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The hour and a half wasn’t nearly enough time to satisify most of the attendees for Richard to accomplish all he covered with humor and clarity with demonstrations, examples, and opinions. All of this done without a sales pitch and nary a PowerPoint slide. The past several years have seen tremendous improvements in scanners, cameras, printers and software even as prices have descended to levels that hobbyists can now consider. Richard feels the sweet point in digital cameras, cameras that offers an expanded level of control, a non-removable lens with an optical zoom range from wide-angle to modest telephoto and can resolve a 3-4 megapixel image. Many of these cameras are as small as a deck of cards and weigh only ounces. This level of camera permits making printing to 8x10 inches or a bit larger. All the cameras can be plugged directly into the computer for downloading the images. The cameras can also store their images on a removable devices and depending upon the camera this may be a postage stamp, or stick of gum, sized memory card or even a micro CD drive. The size of the image files and the capacity of the memory device determine the number of photographs that can be stored. Richard suggests obtaining 2 memory cards of a size that would permit you to shoot a days worth of photographs without having to get back to your computer for downloading. Depending on the card capacity these cards range in price from less than $40 to $120+. You will never have to buy or process another roll of film. Card readers that plug into your computer’s usb1, usb2 or firewire port transfer the images to your computer and free up the cards for reuse. These readers are priced from $30-$50. Photographers with a large inventory of expensive lenses can purchase compatible cameras that will accommodate lens interchangeability. Richard pointed out that this interchangeability comes at an increased risk of getting dust on the sensor, this would usually require a service call to the manufacturer. There also are camera backs, for mid and large format cameras. These fall in the professional range and prices reflect the more limited market. Checking in several catalogs revealed many of the ‘sweet spot’ camera choices are in a range of $300-400. Of course for the professional user there are cameras and options from $1000 to sky’s the limit. Photoshop Elements 2.0, at a cost of less than $80 (Costco), is the software of choice for most digital editing needs. This little brother to the full benchmark photo editing package Photoshop 7.0 ($600+) has most of the tools needed to make magic with your images. Plus the techniques learned here are transportable to the full 7.0 version as you progress. Popular Flatbed scanners (for Prints) range in price from $100-$200. Again prices go much higher to meet the requirements of the professional user. Film scanners (for Slides and Negatives) start at around $800 and climb to several thousands. The lower price points are more than the most hobbyist would require. Catalog prices reveal
many ink jet printer choices available in the sub $100-$200 range
that print using 4 colors of ink (CMYK) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
and blacK and can print from 81/2x11 Epson’s recent developments in inks and paper by have improved the color stability of the printed photos to a point that they rival conventional photographs. Especially if they are laminated or mounted behind glass with a water proof backing on the frame. Original inkjet inks were dye based. Newer printers can use the newer pigment based inks that have higher ultraviolet fade resistance compared with the organic dyes of the origonal inks. Dye and pigment inks have unique paper requirements which increase their color stability.. So it’s best to follow the manufacturers recommendations. Protecting the prints from UV, high heat and humidity make the claims of over 100 years without fading achievable. So, again, follow the manufacturers recommendations. Adding all the costs,
setting up a ‘dry darkroom’ costs much less than setting
up a conventional ‘wet darkroom’, no carpentry, no
plumbing, no wiring, no sink, no safelights, no enlarger, no
disposal of hazardous chemicals, and the only space needed is
in your hard drive. Add to that, |
| Marc Cohen is a member of the board and production editor of dacs.doc. He considers himself a perpetual novice, soon to join the digital revolution You can reach Marc at marco10684@aol.com. |
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In recent months, vendors and manufacturers
have been cutting back on the budgets allocated to supporting
usergroups. We have been fortunate being able to call on our
many and knowledgeable Dacs members, to share their hobbies and
interests. I find this a positive turn. Proved once again at
the March Meeting, when Richard Ten Dyke gave us a broad over
view of Digital Imaging, from scanning a photo from prints or
film, selecting and using digital cameras, manipulating the images
with a popularly priced software package, selecting printers,
inks and paper then showing samples of finished images.