Another thought about the debate over digital vs. film is to use both. Many professional photographers use digital to proof/confirm their lighting setups, composition, color, etc. before going final on film. The "instant" feedback afforded by digital also improves the learning curve for learning photography in general (especially if you use a camera that allows manual exposure controls). This helps if you have no one on staff who is familiar with the basics of photography, studio lighting, etc. Steve Wong -----Original Message----- From: D. Kent Thompson [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 8:32 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Digital cameras Well, there's couple of ways to look at it, and let me preface this by saying that I'm a museum photographer.... If you just want something for low-res screen access, and it will never be used for anything else, then yes, you can probably get by with a sub $1000 digital camera. Or what they might call a "prosumer" camera. But, if you need to use it for reproduction, whether in print or through traditional materials (photo papers etc.), then it's better to stick with a traditional camera. It's always been my opinion that it's better to shoot an artifact once, and do it the the right way, rather than just doing a quickie shot and saying "we'll do a nicer one later on". Too often than not, the time never comes for a nicer shot... Regardless of what camera you choose (digital, film), you still need to worry about lighting. You can try to shoot 1700 paintings with a point-n-shoot camera, but it will look that way too. You're going to have to light these paintings, maybe even cross polarize them...If any are behind glass, or have a heavy patina to them, this will be problematic as well with available light, or a pop-up flash... Desktop slide scanners have sort of leveled off in price this past year. A halfway decent one with a good dynamic range (for chromes) will still be cheaper than a prosumer digital camera. The digital cameras fall in price every 3 months or so, while being replaced by newer models. We watched our digital camera become obsolete overnight when the D1 came out at half the price. But our 5 yr. old slidescanner we still use daily. I just don't see digital as a good investment for most public institutions, unless you have the budget to keep up with the pace. I also looked at high end scanning backs for our studio. This was back in 1996 or so, and a one shot back cost $55,000 for the back alone, and a scan back was just a mere $35,000. This was for a res. equal to 4x5 sheet film more or less. It was only limited by the output options of the day. These prices have fallen to about half that figure today. But, with a scan back, you need to use flicker free HMI lights ($2-4K each), and an image can take up to 15 min. to capture. With the one-shot backs, you are limited to just one strobe exposure, a 3 shot back is also around for higher res. (one exposure for each channel, RGB). When you already have an entire studio, you can't justify that sort of expense. I know you're reading this and saying "I'm not talking about that kind of quality"...but you can still get alot more detail out of a 120 or even 35mm piece of film, than alot of consumer digital cameras. I estimated that for 1700 paintings, it would take approx 17 bricks (20 rolls/brick) of chrome film. This would be 6 frames per painting (2 each:norm,+half,+one stop). That's roughly $2550 for film. Throw in another $1000 for some lights (4 750 watt Tota Lights & stands etc.). About $500 for a good tripod. And about another $1000 for a camera & lens. (I think something like an F3, or an N90s would work, maybe a macro lens and a basic zoom). So, that's about $5000, which is what a D1 would cost. E6 processing will vary for your location, but then once the film is shot, it's not like you have all these huge digital files to worry about. If you put the slides in a file drawer for 10 years, they'd still be there...assuming your filing area is okay. For online access only, you might want to consider a digital camera that will let you use off-camera light sources. A pc-socket at least, for off camera flash. Once again, if you need any help we're a couple of hours east of you. Kent Thompson, Photographer North Carolina Museum of History Email: [log in to unmask] Opinions expressed in this message may not represent the policy of my agency. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . 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