Digital BW, The Print

Paul,

It's been fun to follow this thread and read your reports.  I remember
when I got my 8mp Canon Pro-1 last year and it first dawned on me the
significance of no film grain (do you remember the 2 prints I sent
you, girl playing in fountain and the newspaper rack?).  The results
are pretty amazing, even though the pro-1 sensor is much smaller than
the XT/20D.  The Pro-1 is blessed with an outstanding lens, and I have
printed sections of images at up to 22x30 equivalent that look very
good at normal viewing distance.  The only limitations seem to be
actual image resolution and pixellation.  So certainly the XT will do
even better.  

One thing about the Pro-1 is the smaller sensor gives huge DOF.  So
even though the lens is 28-200 equiv., the max aperture range is a
fast 2.4-3.5.  So I end up doing most work, even landscapes requiring
full DOF, at f/4.0 - 5.6, which is the lens' sweet spot (I admit I'm
spoiled rotten now).   You have surely found a similar advantage in
scaling down from MF to APS sensor size.

One thing I went through was a period of mourning and withdrawal
symptoms because my images no longer had the Tri-X look I was so used
to.  I've gotten over it and am very happy with what I'm getting now.
I figure the "look" was a combination of grain structure and spectral
response.  I'm curious about what your experience is/will be in this
regard, coming from TMax and Tech Pan.

I agree it definitely is fun to explore new technology.  Just think:
we are experiencing a technology shift that is probably equivalent to
the printing press, the telephone, and automobiles.  

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm