Digital BW, The Print

hsitz wrote:

>  --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@y..., "Austin Franklin"
> <darkroom@i...> wrote:
> > Hi Jerry,
> >
> > > Have you ever read this:
> > > http://www.luminous-landscape.com/d30_vs_film.htm
> >
> > Yes.
> >
> > > From what I see -it (digital) tops it (film) already.
> >
> > Well, for snapshots and web images, that is probably true...but for an
> > enlargement of any size, not even close.  Remember, what you are viewing is
> > at 72dpi, and on a computer monitor...and most anything looks good, even
> > shots from a Pentax P&S!
>
>
> Austin -- Digital is not just better for "snapshots and web images".
>
> At least, Michael Reichmann, whose opinion I value highly and who is
> the author of the Luminous Landscape article you say you read,
> disagrees pretty vehemently with you.  You can read the quotes I've
> included below and see that he thinks the digital D30 is preferable
> to Provia 100F film even up to 10" x 15".  Moreoever, he believes
> that the digital pictures have a higher "apparent resolution":
>
> "All this is lead-up to my current opinion; unvarnished and without
> reservation. Prints that I can make from D30 images are better than
> the prints that I can make from 35mm film. Period."
>
> "The D30, whether because of its unique CMOS imaging chip,
> electronics, software, magic fairy dust or whatever, allows me to to
> make prints that are superior in apparent resolution, colour
> saturation, shadow detail and overall image quality than what I am
> able to produce from film. ( I should also make clear that D30 images
> are the first digital camera images that to my eye don't look
> digital. They look like film.)"
>
> "Quite a statement, isn't it? But, after just 4 days and a few
> hundred test images, that's my opinion. Others may find differently.
> So be it. But I can only tell you that if I were to head into the
> field today with my Canon gear and wanted to come back with an image
> from which I could make a print for gallery exhibit or sale, in a
> size up to about 10 X 15", I would use the D30 in preference to the
> EOS-1V using Provia 100F. That's where, as the current saying goes,
> the rubber meets the road."
>
> -- Herb Sitz
>
>

Herb,
Having read that article, I found his 'proofs' lacking.  The images he used were
easy ones for digital capture (straight lines, large fields of color), but if he
were to shoot a forest in the winter, at a distance (for example) the real film
would contain *much* more information as it would be based on real data, not
interpolated.

That is not to say that digital cameras aren't good, it's just that, like all
tools they have their proper uses and have *real* limitations.

Harvey Ferdschneider
partner, SKID Photography, NYC



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]