Actually
the new large format digital backs such as Dicomed equal and possibly
surpass
the quality of a 4x5" chrome.
I
have seen this with my own eyes.
The
technology is improving at a rate which is hard to keep track of.
The first digital camera I used took a miniature image half the
size of 35mm (yet it cost about $20,000). One year later the Kodak
sensors had improved in quality and size, just short of 35mm
format (about $28,000). A year later the large format Dicomed appeared,
the price dropped from $23,000 to $19,000 in one year. Michael
Collette has already developed the next generational improvement
to large format digital cameras. These new Better Light camera backs
will be available sometime after September.
Our
Maya archaeology photography, books, and research Web site is a
year old and has won an award as an "outstanding educational
site." As a result we are now expanding our presence on the
Internet with Web sites devoted to digital photography and to conventional
photography as well.
Point-and-shoot
digital cameras are what gave the whole digital system its bad name.
Every review of digital photography dwells on the fact that these
cheap cameras are incapable of matching the quality of even the
cheapest 35mm film camera. For the same reason that FLAAR does not
review point-and-shoot film cameras we also do not discuss cheap
digital cameras. Plenty of information on this class of camera is
available in the various popular photography magazines and popular
computer magazines.
Our
Web site will review medium format and large format digital cameras
and will mention 35mm cameras (such as the Kodak
460 DCS) which are appropriate for professional work.
If
you really want technical details on inkjet media, inks, and/or
inkjet printhead technology, and especially if you wish to meet
the movers and shakers in this industry, be sure to sign up for
the next conference organized by IMI. To contact them write to imi@tdstelme.net.
These seminars are outstanding; the senior review editor of FLAAR
usually attends because he can get so much fresh information for
the readers of the FLAAR Reports in PDF format and the FLAAR Information
Network of web sites.
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Agfa
