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Regarding Contax N digital and Leica digital back

Mike, I fully understand the connection between technology and image making. No need to get personally irritated by my simple question as to what practical application anyone is getting from this. Everyone keeps supporting the deluge of tech info, but no one is answering that simple question...what does it mean? It's an honest question at least from me. I don't see it's value, and I'm sure there is some value...but it needs to be applied to something useable don't you think? Not everyone is an engineer. Even Ansel Adams made his discoveries tangable with prints.

I'm just trying to make the babble accessable to people who make photographs.
 
Mike,

Thank you for the link on Photo-i on the Minolta 5400 35mm film-slide scanner. It is the first independent review I have seen on the 5400. The initial review is positive and the reviewer is doing futher testing and evaluation as we speak--I expect a follow up review after this weekend.

I think that a scanner with my G2 may be my best alternative until the technology of digitial camera photography evolves further. My criteria for a digital camera would be small, light, affordable, film-like quality, great interchangable lenses, fully featured, quick and instantous autofocus, no delay between shots, and full frame 35mm sensors (I shoot a great deal wide angle and do not want to multiply the lens focal length by a factor). Except for the fact that my Contax G2 is film camera, it meets all the criteria except it is not digital (9 out of 10 is not too bad). The Canon 1Ds meets most of my criteria, except affordability, weight, and size. I think many of the 1Ds qualities will migrate to more afforable alternatives over the next few years. Besides I have 4 excellent G2 CZ lenses and no autofocus Canon lenses. Despite uninformed wish rumors, I do not know whether there will be a future G2 digitial equivalent. I feel a quality scanner would satisfy my current objectives and give the industry and Contax more time to develop a camera that meets my criteria.

Howard
 
There is always the delete button (if you read via email) or the scroll-down-arrow if you read on-site. If you don't like the technical talk, feel it doesn't have a place, or just can't see it's merit, just don't read it. There are certain posts by certain people that simply don't interest me, and guess what? I don't tell them I think they are pompous, I just delete them. I suspect others might do the same with my own posts, which could sometimes be boring, or irritating depending on your point of view. Fine with me. No hard feelings. That's life. Keep the parts that are of use, importance and relevance to you, and throw out the rest. But please don't decide that if you don't like it, or can't figure out it's merit, that the rest of us do should not have access to it. (Of course, Dirk can decide that because he's list-dad, but that's different) -Lynn
 
Lynn, you misunderstand, the technical information IS of value. I am just asking those who have such information to apply it in some practical form that benefits a greater majority, not just a few.

Let me repeat, I NEVER said remove someone from this forum. I NEVER said anyone was pompous. I NEVER said other people shouldn't have access to the info posted here. I only asked a simple question that no one seems able to answer.

Lynn, you said you wanted to know how technology limits your ability to push such images. Is that question being answered by this info, and if so how? I am genuinely interested for the same reasons you are.
 
Good morning, Howard, and this was certainly nice to find...thank you.

I'm only a little concerned though to realize that there are really two 'Clives' on the forum at the present - this is probably a fairly unusual if nice situation for both of us. I'm the quite new one, and probably don't deserve the praise you probably remember for an older friend. He's sure to enjoy what you've said, though, and that makes matters quite well.

A perfectly beautiful morning here in this place, and I am going to walk over to find some breakfast.

Best to you both, and regards, Clive Steward
 
Howard,

The scanner vs. DSLR issue is a tough one to call. I have decided to stick with film for the near future, but if someone gave me a 1Ds then I'm sure I'd love it! The way I see it, the benefits of digital stack up like this: smooth images, no scanning hassle, instant feedback, ability to vary ISO on a per-shot basis, no film flatness worries, no concerns about airport X-rays and of course you can blast away without worrying about wastage, which can be creatively liberating. Film gives you: higher sustained frame rates, easier image storage, more choice over look and dynamic range by choosing film/developer appropriately (including a classic grainy look if that's what you want), cheaper bodies so having several is more feasible, ultimate sharpness using fine-grained B&W films, speed beyond 1250 or 1600 when necessary, ability to project slides, no sensor cleaning problems and (on the flip side of the "blast away" attitude of digital) a more considered way of working that can foster better craft.

For me, there will never be one camera that will do it all, and there isn't enough choice in the market for me to consider going all-digital right now. I have four systems that I use on a regular basis, and while it would be possible to splash out on a 1Ds to sit behind my Canon glass, where would that leave my RTS II, Oly OM and Mamiya 6? As long as I have even ONE film-based system that I care about, I need to face up to the scanning challenge, so my strategy has been to ignore digital capture for the time being and put my money and effort into the scanning side.

I'm really hoping that the Minolta 5400 will "slay the beast" for 35mm, as that would be a big step forward. I'm looking forward to giving it a good pummelling over the weekend to see where I can trip it up. What I didn't mention in the Photo-i posting is that I'm planning to do back-to-back comparisons with the Imacon 848, as a friend has cheap access to one. (This is the king of CCD scanners, with 8000ppi resolution and an actively cooled sensor. The price is an actively cool £12000 however...)

Neg is the real issue, that and low-key chromes, especially Kodachromes. I suspect that if I find the 5400 acceptable, then most other people will too, as I keep hearing that I'm fussy and my expectations are too high. I had an Epson Perfection 3200 for a short while, a unit that others raved about, but found it to have unacceptable shortcomings. Ditto the Canon 9900F. My Nikon LS-30 is reasonably sharp but has terribly coarse tonality that rules it out for fine print making, especially in monochrome. When I visited Salgado's amazing Exodus exhibition recently, I was shocked to see scanner artifacts in many of the portrait images in the upstairs gallery. I suppose at least I felt I was in good company with my scanner problems!

But anyway, keep watching the Photo-i thread, and I will update it as things progress over the weekend.

Best regards,

-= mike =-
 
Finney confirmed that he was kicked out of the list. He think it's hilarious though. The story between him and Austin can be traced back for years, and the truth is yet to be found here. Besides, he will get in trouble if National Semi and Texas Instrument found him saying something sensible on th net. Just like what I said, his showing up here was to contribute, and kicking him off does not do any good to the forum, except for being more peaceful in the surface, and to give an ex&le of the users agreement.

He was the one who gave me explanations why I cannot tolerate the images from Canon S30 while every single reviewer online appraised it so much. He is also the one who told me the difference of CMOS and CCD sensors, in words so clear and so untechnicall that I can understand totally and how Canon made the images so clean, and why the images from N digital are sometimes noisier than others. Finney also confirmed my believing, that in technology world, Kyocera do have great resources to do things right and to carry out innovations. For instance, Kyocera is the leading company of solar plates in the world, and many people around his neighborhood in Silicon Valley has their products on their roof. Besides digital stuffs, he also gave me comparisons of MC filters from different vendors, e.g. Contax, B&W, Heliopan and Hoya, and the comparisons of pictures taken by RTSIII and others without the vacuum back.

That was just one of the many ex&les. From now on I don't think I'll be willing to refer to his post here on the forum any more.

It kinds of remind me some history that I know of. 4000 thousand years ago, when China was composed of 7 countries, it was the golden era for great thinkers and great philosophers, e.g Lao-Zi. Later on one of the countries united China for the very first time, and made it the Zing Dynasty with the first emperor, and shortly after the Han Dynasty rouse. There was one emporor later adopted and modified one of the theories and made it the "standard". The theory apparently favored the control of a government and emperor. That marked the begining of the dark era in the history of Chinese philosophy. It was not until 1000 years later, the rise of Tan dynasty, given its multiple social background and the mixing with other races in China did the different kinds of thought and philosophy bloomed and flowered.

In more modern times, 300 years ago the Ching dynasty closed all its sea ports and forbid contacts with the western world. Later it found itself lagging very very much behind in terms of technology and thinking, and then comes all the sad and worming history of modern China.

Oh, I think I am going away too much. It is just a forun afterall.

Happy shooting

Shu-Hsien
 
Mike,

You are certainly prolific. You respond throughtfully and quickly on this and other forums and still find time to test the 5400. I will be watching the Photo-i thread to see how your evaluation progresses.

Isn't amazing that I am in Southern California and will enter this message at about 9:00 AM PST and the forum enters it in instanteously at 6PM? Since you are living in the future, please give me some end of the day stock prices or the future results of horse races. With all the money I can make from knowing the future, I can purchase a Canon 1Ds for both of us. (If it was only that easy?)

Best regards,

Howard
 
Hello Mike,

I wonder if you'd mind outlining where you found problems with using the=20 Epson 3200? I've have one a few months and am working through old family=20 films - had been considering that maybe my own answer to some photo=20 challenges also could be to put digital on a more shared basis, and get the= =20 Leica M2 and lenses of my father's which took some of these photos=20 refurbished to use.

I'd read the detailed reviews, Koren, etc. on the 3200 before deciding to=20 go that way, and am generally well pleased - it's very fast, quiet, solid,= =20 has software with an excellent balance of automation and full manual=20 intervention ability, and as long as I can keep the film and glass=20 adequately clean, seems to dig out quite nice results from even quite=20 flawed originals, 35mm slides and negative slides included. But I don't=20 have the standard of comparison - would like to know what you're seeing and= =20 observe.

Thanks and best, Clive
 
Clive,
If there are two Clive's and I confused the two. I apologize. It must be that the name Clive is not just given to anybody. It is given only to people with unique qualities. Your insights and perspecive is well appreciated.

Howard
 
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