Hello all,
Let me re introduce myself since I've been a way from Photoforum for
awhile. My name is Dave Moore, I live in Syracuse, NY, teach photography at
Le Moyne College, and am also a commercial photographer and even make art
sometimes when my schedule permits.
I am planning to start taking some black and white landscapes, and I am
deciding between two cameras: a 12MP Canon DSLR, or my 4x5 Graflex. I'm
planning on making quite large prints, 20x24", and image quality is my main
concern. I have 3 questions here:
1. dynamic range: I'm doubtful that the dynamic range of my DSLR files, even
when shooting in Raw, can compare to black and white film. Any thoughts
here?
2. image resolution: I'm also doubtful that the tiny little image sensor on
a DSLR, even if it was a full frame DSLR which mine isn't, can compare in
resolution to the 20 sq inches of image surface I get with 4x5, when
enlarged to 20x24", or larger.
3. If shooting with 4x5, I plan to scan the negatives and print digitally.
If I choose an output resolution of, say, 200PPI, does that neutralize any
resolution advantage that 4x5 film would have over a high resolution digital
file?
I'm leaning heavily towards shooting 4x5 but before I do, I want to make
sure that the loss of ease of use of a DSLR is really worth it, in terms of
final print quality.
Your thoughts and reactions here are very welcome. Thanks.
Dave
