Digital BW, The Print

Hi,

What I am about to ask is very controversial and has been debated in 
this forum many times. So, please forgive me in advance.

I am strongly considering a DSLR.  What are some key features to 
look for in a DSLR as it relates to Black & White.

My style of photography is people and photo journalism. I also like 
to shoot landscapes.  I like to make large prints (up to 16x20). I 
print with an Epson 2200.

Since this forum is dedicated to printing, please suggest an 
alternate forum if this question is irrelevant to this group. Thanks 
in advance for your help.
David

All that matters is that you get clean crisp color photos and know 
how to convert them to b&w after you have taken them.  Low noise is 
more important for b&w than color so you want to bias your choise 
toward the lower noise cameras (in general, most people find that in 
*real life* the Canons are lower than most of the competition... 
though, let's not quible about it if you are shooting something else 
and are also getting good ISO 400 results, ok?;).

16x20 is on the large size, if you can afford it don't mind hauling 
around a boat anchor, go for the Canon 1Ds or the top end Kodak.  $$$

If you are on a budget, the Digital Rebel can't be beat... will match 
the 10D (which is probably the top of its class).  The Rebel has that 
ugly silver paint job which I can't live with though... the 10D is 
really great, but ~$650 more.

mark

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "David Sinai" 
<dsinai@y...> wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> What I am about to ask is very controversial and has been debated 
in 
> this forum many times. So, please forgive me in advance.
> 
> I am strongly considering a DSLR.  What are some key features to 
> look for in a DSLR as it relates to Black & White.
> 
> My style of photography is people and photo journalism. I also like 
> to shoot landscapes.  I like to make large prints (up to 16x20). I 
> print with an Epson 2200.
> 
> Since this forum is dedicated to printing, please suggest an 
> alternate forum if this question is irrelevant to this group. 
Thanks 
> in advance for your help.
> David

David-

I agree with Mark...noise is important...and that you shoot RAW and 
keep the file in 16 bit (more important in BW, I believe, than color).

Both Nikon and Canon make outstanding DSLRs...if you have some lenses 
for one, stay with that one. If one is a bit better this year, the 
other was last year and next year...they are both great.

I don't know the Canons well, but in the Nikons, you will be fine 
with the D100 if you don't need to shoot rapid fire (the buffer is 
quite a bit smaller than the D1x or D2h) but the image quality is 
just as good. 

In both brands, the less expensive models are lighter and feel less 
expensive, so you will have to let your budget and tastes decide for 
you.

You will be astounded once you start using one at the results you can 
acheive.

cheers,

Tom O'Connell


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "David Sinai" 
<dsinai@y...> wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> What I am about to ask is very controversial and has been debated 
in 
> this forum many times. So, please forgive me in advance.
> 
> I am strongly considering a DSLR.  What are some key features to 
> look for in a DSLR as it relates to Black & White.
> 
> My style of photography is people and photo journalism. I also like 
> to shoot landscapes.  I like to make large prints (up to 16x20). I 
> print with an Epson 2200.
> 
> Since this forum is dedicated to printing, please suggest an 
> alternate forum if this question is irrelevant to this group. 
Thanks 
> in advance for your help.
> David