Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, claudej1@a... 
wrote:
> I have been using the original 3-chip Foveon (1999) for 4.5 years 
now. I have 
> also experienced the SD-9 with the X3 chip, which I suggested they 
develop.

Which chip are you talking about? The prototype? ANd how are you 
using it, with what camera? Was it the square shaped 2000x2000 pixel 
thing?

> What aspect are you referring to that needs perfecting? It 
outperfoms all 6 
> megapixel monochips right now in all respects except for ISO higher 
than 400. 

That was not my experience: I had the SD9 here for a week- end, and 
while there is a lot of detail resolution, the noise was visible from 
ISO 100, getting a problem in the darker shadow areas from ISO 200 
and too much for my taste at ISO 400. Due to the higher noise the 
photos didn't perform too well in up- rezzing either.

> In fact, it gives the 11 megapixel Canon a run for it's money.

A nice story, but I yet need to see samples that can convince me. I 
like such David versus Goliath stuff. Can you direct me to samples 
that 
illustrate your claim?

> I can't think of a better camera for Black and White work for less 
than 
> $1,000 

I use the Fuji S2 and have had very good results up to 13x19 
converted to black and white. The few examples of the SD9 that I 
uprezzed didn' t look as good as the S2´, although its detail 
resolution in the original output size (3,3MP) was quite amazing. 

> and Sigma lenses are very good and 1/3 the price of Nikon/Canon.

This is a general claim that doesn't make sense, as it is a well 
known fact that for one manufacturer there are always better and 
worse lenses, for example the relatively new 24-135mm Sigma only got 
mediocre ratings. Even the higly praised 70-200 has often been 
reported to be a bit too soft.

Regards and a satisfying and happy new year,

Bernhard