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Re: Photography
on 01:48 PM 9/17/99 , Dwight wrote:
>Don't use a digital camera. The quality just "isn't ready yet." Besides,
>with photos by e-mail services so widespread, straight to digital
>development of your analog shots has never been easier.
While I agree that nobody with a digital camera will be becoming the next
Amano anytime soon, I think most people (who aren't pro photographers)
would be impressed at the latest digicams. The resolution has gotten high
enough (1600x1200 or so) that you can print an 8x10 that surpasses anything
Walmart's film lab can develop, and magazine and newspaper photographers
are already using them for 4x6 shots. You can also get "real" processed
photos printed from digital quite economically.
More importantly, digitals have some advantages for the amateur. While you
may need only one exposure to take a perfect tank photo, try taking a
picture of a fish swimming in your tank. With my digital, I can fire off a
couple of hundred photos, then sort through them and pick out the gems, all
with no film or developing cost. And straight-to-digital developing is one
thing, but I can see how a photo turned out 30 seconds after I take it.
Of course, all this comes at a price; you'll spend $1000 on a decent
prosumer digicam and all of the accessories, and still won't get the equal
of 35mm in resolution. But I've taken 1600 pictures in 3 months with mine,
and that would have cost a fortune in film and processing.
If you're taking pics for Aquarium Quarterly or selling 11x17 posters,
forget it, but if you want to take pictures for yourself or for a Web page,
don't overlook digital photography. I recommend this site for further
information about particular cameras:
http://www.dpreview.com/
Please, please, PLEASE don't take this as a flame, or a controversial
position, or anything. It's just my opinion. Yours is valid too. We're
already debating two of the ten commandments on this list... let's not make
it worse. :)
See my tank photos (from a rank beginner and not to be taken as the best a
digicam can do) at my unfinished page...
http://www.starlingtech.com/aquaria/
--
michael moncur mgm at starlingtech_com http://www.starlingtech.com/
"Try to relax and enjoy the crisis." -- Ashleigh Brilliant