Help save me from a D2X

Frank Petronio

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My name is Frank and I'm a digiholic.

I am going to try a Nikon D2X this afternoon. With a zoom lens. I know this is depraved, but I keep getting tempted. I like my little D70 but now I want a bigger "high".

I am going to compare my 4x5 scans from my lowly flatbed to a raw 12mp file. I know I could spend $75 getting Tango scans that would be better, but I know myself too well, and that I'm too cheap to drum scan everything. So I'm kind of thinking that when it comes to making an 11x14 print, the 4x5 flatbed scans (as good as they are, I'm not a total idiot) and the D2X are going to be pretty competitive.

I also know that shooting a 4x5 with an Aero-Ektar handheld is a great way to spend a lot of money on out of focus film.

I may stash my Technika and a few lenses out back just in case, but I kind of like the idea of "getting the shot" no matter what the conditions, which is what a D2X with fast lenses and high ASA can promise.

Heck, I may even swap my old Dynalites for i-TTL battery powered shoe mount flashes on stand adaptors...

I know talking digi-trash is a no-no but I need some counselling.
 

jjstafford

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My fear for you is not that you will experiment with digital, but that you will never recover from the requisite surgical alteration encumbant with The Fall: having your brains sucked out through your nose with a straw.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Go for it. Do it. You'll love it...

...For two months.

And then you'll say things like "this is stupid" and "how do I get any kind of selective focus with this thing?" and you'll end up just using it for selling things on eBay.
 

Ole

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Frank, you need a real enlarger. One which can take a LF film, and project the negative on a big sheet of paper. Then you make one 16x20 print of a good 4x5" negative, and compare that to the results from any digital camera.

Colour is no problem either - if you want it pixellated, use your money on a really good scanner.

Here's a picture reduced from a 350 Mb scan of a 5x7" slide: Dead Link Removed and a small bit of it too: Dead Link Removed

Camera and lens cost me less than my digitoy - significantly less.
 

bobbysandstrom

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Frank, I started with digital 5 years ago, eventually bought a 1ds but simultaneously moved into film 4x5 mainly with a little 8x10. My 1ds sits in it's case in the closet! I have 3 words for digital capture... FLAT, FLAT, FLAT... and THAT's THAT!

Give me film, and give me depth.
 

Paul Sorensen

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Frank Petronio said:
My name is Frank and I'm a digiholic.

I know talking digi-trash is a no-no but I need some counselling.
Click to expand...
My wife is a substance abuse counselor, although her clientele is not wealthy enough to do digital, mostly they resort to meth and crack, I think I can use some of her experiences to help you. She tells me that a spiritual component is key to any recovery program. I think that what you need is a visit to the Church of Rodinal. When you give yourself over to Rodinal and admit your powerlessness with digital, you are on your way to recovery.

Oh, and don't forget to make amends for those images that you could have given a proper home on film, but instead captured only as electrons. You must take responsibility for those hurt by your actions.

Oh, and I trust you are not exposing any children to a "home digital lab." I hear that the fumes and waste from them can infect a child's mind and affect their ability to discern high quality images permanently.
 

df cardwell

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Go for it. You'll love it. And you have a great time with the 22" calibrated monitor. And calibrating it every week isn't too much of a problem.

Have a great time with the your new dual processor mainframe. The upgrade on all your software is about the same as the price of the AF-S 80-200. Except for Photoshop.

The printer, and inks, and all the paper. Well, it's less than a car, but remember it's no different from having that E-6 line in the basement- you have to run it everyday.

And the whole archival issue is overblown. Those engineers that have been screaming about the CD / DVD volatility are the same ones who argue about global warming, fossil fuel, and frankenfood.

And you'll love getting up and going to the gym every morning to offset the time you spend sitting on your butt trying to sort out mask layers and the history brush.

Oh. Find a good chiropractor while you're at it.

AND the best part will watching those huge prints you'll make fade away like a hershey bar on a hot day, because you'll forget how low Wilhelm's 80 lux illumination really is.

How much do you want for the Linhof ?

don

"This suspense is terrible. I hope it lasts."
 

jjstafford

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Dollars
Invested
Gathering
Illusions
To
Artistic
License

D2X == Digital to X-digital (as in was, former, bitheaven)
Kodak leads people from digital to film, where there is none.
What a company!
 

Dan Fromm

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Prank, if you run true to form, in the fullness of time, i.e., real soon now, you'll reveal that you've had one for a while and are ready to offer it for sale on eBay. Just post your listing on eBay and be done with it.
 

sanking

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Why not buy a Leica MP with a couple of lenses instead? That way you won't have to make any more hard decisions about what to buy for a few months.

Sandy
 

Jeremy

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Why should you not? You should! Because then you can be (there was a url link here which no longer exists) and become a self-styled master photographer!
 

BradS

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I thought this thread would be about an Omega enlarger....
 

roteague

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Jeremy Moore said:
Why should you not? You should! Because then you can be (there was a url link here which no longer exists) and become a self-styled master photographer!
Click to expand...

I sure wouldn't put a picture of a dead cow on the front page of my website and call it "fine art".
 

panchromatic

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Let me give my two cents:

I have the D70s (which I won in a sales contest, that makes owning it kosher lol) and I do use limitedly (pretty much only for band photography of my buddies bands) and I have shot the D2X, and it is an impressive camera, but in my opinion it just doesn't stand up to a 4X5. Its sacrafising quality to save money and time. If everyone did that then there would be no qualilty products in this world.

Though I love my F100 with TTL flash, its a godsent in flash photography.
 

gareth harper

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If you are in the UK, I'd be interested in buying your 1Ds. I need a DSLR, but if there is one thing that really puts me off, well it's those small sensors. Now a 1Ds, Mmmmmm.
 
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