Shutterbug Strasse

Posted by user510 (A) on July 31, 2006 at 13:43:09

In Reply to: It is a shame the camera makers did not choose... posted by j rodney on July 31, 2006 at 08:26:39:

If I understand correctly, the Nikon D50 and D70-D70s all use the same ccd. Not really sure who makes it but someone said.....Sony. Ahem.

I'm using the D70s. What I noticed right away is that I wanted to try shooting in raw format. CF memory isn't that expensive for 1-gig storage. My old copy of Photoshop (version 5) wouldn't see the raw files so they had to be first translated into another image format like jpeg prior to doing any PS edits. Not so good.

The supplied Nikon software seems to offer quite a bit of editing capability but fails to allow the ability to adjust white balance settings to the raw files. This led me to upgrade to the latest Photoshop (CS2) which does read Nikon NEF (raw) files and gives control over the white balance setting, which can have significant effect over the image. One thing leads to another, and the darkroom is to film what Photoshop is to the DSLR.

I got my film scanner in '99, I think. An HP S20. I scanned my Velvia slides and Kodacolor negatives into PS with that and felt that I was getting spectacular results. From PS I could print to my Epson Stylus Photo 1270 pretty big (13 x 19 inch max)I have many good looking prints from that time. (These older inkjet prints appear to have held up 5 years and more without fading.)

Now, with the DSLR, the film scanner sits lonely and unused. Though there are many boxes and boxes of negatives and slides I may still wish to print, so it remains. But the dslr is definitely a step up from that experience of scanning film into the computer. Quality wise and convenience wise. No more film processing. I now have instant access to my shots. And a really big plus is the ability to see first hand the results of a challenging exposure, like night photography. If you don't like the result, try another setting until the image looks good to you. Cool.....With this Nikon I can do better work.

Not satisfied with just the software upgrade to CS2, I got the newer Epson Photo R1800 color printer. This is significantly better than its ancestor, the 1270, which now goes to a relative in Arizona.

Print sizes off the D70s appear to be very sharp and noise free at 11 x 8.5... and with the ability to go bigger. Most of my prints are on 8.5 x 11 photo paper but I printed one out to 11 x 17 with a very pleasing result. Not at all grainy (noisy). I cut my own mats and find frames where ever I can.

Now there is nothing left to buy but more lenses and filters for the Nikon....and I can think of a few I need. Wait, I forgot to mention the cost of ink and paper...yeowwww! Anyway one thing leads to another.....and next year they'll introduce new camera models.

-Steve