----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, April 15, 2002 7:43
AM
Subject: Re: Digital Plunge
Bill,
Notes from the list's seemingly perpetual
student:
Ready to take the digital plunge? Well, I suspect you will
find it more of a roller coaster than a plunge. You have received many good
replies thus far, but I will add my take to the fray.
The plunge is more than just purchasing a camera. That will
acquire an image for you, but as you seem to already be aware, there is more
to it. You then have to manipulate the image, present it and probably catalog
and store it. These operations all take more money and new
skills.
But you asked about a digital camera. You are into Nikon,
but don't want to start with the expensive D1 series. The D100, as suggested,
is much less expensive, but may not be available for several months. It is
rumored to be targeted at the $2K range with no lens. It promises to be an
excellent camera for the Nikon shooter.
If you want to start RIGHT NOW, and the $2K price does not
frighten you, the best camera you can go and purchase right now is probably
the Olympus E20 that others have mentioned. The D100 may be a better camera
when it comes out, but the E20 does come with a lens. The advantage of a
non-interchangeable lens is that the chips do not get covered with dust. I use
the E10 and find it to be a great camera (still available in the $1400 range,
I believe). One major selling point about these cameras: imperceptible shutter
lag. The camera also has the look and feel of a pro camera, if your shooting
image is important to you.
If that is still too much money, consider the old Olympus
C2500L which I which I have seen recently advertised (new) for about $600. The
E10/20 will give you a full range of aperture/shutter speed control, while the
C2500L is limited to only two aperture settings, but a shutter speed up to
1/8000 second (the E10 maxes its shutter at 1/640 sec). It is only a 2.5
megapixel camera, but that is sufficient for salable 8x10s. You will not be
able to tell it from film. One reason the C2500L can do this is because the
chip was constructed with the physical dimensions of 4:5, so you can use the
FULL frame when you enlarge the image. One point about the sub-$1K
cameras is that they are small and light. They look like toy cameras, but they
do not act like them.
I like the Olympus cameras because they are reputed to give
the best color of any lensed camera in the $2K and less category. From what I
have read, the algorithm Olympus uses to get color information from each pixel
is responsible for this better color.
From the info you gave in your post, I think you should
consider a sub-$1K camera. The Olympus cameras are good, so are all the Nikons
from what I can read. The Canons are very good when you get to $2K and above,
but I have no feeling for the less expensive Canons, nor any of the others. I
read every review I could find about the sub-$2K cameras up until about a year
or two ago, and the Olympus and Nikons were always considered the top cameras.
But none of these inexpensive (did you ever think you would consider a $1K
camera to be inexpensive?) cameras look and feel like a pro camera.
Although you lose the machismo associated with a big camera, you gain a small,
light camera that you will keep with you at all times and you will shoot
everything that moves, and you will learn a lot more in a shorter period of
time than it you lug around the heavy, but sexy, larger cameras. Besides, you
expressed an interest in the D1 line, so use your first digital as a learner
while you save up for your real camera.
To briefly round out the theme I started at the beginning,
you can't stop with simply acquiring the image.
Manipulation: Photoshop Elements for <$100. It has
(almost) everything a photographer needs for creating inkjet prints. It is
Photoshop without CMYK, which you won't need unless you want to have your
images printed via a printing press. As I recall, it doesn't have an undo
function, but you can use lots of layers and your workflow may not be impeded
too severely.
Storage: you WILL need a CD (or perhaps a DVD) burner. The
in-camera storage (the "film") is becoming less expensive, but they will
allegedly last a lifetime. The CompactFlash cards seem to be the most
universal. 128-meg cards are pretty much the minimum any more, with the larger
file sizes of the new cameras. But if you get CF cards, there is a second
parameter you must be aware of: speed. The card should tell you how fast it
is able to read/write the data for capture and download. 4X may be too
slow for large file sizes. Look at 8X and above.
Presentation: If you are going to sell your prints, you will
have to consider longevity. The new Epson's take this into consideration. Any
printer older than about two years will probably not be sufficient. Inkjet
dyes all fade. Epson's newer inks will take over 20 years. Their pigment inks
will take over 100 years, but the color gamut may be a bit less, and you have
to deal with metamerism. Well, you don't, but your customer might. Right now,
for home-produced salable prints, consider the Epson C80.
Cataloging: All programs work. I have tried a couple and
found Thumbs Plus to be extremely powerful, and very intuitive (= short
learning curve).
One other consideration when you make the digital plunge:
power. You will rapidly learn that you will need NiMH or LiON batteries and a
charger. The digital cameras use a LOT of power. But most new cameras come
with these new technology batteries. Even Wal-Mart has NiMH batteries and
chargers now.
Sorry to have taken up so much space, but the switch to
digital is not trivial. Hope this helps a bit.
peace,
rand
