Scanner, as an
> example, produces 2400 dpi by 30 bit color density -- a very high
> quality scan, and is the size of a thick book.  Alternatively Kodak will
> produce its industry standard Kodak Photo CD along with processing at a
> cost of around 41 cents per image retail.  The Kodak photo CD is full
> professional quality from which virtually any size image up to 20X30"
> can be printed (presuming you shot the original in Kodachrome II 25 in a
> Leica or the likes. etc. etc.).   In a hurry?  My local photo shop will
> process Kodak Elitechrome (Ektachrome) over night *and* provide a
> scanned CD of the entire roll up to 2400 dpi for $10.95, and they do it
> overnight.I hate to be the defender here, but digital cameras do have their uses. I have used one 
on the job for over a year, and it's been a trememdous timesaver. Since what the camera 
is being used for is mostly newspaper black and white photography, the resolution of the 
camera is substantially higher than the halftone screen that we would use for 
"conventional" newspaper photos. With the addition of a Flashpath adapter, "processing" 
time has become almost nil -- with a little diddling, I can take a photo and have it 
running off the laserprinter for pasteup within two minutes. After thirty years of 
messing around in darkrooms, and the last ten years or so hating it, I ran one roll of 
black and white last year. Until the advent of the digital, it was five or six a week.

Yes, they have thier limitations. They are expensive. They have limited resolution. You 
don't even think "wet" around them. They really aren't very happy in low light 
conditions. And so on, and so on. However, there are some applications where they are a 
godsend.

-- Wes
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